so my friend just installed a coolant temp guage in his car and we installed the sender post radiator. directly in the block wasnt an option. it works well, but of course it only works when the thermostat is open. we figured post radiator would give an indication of the radiator's cooling capacity and would warn if it couldnt cool adequately. does that make sense? where do most ppl install the senders

9/22/2005 1:26:44 PM

i know on the camaro i had there was one sensor in the head and another on the waterpump. the waterpump one was connected to the computer while the one in the head just controlled the gauge on the dash. i datalogged and noticed the waterpump one was of course pretty much always cooler and fluctuated a lot less..the one in the head was all over the place everytime the rpm's dropped

9/22/2005 1:46:12 PM

interesting. the stock sender is in the block, but the guage is like 'snap-to-grid' stright up at 190 so it doesnt tell a whole lot. he needed a 3rd guage for his panel so he got an additional water temp to get a more accurate feel for things. as it is now it works fine when the thermostat is open and i guess thats when it matters. i'm just trying to figure out if there are any better ideas. before the radiator would always read a little hot i guess, but itd be a better indicator of engine water temp.. hrm

9/22/2005 1:51:04 PM

engine water temp is what would actually matter though i would think...of course its going to be as cool as it's going to get right after the radiator. might be good info, but i still think a sensor on the outlet of the engine or in a head or block or something is more practical

9/22/2005 2:46:03 PM

yeh, im sorta thinking so too now

9/22/2005 2:59:42 PM

Right before the thermostat would be the best place for it.

9/22/2005 4:40:01 PM

yeh, but in this motor the thermostat housing is built into the block (well mounted on it) so you have to put it in the radiator loop somewhere. but yeh thatd be ideal so itd always have water to measure

9/22/2005 4:51:44 PM

Upper radiator hose?

9/22/2005 4:57:57 PM

i'd put it between the engine exit and radiator entrance so you know the hottest point of the engine.

as it is now, what happens if you thermostat sticks closed? it'd take a while for the water before the thermostat to indicate over heating. of course, that would be the same case anywhere not in the engine itself. right before the tstat would always be coldest and would be the last place to warm up due to a stuck or sticking tstat.

also, in the winter, that guage is going to read super cold depending on air temps.

on my chevy motor, there are two places to put a temp sensor. one of them is filled with a plug though. might check into locations other than stock that have plugs in them that you could remove and put a temp sensor in/

9/22/2005 5:36:58 PM

right before the tstat would always be coldest hottest and would be the last first place to warm up due to a stuck or sticking tstat.

Coldest place would be after the radiator.

9/22/2005 6:17:57 PM

^ right again, knows his shit

9/22/2005 6:37:25 PM