Oil temp sender??

[Matt No VAT]

Greetings All,

Firstly - happy new year to everyone.

Secondly - My apologies to anyone who has been waiting for me to sort out bits/info for them - I had to get my extension finished before Xmas - its 2/3rds complete now so I was in the new living room for Xmas with 24 hours to spare. The work has taken over my life (and wallet) with the exclusion of everything else - even the Hawk, but I've been back on the case today with some success.

I now have correct oil pressure readings and correct water tempreture readings, I'm 95% sure that I've resolved the overheating problem. Just have to replace the rad switch as I think its knackered and then that should hopefully be it.

A huge thankyou must go to John Rutter for his assistance by letting me take pictures of the cooling system configuration in his car... in the cold and wet too...cheers John!

Also I had a long chat with the guys at Alfa Aid in Maidenhead, Berks especially the Boss Adrian who gave me no end of useful advice as to why the guages and sensors were not playing ball - armed with his advice and three new sensors it took less than and hour to resolve all the gremlins BUT... there is one small outstanding thing.

I'm told the 164 V6 did not have an oil tempreture guage as standard, my car has a guage fitted so it must be geared up for one - does anyone know where it can be located on the V6 12v engine and what donor part should be used? Or shall I just get the Demon Tweeks catalogue out?

Thanks in advance

[chris.richard]

On the 24v there is a blanked off threaded access on the sandwich plate for the oil cooler that I thought I'd use.

[mogul_x]

Matt,

I've been told two other possible locations for the oil temperature sender on a 12v motor:

One is to remove the oil level sensor on the front of the block and replace that with a temperature sender. I don't have any information regarding part numbers or adapters required to do this, unfortunately. It does allow for installation without any modifications, and it's not as if the Strat has an oil level light anyway.

The other is to drill and tap a hole for a sender in the front of the oil pan. This may require that a boss be welded in to provide adequate threaded length - I'm not sure. At any rate, it's a little more trouble.

I don't remember seeing any oil cooling plumbing on my 12v engine when it was in the Alfa, but you could always plumb in a sensor if you fit an oil cooler to your car. I think Guy told me that the oil temperature sender from a Beta will do nicely in either the oil pan or cooling loop. Not sure if it would fit in the oil level sensor hole.

[roger001]

One of the easiest ways is to drill and tap the sump drain plug which is large enough to take a beta oil temp sender, this works fine and does not risk the sump.

[Stratos]

Originally posted by roger001
One of the easiest ways is............

And even easier still, is to buy an "Oil Temperature Guage Adaptor" from Rally Design on 01795 531871. Prices range from £11.99 to £18.40 depending on what fittings you need. It's on page 101 of their 2003 catalogue.

[Matt No VAT]

Thanks for the advice guys :~)

I have the complete oil cooler setup from a 24v but will only fit that if I ever get to the bottom of why my car persists in its constant overheating problem. I thought I had resolved it yesterday when I replaced a few bits and changed the pipework to match John R's - but alas she's still acting like a giant red kettle.

Oh well back to the drawing board.

This is no longer funny:confused:

[roger001]

How old is your radiator core?

The standard rad is borderline on cooling, it does not take much in the way of corrosion/fouling etc to bring about the kettle immitation.

[Stratos]

Matt,

I'll echo what Roger said. The radiator must be in tip-top condition.

Richard Gibbons had a similar problem to you. He fitted my spare new radiator (which I loaned to him), and re-bled the system with the engine running on fast tickover, and that cured his problem completely.

Another point to note, the 24v engine needs a lot more cooling than the 12v - I can vouch for that from Alfa 164 road car experience.

[Matt No VAT]

I now have another question which I'm hoping someone can confirm for me:

On the Alfa V6 water pump housing there are the two large diameter connectors an upper and a lower, which is the FLOW TO the radiator and which is the RETURN FROM the radiator.

I'm getting somewhat suspicious that these have been connected up the wrong way.


Also I am far from happy with what I have discovered has been done getting the 90 degree bend into the two water pipes - Has anyone used 22mm Copper piping to do this?

I think it would be a far neater job than 32mm tube and huge 90 degree silicon bends - this way I can solder proper 90 deg. bends without fouling against the exhaust manifold. And reduce the number of jubilee clips used on my car! Just wondering about the volume of water it can handle.

Cheers

[Stratos]

Originally posted by Matt No VAT

On the Alfa V6 water pump housing there are the two large diameter connectors an upper and a lower, which is the FLOW TO the radiator and which is the RETURN FROM the radiator.


Matt,

This thread has now drifted in heating problems so should probably be copied into a new thread, as it is no longer about oli temp problems. I will start one for you.

I've asked that question before, and no-one has ever given me an answer.

I have never bothered about this, as to my way of thinking, it shouldn't really matter. I don't believe there is anything in either connection on the radiator which would restrict flow, so, regardless of which way round the pipes are connected, water will flow TO the radiator, THROUGH it, and then OUT of the radiator.

When Richard was having his problems, I know he tried swapping over the pipes, but it didn't make any difference. He tried almost every combination, including with and without a heater system.

Someone who knows something about radiator design might be able to tell you that it is more efficient for the water from the engine to go in at the bottom of the radiator, or at the top of the radiator, or that it doesn't matter.

[Stratos]

PLEASE REPLY ONLY ABOUT OIL TEMP SENDERS ON THIS THREAD.

There is a new thread on water heating problems.