Super Easy to Add Oil Temperature Guage

[Rbertalotto]

I bought a tree gauge BOSCH set from Summit Racing for my 782. Voltage, Oil Pressure and Temp....2" guages

Install and hook up of Voltage was just two wires....My engine is a Kohler KT-17s II so it has a place for an oil pressure sender......but the Temperature gauge is really meant for a water cooled engine.

I wanted to read Oil Temperature with it.

Someone suggested that I figure out a way to connect it to the oil drain plug....Great Idea!

Upon opening the package I found three brass adapters......And one of them fit the oil drain hole PERFECTLY!

The temperature sender simply screws into the adapter and DONE!

I ran the steel covered tubing under the engine and up to the gauge. Next time I have the welder out I'm going to weld something on the bottom of the engine mount to protect this tube. Maybe just a piece of inverted angle iron.

I'm amazed at how cool these engines run. I idled it for about 15-20 minutes before the gauge even started to register. (It starts at 100 degrees). I thought it might be inoperative so I checked the area of the drain plug with a laser thermometer. Was still under 100 degrees. Finally it started to move but at 120 degrees I had to leave so I'm not sure how hot the oil actually gets. And I'm sure it gets a lot hotter when working.

 

[mgonitzke]

I'm pretty sure there is another drain plug on the side of the case that would be a lot more protected. I've got an engine in storage I'll look at to verify that.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Thanks, I’d appreciate that. As long as I don’t have to pull the engine to get to it.

 

[mgonitzke]

You probably will, but that is a lot easier than you think.

 

[RayF]

Now that you know the "sizes" of the adapters- (and if you don;t have a second plug)- you can can add a "T", so you can still drain the oil without disconnecting the sender.

 

[Rbertalotto]

With this set up you do not have to disconnect the sender. It simply unscrews from the adapter to drain. There is a threaded collar that hold the sender in place. Draining oil will be no different than removing the drain plug.

 

[dfrisk]

In the words of Ernie Elliott, Bill's brother and crew chief and engine builder, in response to a question from Chris Economaky, Ernie replied,"You don't make no HORSEPOWER you don't burn no fuel." Because your not making any horsepower.
Air cooled engines really heat up their oil, because most of their heat goes out the exhaust, some radiates out of the engine, block, heads, even the crankshaft and flywheel. No water based coolant and radiator like in most cars & trucks.
I predict you will pretty well use up most of the 250 degree range on your guage, if you go over 250 degrees F I think I would stop whatever you are doing and let it idle about half throttle, say 1500 rpm, buy a infrared laser tachometer, they're $15 or less on Ebay or Harbor Freight. And if you push snow with a blade in winter I bet you never get over 100 degrees F. If you use a snow blower on your 782 I bet you see 200 Deg F.
Oil temp is a GOOD indicator of engine load, cylinder head temp or exh gas temp are quicker responding, EGT being the fastest. DAVE KIRK did some testing years ago on his KILLER KOHLER on oil temp. Be nice to have his info posted for those interested. I know several people suffer from high engine oil temps. Not too many forums have engineers who worked on one of the most discussed topics actually post on that topic. Only ONE other person comes to mind, a retired Ford Engineer who worked on the design team for the E4OD transmission used in the F-series pickups in the 1990's posted frequently on The DieselStop.com diagnosing transmission problems.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Yesterday I ran the tractor for over an hour. Just riding around at about 2/3 throttle, not doing any real work. Temperature never went over 150. I do have a digital thermometer and it read the exact same temp when reading on the bottom of engine next to the drain plug. I'm still surprised at the low temperature of the oil.

Tomorrow I work it hard hauling top soil, plowing and dragging a york rake. Will be interesting to see the difference.

 

[mgonitzke]

The location where you are measuring the temperature of the oil (bottom of the pan) may not be where the oil is at its hottest temperature during it's cycle through the system. For example, if the engine were equipped with an oil cooler, you'd want the sender located just upstream of the oil cooler, I think.

What you will probably have measuring it there is a relative measurement. You will learn what normal is after operating it for enough hours, and then you'll know when the temperature is high relative to that amount.

 

[Rbertalotto]

What you will probably have measuring it there is a relative measurement. You will learn what normal is after operating it for enough hours, and then you'll know when the temperature is high relative to that amount.

Exactly......Just a reference number to be aware of.

 

[jknight]

Not to seal the post but
VW Golf GTI oil temperature
"The engine speed should be reduced if the oil temperature rises to +145C." Most people running standard 8V GTI (Mk1 or Mk2) engines will see a temperature in the range of 90-110C during sustained motorway driving - although higher than this is not necessarily a problem.Aug 4, 2007
They came with an oil Temp Gauge.
For oil it could be anywhere from 194 degrees to 230 degrees Fahrenheit but that is a water cooled engine. Air cooled ? Most VW ran hard were around 220 230 F

 

[Rbertalotto]

Today I worked the red tractor hard....Pushing dirt, pulling trailer with loam, pulling york rake......For about 5 hours....Temperature at bottom of oil pan never went above 150 degrees. I'm still amazed how cool the oil stays.