Best Oil Temp Sensor Mounting Location
 

I am looking to add an oil temp guage to my 454 MAG. What is the best place to get the most accurate (i.e. highest) reading - I can add it by using a tee fitting to the port for the oil pressure gage or by teeing the oil pressure warning switch which is located low on the rear port side near the oil cooler hookup. I just want to make sure the reading is not right after the oil cooler so that I avoid artifically low readings. Thanks.

I needs to go in the port right above wher the oil filter would go if ther was no remote adapter. If you need help call 281-326-4800

Mines in the pan.

I I relocated mine to a fitting off the oil filter setup ...inlcudes pressure ..pressure alarm and the temp sender ...easy access but the temp sender is not doing the job ... I guess it really needs to be in contact with the flowing hot oil ......m

If you wanted to to keep the temp sensor there i would drill and tap the filter braket to put the sensor in direct contact with the oil....the way you have it setup right now its only registering oil temp through conduction and will take a longer time to register the true temps as the oil standing there in the fittings needs to be heated up by the passing oil that flowing through the filter braket.....

Wally .. might be a good idea .... I was just looking at the hole in the block above the remote oil adapter and it's gona be a ***** to get to .... my oil goes to the filter first then the Thermostat ... even a "T" at the inlet to the Filter ? ....but tapped right off the oil filter prob will be best to get the heat from the mass of the metal ....m

Temp senders really need to be immersed in the flow.

BigFish, I recently installed my sending units in my remote filter mount. Very easy install and I think the only better place to take temps would be from the pan, or the port in the block just above the filter. But those aren't exactly easy to get to unless the motor is out.

what temps you seeing ? I moved the sender on one motor to the block and it barely moves ... like 120-140 ... I really think the oil is getting hot cause after a hard run the pressure drops at idle to 30-40lbs ....

From the pan, directly immersed into flowing oil is my preference. The oil in the pan is what's about to be fed to the engine. It's also the largest mass of oil and best representative of actual oil temp, not just an isolated incidence. By the time you get a spike measured on a sensor mounted at the dead end of a tee, it's probably too late. I like to use idiot light sensors tied into a main "trouble light" and a very loud horn as a backup. When you're running hard, watching the waves, throttling and dodging the occasional waterborne moron, you're not always watching the gauges.

Crap, I forgot what my peak temp reading was. I think it was 270 during a short WOT run, around 230 during 3k rpm cruise. That's with fresh Kendall GT 10-40 in 75+ degree raw water temps running through ~1160hr all salt water oil coolers :D I used some cheapo mechanical gauges with only 6' of hose, so the gauges are laying under the rear bench. i have to have someone along to open the bench and try to read the gauges.

Where does the oil go after the cooler? Into the pan or through the block?

To the block and onto the main bearings, cam bearings and lifter bores etc. P.S. put the sender in the pan if u-can ! like chris said !

if I tap it off the pan now I will have to tap it off the drain plug .. I believe the drain plug is 1/2x20 sae ... so I will need to adapt from sae to npt ...also I have drain hoses off the plans... To keep those will have to "T" .... There is a plug on the side of the pan but it prob is too high to get a good wet reading ...m

spot on info............i use lights for pressure and temp

the new Gaffrig sending units have a output for LP Alarm ..

I just noticed that today....I am changing to the race series this winter......

At Stef's we recommend the pan

Chris ... you dont have an adapter for a oil pan plug ? 1/2x20 to NPT ..........m

Just get a machine shop to make you up a spare oil drain plug that's already tapped for your sensor. eg get an extended external hex plug (so you can undo the plug) and then have the centre tapped to whatever thread you need for your sensor.

Make sure your sensor has sufficient reach to get into the oil properly.

Bulk oil temperature is the best indication of how hard the fluid is having to work. Temperature measurements elsewhere can be prone to upheat issues eg engine block) or cooling eg the oil filter adaptor is hanging in the engine room airflow and may underread.

Sump is always the best answer and is what we always use on engine dyno testing for the best indication of stress on the oil.

I wrote that unclearly. What I meant is that the oil in the pan is the best representation of the actual temperature of the oil inside of your engine. It would be like placing your coolant sender in the radiator outlet- all that tells you is that the cooler is working well. It doesn't give you a true picture of what's inside the engine. You're right about the sender. I doubt the pump adds more than 5 and maybe 10 degrees max. It just needs to be right in the flow of oil.

I was confused, I'm glad that's cleared up.

So for those that don't have easy access to a pan location, but instead have easy access to a remote filter port, it's the best proxy to add an oil temp gauge.

Also, the port just above the filter on the block, that would be oil returning to the engine after having been through the cooler right? Sounds like a better location for pressure. If you have that location and the top of the block, I think I'd want a gauge sender just above the filter mount, and a warning sender at the top of block?

One really important thing to remeber- if you're screwing a sending unit into a tee, adapter or other in-line place to measure oil temp, be sure it doesn't restrict oil flow. i've seen long senders that would cut flow in half- which is bad.

Also, no sharp-angle fittings. Use sweeping 90's and 45's if necessary. Go up one hose size, then adapt down where they go into the engine, adapters, etc.

I wish we knew for sure. If it is, then it's a good spot for temps (hot oil sucked from the pan), but not good for pressure since it still has to pass through the filter and cooler.

Otherwise the opposite would be true?

Agreed. Thanks for hashing it out with me. I've got mine in the remote filter head now but wanted to confirm & bounce ideas around for myself and whoever else might read.

Cheers! :ernaehrung004:

The remote filter is the easiest. The place it belongs is after the cooler, before it goes back into the engine.
You need to know temp of oil to the bearing. Thats the purpose of knowing oil temp. To assure proper lubrication to the bearing.

Relocating the sender from the T off the remote filter to the engine port above the filter pad did no good ...maybe as stated the probe was not in a good stream of oil ...
Then I relocated the sender to the oil thermostat .. Drilled and taped a cap over the spare port ..the probe is well into the main body of the housing ..measures the oil comming from the filter ..( lock..filter ....thermostat ...cooler ...motor)...
works ... ran 180-190 yesterday at 3200 cruise ... Now the question is did they send me 190* stats or 212's ?

Pulled the Thermostats and they are the correct ones ..212* ......Temps still wont get up over 190 and I am getting milkshake on the bottoms of the Valve cover breathers ....

Just a note I am still running one motor with 142* stat and no stat in the other ...both motors run the same 140-150 .. cept I did notice in the motor without the thermostat the oil temp is alot slower to come up at all and is generally lower .. So i am thinking the motor with the thermostat seems to get the motor a more even temp overall ...but still have low oil temps ........m

Ran across these ... pretty cool .....

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...p?Product=1227