Oil Temp Gauge

[geekinavette]

Yep, that's it!

I dunno how much oil will come out when you take the plug out, I doubt that you'd need to drain the pan first. Just have the sending unit ready to stick in there as soon as you get the plug out.

Bill

 

[1981]

Thats great! I'm off to the store. The fan sending unit on the opposite side of the engine needs a new connector so I will be changing this also. It is brittle, all I did was look at it and it broke.

Thanks, I'll let you know how it all turns out.

1981

 

[Yoda]

1981:
How can I not have an Oil-Temp Sending Unit? Does this mean my engine is not a L81?

In 1981 the oil temp. gage was optional, and standard with the Electronic Radio. The radio had a clock so the analog quartz clock was replaced with the Oil Temp Gage

 

[DDLS3]

Only a small of oil will come out if you remove the plug. About the same amount as when you remove the oil filter.

 

[1981]

Any ideas on how to loosen this plug? It uses a (forgot the size allen wrench). It was installed before the engine was painted after rebuild. I can not get it to budge. Righty Tighty Lefty Loosey.

Man, this oil temp has really worked me over good, and still hitting me with problems!

1981

 

[geekinavette]

I would probably get me a hex adapter and a long-handle ratchet or handle. Those pipe threads can be pretty tough to break loose sometimes. Just make SURE you have a good bite on it before you put a lot of "oomph" behind it....don't wanna strip that hex hole out!

Good luck!

Bill

 

[1981]

After all my effort I have found I do not have the proper tools to get this Hex plug out. I have the Oil-Temp Sender and will pass by the local mech shop and have them remove the plug and install the sender. Thats pretty pitiful, but I figure they can do it in about 5 minutes with the proper breaker bar.

I can not tell you what it has meant to me to have all of you support me through this Oil-Temp problem. After the shop installs it, my Vette will be that much user friendly again. Thanks,
I will update you after I get it installed.

1981

 

[geekinavette]

Well it's better to be safe than sorry, that's for sure! Let us know how it goes.

Bill

 

[1981]

Monday I had a local mechanic shop break the plug loose and install the Oil-Temp Sending Unit. But the Unit was too big for the hole. Come to find out it looks more like the Engine-Temp Sending Unit than the Oil-Temp. Well, this took me on a journey to find the correct part. AutoZone, PepBoys, O'Riellys, Performance Shops (won't even bother with these shops again, looks like they are only selling to the "Fast and Furious" crowd. Told me they could not even cross reference the part for me, let alone order it)

So I ended up calling my local Chevrolet dealer, who has told me when I called last week for a compression check, "we do not work on older corvettes." Well, they don't even work on their newer ones either, everyone I talked to at the Corvette show this weekend told me they bought their car there, but would never take it there for repairs. Is this normal, or is this dealership pretty poor when it comes to mech work? I have a friend that told me he does not take his 2002 truck there either. Well to make a long story long, I showed up at their parts department since the guy on the phone could not understand what I was talking about. We both looked through their parts computer and found this part:

Oil temp sending unit
25036292 w/ stereo, C.B.

I know the Oil-Temp Gauge was an option when the radio supplied the time (the clock was replaced with the Oil Guage).

But every parts store I visited could not bring this part up. "Oil-Temp gauge! What do you need to know the oil-temp for?" Well, because my car has one and I need to install the correct sending unit. I have the money, you sell me the part.

So here is my new problem, the part comes in Wednesday at the dealership, (I am very wary that this will be the correct part) has anyone ever replaced or has anyone ever seen this actual part? My engine was rebuilt and a plug put into its place. I have to rationalize there was a reason for this. Does this sending unit inhibit the flow of oil near the oil filter?

This part looks like it is hard to come by, should I buy the only two they can locate? So that when this one breaks I can replace it in years to come?

As reference, the Engine-Temp Sending Unit has a 1" size thread, the Oil-Temp Sending Unit looks like it is 1/2".

Thanks for the knowledge,
1981

 

[DDLS3]

1981,

I'm pretty confident that this is the one, but I'll take a look at mine later on and post for you. Take a look at this one http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=20117&dept_id=1309

 

[DDLS3]

1981

I looked at my oil temp sender awhile ago and it is a fair amount smaller than the water temp sender in the head. So it sounds like you have the right one coming.

 

[1981]

That looks great, and may be the one also. Every oil-temp sensor I have been able to hold in my hands at the parts stores have threads going all the way from the temperature probe to the nut. Their thread sizes are about 1". But this one at Eckler's sits out about an inch which looks as if it would fit perfectly right over the oil filter. I wish I knew what size the threads were on the Eckler's one. From what I have learned so far, the plug from my oil-temp sensor hole has threads which are about 1/2". So the oil-temp sensor needs to have 1/2" threads.

The price for the oil-temp sensor from Chevrolet is $31.00 +tax I am sure. It should be in tommorrow, which would be nice. Since the plug has been broken free already I can put this in myself. Send me a pic if you can get it, if not, when I install the one I get I will then take it out and take a pic of it. This will give anyone else who has trouble finding one a reference to look at. And hopefully a correct part number through Chevrolet.

You all have been lots of help and a lot of fun with this problem,
Thanks,
1981

 

[1981]

Received the new Oil-Temp Sensor from my local Chevrolet parts department and it is the correct part. I took some pictures of it out of the box and installed. I will be posting them as soon as I get done with some of my "honey do's". It works great, the gauge finally works! I will also write up a how to replace this part for if anyone has this or another Oil-Temp Sensor problem in the future. Pretty basic all the way around, but I would have loved to know a couple of things before hand.

Thanks to everyone who helped out.

1981

 

[geekinavette]

Bill

 

[Dave L.]

1981- That is a sharp looking car you have there!! After reading this post I am glad you got your guage problem solved.

Dave

 

[1981]

Thanks, I am currently in the process of taking good under carage pictures since the car was off- frame restored and powder coated, everything under the body is brand new. Exhaust, front/rear suspension, SS brakes with new lines, steering, a lot of new engine bay components, bearings/bushings/seals/struts/arms/everything. Engine rebuilt, trans rebuilt. I do drive this car as much as I can, ("Honey we need some bread" and I am out the door). I enjoy this car too much. So I try to keep the under carage components clean. I believe the exhaust and rear suspension are the most prominent feature of this style corvette from the rear. The paint and the interior do need work, but all in all the interior only needs new carpet which I want simply because I hate old carpet (20 years of filth and grime). The paint will come along in about 2-3 years. And I need glass T-tops! The fiber T-tops are nice, but glass is much more like this style car. My budget for projects has dwindled down to hardly nothing, but my next project will be to incorporate the bigger speedo.

By the way, I really know nothing about the type of tires on my car right now, except my type tire is no longer made. I have Goodyear Eagle GT +4 tires. Each tire is practically brand new. I would hate to be burning up 4 really good tires I can not buy anywhere else. So I stopped by Goodyear the other day and found some GT II tires. Are these the only high performance type tires out there right now for the C3?


I am still working on documenting the Oil-Temp sensor.

1981

 

[GerryLP]

DDL-81, 1981, geek, and rare

I noticed that my Hi Performance short block has the threaded port for the oil temp sending unit, but it is "blocked" by something. It looks like part of the block casting. I cannot notice any slots or wrench flats in it. However, the hole is threaded.

I compared the hole with my stock L81 short block, and the hole is in the same location as my stock block. The hole in the stock block access the oil filter connection. I guess it senses the oil temperature after filtering??? Does anyone know??? :confused

 

[geekinavette]

No idea Gerry, sorry.

Bill

 

[1981]

I will be posting pictures of the installation of my oil-temp sensor soon. It installed into a small 1/2" hole right above the oil filter. My engine was rebuilt approx. 2 years ago and the hole was plugged rather than re-installing the oil-temp sensor. Go figure, because all I did was re-install one and everything works. I did have to replace the brittle connector, but that was not a problem either.

1981

 

[DDLS3]

GerryLp,

Given the sensor location on the filter housing I would say the temp is read pre-filter. Even so, pre-filter or after filter the temperature should be very close to the same.