HOW TO: Install a water temperature sender (Pics linked, 56K friendly)

[IveBeenBad]

A while back I purchased a water temperature gauge for my car and I am just getting around to installing it while the motor is out of the car. The engine used in this tutorial is a KA24E out of a 1990 240SX Fastback, but the general rules will apply to any vehicle.

The tools:

Drill, center punch, appropriate size drill bit (in my case 21/64"), appropriate tap (in my case 1/8-27 NPT), and a deep well socket or wrench to tighten the sender down.

Tools - http://nissaninfiniticlub.net/...t=500

Step 1: Decide where you want your sender. Deciding where to mount the sender can be a real pain. I was going to originally install mine in the stock location, but the stock sender is about twice as thick as my Autometer one. Instead of buying an adpater to use the sender in the stock location, I decided I'd do one better and keep the stock gauge functioning and install the aftermarket sender elsewhere.

On the KA24E, the intake manifold has a water neck cast on the front. This is where both stock senders are (one for the ecu and one for the gauge cluster), but it also has plenty of room for another sender to be installed. This area is also pretty thick which allows you to thread the hole deeper and have a more secure sender. Click the link below to see just what I'm reffering to. (I didnt take a before picture)

Overall view of intake manifold - http://nissaninfiniticlub.net/...t=500

I decided this would be a perfect place for the aftermarket sender because it is close to the stock sender and would allow for an accurate reading.

Step 2: Now that you've decided where you want to mount your sender, we need to center punch the spot. Center punching isn't necessary, but it keeps the drill bit from "walking" and marring up your parts.

After you have center punched where you want your sender, take your drill and bit and but the tip of the bit in the mark left by the center punch. Depending on where you decided to mount your sender, this may be a very easy job or a slightly tougher one. Since I was drilling into aluminum, this went rather quickly, but drilling iron may take a bit longer. While drilling, remember to keep the drill steady to prevent the hole from becoming oblong, and make sure you put some pressure on the drill, allowing the bit to do the work wont do anything but wear the bit out.

Got your hole drilled? Good! The hard part is over. Clean up the metal shavings from inside the area you drilled (this is very easy to do at the water neck).

Step 3: Now that we have our hole, we are just one step away from being able to mount the sender. Get the appropriate sized tap for your application (Autometer senders are 1/8-27 NPT, most JDM senders are 1/8-27 BSPT) and give it a light coating of grease. The grease not only lubricated as you tap the hole, it also catches a lot of the metal shavings.

Now take your tap and insert it in the hole, make sure it's straight and then start turning clockwise like you are tightening a bolt. If the tap gets difficult to turn, back it out a bit and then continue clockwise. Tap the hole until you run out of tap, and then turn the tap counter-clockwise to remove it.

Congrats! You can now mount the sender. Before installing the sender, either coat it with pipe sealant, or wrap it with teflon tape.

I am not going to cover wiring in this tutorial becuase that is very straight forward and also varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

[Thrwnsprkz]

great write up, i gotta install mine so i can drive my car to the shop on monday... :-X

i think im going to try and go into the block, i just hope the block plug doesnt need an adapter... otherwise I really like your location for the sensor, but I dont think my mechanical gauge will reach that far...

[rico05]

Or you can buy one of these and not have to drill.



http://splparts.com/Under "Hardware", then "Fittings & plumbing".

[IveBeenBad]

Those are overly expensive in my opinion.

[240DRFT]

they are kinda expensive but they make it a nicer install

[IveBeenBad]

they are kinda expensive but they make it a nicer install

Meh, mine looks OEM so i dont care.

[onosqv]

Was there any special technique you used to make sure none of the metal shavings got into the coolant stream?

Nice write up.

[IveBeenBad]

Was there any special technique you used to make sure none of the metal shavings got into the coolant stream?

Nice write up.

the location I used was close enough to the water neck that I could reach in with a shop rag and clean it all out. The grease on the tap also belps catch a lot of the shavings from threading.