needing temp sender help.

[misternash2]

ok guys coulda, shoulda, woulda. i put a 5.3 in my 85 chevy pickup and i since i did it pretty much in one weekend, i didn't look far enough ahead. what i should have done is drill and tap the right head 3/8 npt to fit the stock sending unit. what i did was drill and tap 1/4 npt thinking that it would be no problem finding a sending unit that was 1/4 npt. of all the gm cars and trucks made, surely they put one in something, right? well, not that i'm aware of. my local parts guy tried to help me, but couldn't. i'm just happy he tried. more than i can say for the "better" parts guys in town. they pretty much blew me off.

so in short, i'm looking for a sender that will communicate properly with the guage set from a 91 suburban that's 1/4 npt.

yes, i know i made a mistake. all the same, i don't want to pull the engine to drill and tap 3/8. (i've got a factory air truck and it's close to the dryer/airbox area) thanks in advance to anyone and everyone who can help.

[rfmaster]

Originally Posted by misternash2

ok guys coulda, shoulda, woulda. i put a 5.3 in my 85 chevy pickup and i since i did it pretty much in one weekend, i didn't look far enough ahead. what i should have done is drill and tap the right head 3/8 npt to fit the stock sending unit. what i did was drill and tap 1/4 npt thinking that it would be no problem finding a sending unit that was 1/4 npt. of all the gm cars and trucks made, surely they put one in something, right? well, not that i'm aware of. my local parts guy tried to help me, but couldn't. i'm just happy he tried. more than i can say for the "better" parts guys in town. they pretty much blew me off.

so in short, i'm looking for a sender that will communicate properly with the guage set from a 91 suburban that's 1/4 npt.

yes, i know i made a mistake. all the same, i don't want to pull the engine to drill and tap 3/8. (i've got a factory air truck and it's close to the dryer/airbox area) thanks in advance to anyone and everyone who can help.

Take your current temp sending unit and measure its resistance under the following conditions:

0 C - place sensing unit into freezer
22C - room temperature
100C - place it into boiling water.

You may need to rig up jumper wires to make measurements easier. After getting this resistance vs. temp data a curve can be built. 1/4" NPT units are used in newer cars and trucks - by looking up temp curves an equivalent (in terms of the resistance vs. temp) can be sourced.

Alternative solution:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/14117849-post31.html


//RF

[misternash2]

i found one from an 84-89 corvette that's supposed to be 1/4'' but it's $120..wowzers!! i'm just gonna take the 3/8 one and turn it down for 1/4 npt, cut some threads and be done with it.

[Goats86]

I am about to try one off a 1999 Z28. Somewhere on this board it was tried.

[rfmaster]

Originally Posted by Goats86

I am about to try one off a 1999 Z28. Somewhere on this board it was tried.

The 1999 Z28 uses AC-DELCO Part # 213-815 which is 3/8NPT based. The only 1/4NPT sized sensors that I am aware of were used on 1.9 L Saturn.

DELPHI Part # TS10193
GM OE Part # 21020104

You'll have to source connector pig tail.
I have no idea what electrical characteristics of that sensor, but if you can grab one from JY it is worth a try!

//RF

[rfmaster]

Originally Posted by misternash2

i found one from an 84-89 corvette that's supposed to be 1/4'' but it's $120..wowzers!! i'm just gonna take the 3/8 one and turn it down for 1/4 npt, cut some threads and be done with it.

You'll break through the brass - it is hollow inside (thermistor is potted inside). 3/8 NPT uses outside pipe diameter 0.675 (37/64 drill for hole tapping) 1/4NPT uses uses outside pipe diameter of 0.540 (7/16 drill for hole tapping).

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/np...ads-d_750.html

[misternash2]

here's where i'm at, guys. i've located a engine oil temp sender from a 84-89 vette. key word here is oil temp. 1/4npt threads. part number is borg-warner S8502
100* 1400ohm
280* 55ohm

it's not perfect on the resistance, but it should be close. i've got auto zone ordering me one. o'reilly is $122.00 and auto zone is $20.00. i couldn't get the guys at my local auto zone on the same page as me. i asked them to order a specific part number (PS201 duralast) and they said that part number wasn't found in their database, although i was looking at it on autozone.com. so i called o'reilly's and told the manager what i've got going on and he ordered me what i need-with a price match! o'reilly's usually pulls through for me. it's gonna be here friday. i will let you guys know what happens.