Use two senders and a switch and measure them both. I'm a pan man myself. I'd rather know before temps than after.

You guys are all right but think of application. Custom pans blown motors yea play it all the way, stock motor be realistic is it worth tapping pan mid season? Does someone make a sender that goes in drain plug threads?

THat should be easy enough to do.

For location, why not get a pod and put it next to the compass?

http://www.livorsi.com/catalog/acces...s_brackets.htm

I think the pod would look like an after thought.

I am probably going to move the volt meter down to the right of the steering wheel where the DC accessory plug is now. I will probably put it in an angled bezel from Eddie Marine and tilt it up.

http://www.eddiemarine.com/store/car...l&p=12587&c=25

I would relocate the DC accessory plug into the glovebox for use with the iPod and inflator.

I'd like to see what the differential would be ... I have a manifold tapped off the remote .. pressure,temp and alarm ...comes straight from the block ... at 5000 rpm how long does it take the oil to get from the pan to the remote? I would guess the mass from the motor and oil in the pan give a better reading but how much could the oil cool in that short distance?...

Here's another vote for measuring at the hottest point.
If you accept that the engine adds X amount of heat TO the oil, and the oil cooler draws Y amount of heat FROM the oil, knowing the max temp allows you to work backwards to regulate that max temp.
So what is the oil flow in a stock Merc setup? oil pump, filter, cooler, engine? Or does the cooler come before the filter?

I agree. Find where the oil is the hottest and cool down from there. I"m not sure how mercury has their engines plumbed. I prefer to filter first, ( while the oil is the thinnest ) and then cool. Oil filters cannot filter all the oil at high flow, especially when cold. That is why bypasses are built into oiling systems. Some people argue that you should filter before the cooler, some people argue after the cooler. Oil will pass through a filter matrix faster when it is hot and thin than thick and cool.

At Stef's we recommned pulling temp from the pan. In speaking with a few oil guys they also say the pan is the most ideal place to pull temp. . .you want to see what the oils temp is after it has done its job.

A temp sending unit to go in place of the plug is available as they are common on most dyno's.

Here is another combination. We put the oil temp sender in the oil filter/thermo housing after cooling. We then have a separate high oil temp sender in the pan connected to a dash warning light mounted next to oil temp gauge (top left).