Water temp sensor questions

[keving]

Into which port are you guys installing an aftermarket water temp sensor on your 3B's??? And what brand of gauge are you guys running? I recall having a hell of a time finding a gauge with a metric thread fitting on an 2L-T pickup once. Ended up not installing a gauge on it.

And what kind of temps are you seeing on a 3B and what is considered a safe temp range??

I would like to keep my factory gauge functional also...

 

[seapotato]

My truck came with a mechanical autometer temp gauge. Installs in the upper rad hose ( has a short union you put in the hose with the sender in it. )

It's kinda cool there as you can tell when you're thermostat opens, factory guage reads warm for a little bit, and then the second gauge jumps up to temp.

It's in celsius which is a tad annoying , I still can't quite get myself to think in metric.

Normal operating temp seems to be around 85c. ( 185f) Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. But pretty steady around there.

cheers,
ryan

 

[roscoFJ73]

Into which port are you guys installing an aftermarket water temp sensor on your 3B's??? And what brand of gauge are you guys running? I recall having a hell of a time finding a gauge with a metric thread fitting on an 2L-T pickup once. Ended up not installing a gauge on it.

And what kind of temps are you seeing on a 3B and what is considered a safe temp range??

I would like to keep my factory gauge functional also...

Ive been using one of these for 3 years and it works great. I connected mine to the bolt on the coolant outlet and wired it direct.
There is a neat little spot under the ashtray to fix it where its easlily visible but not obtrusive.
ENGINE WATCHDOG TM2 - TEMPERATURE SENSOR, GAUGE & ALARM "Aussie Made" | eBay

And these new type look even better. Im going to try one on my troopy

ENGINE GUARDIAN V2 COOLANT MONITOR GAUGE ALARM WATCHDOG | eBay

 

[lostmarbles]

Into which port are you guys installing an aftermarket water temp sensor on your 3B's??? ...

This unused plug here looks ideal to me:









PS. These photos are of 1B engines but I believe your 3B should be the same in this regard. (And the sender in the 1st pic is the one for the combination-meter temperature gauge.0

 

[markthemenace]

I debated starting a new thread over this, but in the end, I think the OP might appreciate this question, and maybe the answers it generates too. Here goes...

I've long suspected something is wrong with my 2H's temp gauge as well. To be clear, I get GREAT heat from the vents, when I need it. The heat comes pretty quick too, quicker, I might add to the rear vents (possibly cos they're smaller?). Still, I put a little screen in front to aid it in heating up faster in winter.

Fast forward to today. I STILL haven't taken my screen off, the temps are the SAME!! Cruiser never seems to overheat, but typically takes awhile to show temp change. I think my gauge is toast. Same as my oil pressure gauge, but that's another question for another thread.

Now I have an IR temp gauge handy. Would anyone be able to tell me where to point it though, to get an accurate temp reading? Rather than buy a new gauge, I was thinking this would make SURE that the gauge is toast, or I'm worrying needlessly.

 

[FF LC FREAK]

This is what I did about a month ago:

I teed into the stock sender location and put in the mechanical probe and then the stock sender. It works...ok. It takes a while for it to register, because both sending units are out of the flow of coolant. It also took a bit of burping to get the air out of it. I could have angled them down, but that would have put them kind of in the way.

As a side note, I tried using the plug that Lostmarbles pointed out. I couldn't get that m$#^$%^#&*ing plug out. First, I rounded off the square edges. Then I tried welding a bolt to it. I tried heat, I tried penetrating oil, and I tried cussing at it. Nothing worked. So, I ended up teeing out of the stock sending location. If I could have got an impact wrench in there, I might of done it. But, I didn't want to have to pull the engine to put in an aftermarket sender.

After running it a bit, I might just pull the stock sending unit out, pull off the tee and plug the aftermarket mechanical sender into the stock location. It tells me more than the stock unit anyway. I dunno. I really haven't made up my mind about it yet. Maybe I'll mess with it next year.

 

[fjbj40]

Your 85 3b should have a pipe thread plug just in front of your factory super glow water sensor. It is the perfect spot to put a water temp probe. That is where I put mine. The only thing you need to do is take a die grinder with carbide tip and grind away some of the lower thermo housing once you remove the plug. The temp probe I used was to long so I had to do that.
I got my triple set from Walmart and it was like $50 for h2o, volt and oil px. It was a 1.5" set.
1-1/2 Inch Triple Gauge Kit White Equus 8100

Hth's
Daryl

 

[roscoFJ73]

I
Fast forward to today. I STILL haven't taken my screen off, the temps are the SAME!! Cruiser never seems to overheat, but typically takes awhile to show temp change. I think my gauge is toast. Same as my oil pressure gauge, but that's another question for another thread.

Now I have an IR temp gauge handy. Would anyone be able to tell me where to point it though, to get an accurate temp reading? Rather than buy a new gauge, I was thinking this would make SURE that the gauge is toast, or I'm worrying needlessly.

The factory temp gauge doesnt do much except when something is really wrong and its often too late.

I would take the temp with the IR gauge at the coolant outlet where it leaves the engine and enters the radiator and at the bottom to see how much the radiator has done its job

 

[darthvincor]

Ive been using one of these for 3 years and it works great. I connected mine to the bolt on the coolant outlet and wired it direct.
There is a neat little spot under the ashtray to fix it where its easlily visible but not obtrusive.
ENGINE WATCHDOG TM2 - TEMPERATURE SENSOR, GAUGE & ALARM "Aussie Made" | eBay

And these new type look even better. Im going to try one on my troopy

ENGINE GUARDIAN V2 COOLANT MONITOR GAUGE ALARM WATCHDOG | eBay

I'm thinking of getting one too. I just read the descriptions on ebay.
Just out of curiousity, why did you attach it to the thermostat housing? Is that even hotter than the block or head?

 

[roscoFJ73]

I'm thinking of getting one too. I just read the descriptions on ebay.
Just out of curiousity, why did you attach it to the thermostat housing? Is that even hotter than the block or head?

I didnt attach it to the t/stat housing,that is on the lower coolant pipe.For some weird reason Toyota located it down there.
I attached to a bolt on the alloy pipe where it comes out of the head.Its as close to the cyl head temp you can get without actually being in the coolant.

 

[markthemenace]

The factory temp gauge doesnt do much except when something is really wrong and its often too late.

I would take the temp with the IR gauge at the coolant outlet where it leaves the engine and enters the radiator and at the bottom to see how much the radiator has done its job

Sounds like a plan! I'll be trying that out and reporting with some numbers soon. These engines have cast-iron heads right?

 

[markthemenace]

I didnt attach it to the t/stat housing,that is on the lower coolant pipe.For some weird reason Toyota located it down there.
I attached to a bolt on the alloy pipe where it comes out of the head.Its as close to the cyl head temp you can get without actually being in the coolant.

This product has an interesting concept...measuring the head temp vs coolant temp. What do you think the variable would be between the two? +- 2 deg C?

If only the range were higher...this would certainly fly very well with the air-cooled crowd of bus owners. Our air-cooled engines can reach temps of over 400 deg. Often times, by the time we look at the gauge, its too late. A warning buzzer like this would be great.

 

[roscoFJ73]

. These engines have cast-iron heads right?

If we are talking 2H,yes.

 

[darthvincor]

I didnt attach it to the t/stat housing,that is on the lower coolant pipe.For some weird reason Toyota located it down there.
I attached to a bolt on the alloy pipe where it comes out of the head.Its as close to the cyl head temp you can get without actually being in the coolant.

Alright. For reason I assumed the layouts were the same on your and my engine.
So basically, on the head, and where the coolant is coming out again and at its hottest.

 

[keving]

Yes I have a pipe thread plug in front of my super glow sensor. And now that I think of it, my super glow is no longer in use with a fully manual setup now in place. I could use that port to I guess!!

 

[roscoFJ73]

Alright. For reason I assumed the layouts were the same on your and my engine.
So basically, on the head, and where the coolant is coming out again and at its hottest.

Yes ,it always comes out at the top so it can gravity feed its way to the bottom

 

[keving]

Your 85 3b should have a pipe thread plug just in front of your factory super glow water sensor. It is the perfect spot to put a water temp probe. That is where I put mine. The only thing you need to do is take a die grinder with carbide tip and grind away some of the lower thermo housing once you remove the plug. The temp probe I used was to long so I had to do that.
I got my triple set from Walmart and it was like $50 for h2o, volt and oil px. It was a 1.5" set.
1-1/2 Inch Triple Gauge Kit White Equus 8100

Hth's
Daryl

Does this walmart unit have a metric thread fitting that fits?

 

[amaurer]

As a side note, I tried using the plug that Lostmarbles pointed out. I couldn't get that m$#^$%^#&*ing plug out. First, I rounded off the square edges. Then I tried welding a bolt to it. I tried heat, I tried penetrating oil, and I tried cussing at it. Nothing worked. So, I ended up teeing out of the stock sending location. If I could have got an impact wrench in there, I might of done it. But, I didn't want to have to pull the engine to put in an aftermarket sender.

Those plugs are a BASTARD to remove. You need to buy a good quality 8-point socket... 1/2" if I remember correctly... because 8 point works fine on 4 point bolts. I have to use my 24" breaker bar with an extra 2 feet of pipe on the handle... and I still got bruises from yanking on it!

If you can get that plug out you're rewarded with a nice deep (and high-flowing) port for your probe - thats where I have mine installed.

Does this walmart unit have a metric thread fitting that fits?

In the 1/2" size NPT and BSPT do not need an adapters - its safe to mix. Smaller than 1/2" you should use an adapter.

 

[fjbj40]

Does this walmart unit have a metric thread fitting that fits?

It had everything to make it work included in the kit. An added bonus is it had some of the British pipe thread adapters in the package!

Daryl

 

[keving]

Has anyone ever cracked the t-stat casing while attempting to remove the square head plug? I put a 14mm wrench on mine and a snipe but of course; it didn't budge. I would be worried about cracking the casing if I was applying more force. I think a little heat on the casing might be a good idea.