73Polara360
Member
Do this?
To shroud or not to shroud
- Thread starter 73Polara360
- Start date
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
Yes, just if you get something w a long capillary tube or an electric. Damn wet intakes! Tapping in NPT also problematic unless you're a little skilled w it and have the proper taps. Aluminum cuts easily, but is easily screwed up too.
Last edited:
73Polara360
Member
I feel like I've seen this up at the heater core in/out housing area, I will snap a photo when I get home and verify if what I have is correct. That sounds easier as I don't have a proper set of taps to try the other suggestion.
I used this port for a temp sensor to feed my external temp gauge. It worked great, and I was also able to leave the temp lights operational.
The port is on the water pump housing and is 1/4" NPT. More info is in this post:
1968 300, any way to have engine temp lights AND a gauge?
The pic was originally posted by BigJohn, always a source of great info!
The port is on the water pump housing and is 1/4" NPT. More info is in this post:
1968 300, any way to have engine temp lights AND a gauge?
The pic was originally posted by BigJohn, always a source of great info!
Last edited:
73Polara360
Member
Forgive my ignorance but is this the kind of port I could quickly unscrew and open, then thread in the sender immediately, while only losing a few drops of coolant and not introducing air into the system? And is that your water pump we are looking at? Also do you know what dimension that is so I can match it to the specs on any prospective sending unit diameter? Was it an electric or mechanical gauge? Thanks!
This is the water pump housing, the port is just below the nipples for the heater hoses. It's 1/4" NPT, and I was able to remove the plug and install the sensor without losing much coolant.
I used an electronic gauge from Dakota Digital, and hid it in the drawer in the dash where the left hand ash tray is supposed to be. (I also hid a voltage gauge on the right hand side). I really like having a true readout of the engine temp.
73Polara360
Member
So unfortunately my water pump doesn't have any of those ports or nipples available, just has mounting bolts as far as I can see.
Photos are big block water pump.
73Polara360
Member
Interesting, it's a 360, are big block water pumps interchangeable? I do see some aftermarket water pumps available online for the 360 that don't have any of the 1/4-in fittings it's probably one of those?
The fitting in the picture is on the water pump housing, and that is specific to the big block engines. Sorry, but I don't have any insight on the small block engines.
73Polara360
Member
Sorry that was my misunderstanding, I get it now, you're referring to the other picture with the fitting, it's a big block.
I just assumed you were showing me another 360.
Nadir Point
Member
Automotive heating and cooling is very application-dependent in any well-maintained system, i.e. clean, complete and serviceable. Towing a little popup camper in the mountains on vacay every summer day? Probably need all the cooling you can get. Going down the street to DQ for a cone? No worries. ;-)
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
OK, these run for $65 now, for which we can thank the Beast in the East, the Blight in the House, but its STILL a good bargain for engine cooling:
https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Radiator-Electric-Thermostat-Reversible/dp/B01I26TNO2
That's a middle weight stock cooling fan from Ma Par, used on /6 and LA engines a plenty. Have one on my D150, which I upgraded the clutch on. Does yours have a clutch? A 7 blade would draw a bit more air through your radiator, but those big heavy salad choppers on the water pump require engine power to turn them too. Electric fans take it off the battery, which in turn loads an alternator a bit, increasing the load on the engine a little from that system, but the load can be better absorbed and distributed. This is why modern cars use electric fans.
200 Fahrenheit is a good running temperature because it allows good running, yet doesn't thin your crankcase oil too badly. Thus 195F thermostats for our engines during the 1970s. I run a 180F thermostat during the hot season, and a 195 during the short cold season here. I like that one for allowing the engine to warm up more quickly. Once my stats open, the engine temperature stays on their specified temperature 90% of the time, if not more.
Its best to install the temperature gauge on or as near to the thermostat housing as possible. This gives the temperature of the coolant as it leaves the thermostat housing for the radiator. Even when the stat is "closed," a small amount of coolant is permitted to flow past the stat by design. The only place better than the T-stat housing is the 1/8" NPT port on top of most Mopar coolant pump housings. THIS gives the most accurate temperature reading for coolant as it begins another cycle through first the block, then the heads, back to the thermostat, which if open will permit it to flow into the top of the radiator to cool, or if still cold, will simply return to the block.
I use the 1/8" port to control my electric fan relay. With my temperature gauge in the thermostat housing, and the switch in the top of my pump, combined with a genuine RobertShaw thermostat, I get EXTREMELY consistent behavior from my cooling system! I see 200 on the gauge right as I hear the WHOOSH of that pusher kicking on, and that is as hot as my engine has got all this summer, despite 115F ambient temperature with us putting in roads reduced to 1 lane due to "road work" which the local idiots insist on doing during Rush Hour instead of at night. THAT goes beyond the purposes of our Forum....
73Polara360
Member
Unfortunately my thermostat housing (if I am looking at the right thing, I am looking at the piece above where you mentioned I could drill a hole), doesn't have the flat bit, and my water pump doesn't have any ports available either! Is there some other option?
Having done this myself when my temp sender went bad...yes, yes and yes. Might be a bit of air though. But I'm sure it'd get bled out as the engine is running, escaping via the radiator cap.
So - your temp sensor is located in the intake manifold, just on the passenger side at the edge of what I can see in your photo.
Therefore, as you've ascertained, there is no place to add an additional temp sensor in the water pump housing. Sorry to get your hopes up. I'd need to see a better picture of the front part of your intake manifold to see if there's a place to do it, but I have a hunch there isn't.
Similar threads
