Just for safety's sake I am going to install a secondary temperature gauge in the a-pillar. I was thinking about drilling and tapping the thermostat housing to accept the 1/8" NPT sending unit.

Does anyone have a better location that would provide an accurate temperature reading?

Thanks!
Josh

 

You have a place on both sides of your heads for a temp sender and also one in your inake manifold pick which ever one you want. I have the stock temp sender in one head and an autometer sender and gauge running off the other head. 10 degree diff between the guages.

 

Right now, I have the fan switch in one head and the temp sender for the factory gauges in the other. How did you set yours to run the the factory and auto meter sender off one head?

Also, I have the CTS for the computer in the intake manifold. Is there another spot? If so, where? I am running the Accel manifold.

 

The sender's are in in 2 different heads one on each side. I would take your fan switch and stick it in the radiator.

 

I guess I could just drill and tap a hole in the radiator.

 

There should already be a bung there. Look on the passenger side of the radiator.

 

Hi Guys!
I have the same questions for my 88 iroc-z 350 TPI:
1) Where is the temp gauge sending unit?
2) Does this sending unit speak to other components (cooling fans, choke, ecm, etc) or to the gauge only?
3) Where can i plug the sending unit of a new temp gauge?

thank you all!!
Manuel from Italy!!

 

i dont know one your 88. Could be in the intake or head. I dont know alot about the computer controlled cars just old school stuff. But i know you car put an extra temp gauge in the other head.

 

Hello Manuel,

If you car is like mine, which I suspect it is, than you have sensors in the following locations:

1. Front of intake manifold. Speaks to the computer only.
2. Driver side head between cylinders 1 & 3. This is used for the temperature gauge only.
3. Passenger side head. Used to turn on cooling fans.

I think I am going to take 84 Z28's suggestion and move my factory sensor (fan switch) to the radiator. Than I am going to mount my new gauge to the stock location in the head.

Hopefully your questions have been answered. let me know if you need anything else because I am going to do this tonight.

 

I don't think most of the stock radiators have any additional bungs. About the only existing plugged hole into the cooling system that's not used is the plug in the water jacket opposite the knock sensor. Of course a person could always pull the TPI base and drill/tap a new port where the cold start injector switch was located on earlier cars. Most of the aftermarket intakes should already have that port drilled and tapped.

Generally speaking, regardless if the car is carbed, efi, V6, or V8, the sensor in the intake manifold with a yellow and black wire harness is for the ECM. The single green wire sensor in the drivers side head is for the guage or idiot light. The fan switch is the single wire mushroom knock sensor style plug in the passengers side head.

 

Drew,

Thanks for your input. I have an aftermarket base which has a plug where I am assuming the cold start injector could be located. It is at the front of the intake to the left of the coolant temp sensor and the heater hose connection.

Is this spot the one you are talking about?

Secondly, I am assuming this is not coolant filled since it was originally for a fuel injector. So you would be recording the temperature of the manifold temperature correct?

I currently have an aftermarket radiator that has a location for a coolant level sensor but I could adapt it for a sender. However, I like your idea better as long as it it a good spot for a temp sensor.

Thuoghts?

 

Yep that's the port... And it is into the coolant passage, because that's where the temp switch for the CSI injector is located... I.e. the CSI system was setup to key off of engine temp. The injector itself was on the drivers intake runner.

 

Thank you Drew! That helped immensely. I bought a 3/8" to 1/8" NPT bushing and mounted the sender last night. Perfect location. I had no idea the cold start injector used its only coolant temp sensor.

Now I just have to determine where to mount my oil temp sensor. I have mounted a oil pressure sensor at top behind china wall, transmission temp sensor on outlet of my external transmission filter, and obviously the water temp sensor.

 

The two OEM locations are the port behind the intake that you're already using for an aftermarket guage, and the port just above the oil filter where your original sending unit was located. You'll probably need to build a manifold for one connection or the other so you can run more then one device off the port.

 

hi wildjyoung,
thanks for the precious precise informations!
i'll work on this!
ciao
Manuel

 

Drew,

Thanks again. That what I was afraid of. I was hoping there was another location but suspected that there was not.

I was thinking that i could just take a 1/4"NPT pipe about 1-2" with a tee at the end and have my oil pressure sender on one side and the temp sender on the other. The temp would not be exact due to not having constant flow but I think it would be close enough. Is this what you were thinking?

Do you have any better ideas?

Thanks Again!

 

That's pretty much what I was thinking... Get a T or a log with more then one port and run two off the same port.

 

for an oil temp gauge,use the port in the side of the
block above the filter-that is where corvettes mount
the oil temp sender and where i have mine-using the
oil pressure port with a tee will not work well as there
is no flow past the sender.
could also install a sender in the pan or use an electric
sender that replaces the drain plug(used this style on
my '69 camaro,was a VDO)

 

I thought about that. However, even though it is not going to get constant flow I would think it should provide a reliable oil temp. The oil rushing past the port should at the very minimum heat up to the same temp as the oil itself.

I am afraid of the pan idea due to clearance. I would be afraid that the sender would hit bump and such.

I though about using a sandwich adapter and create a small loop and mount the sender in there so it is getting constant flow. However, I am not confident that I have enough room to do it.

Anyone else have thoughts or mounted one them self?

 

Just mount both pressure senders in the same T and put the oil temp into a different location.