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oil temp gauge

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mox3772 Casual Dubber

29 posts · joined Apr 2003 ·

#46451
Just taken my 1975 kombi in for a service and the bloke reckons i should get an oil temp gauge fitted as I am leaving broome and heading north he quoted me $150 to do it. do I need to or will I be ok without it??? cant really afford $150 being a tight arse backpacker but then I might regret it later? thanx

Tnate Seriously Crusin Dubber

109 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#46455
Just remember, doing it yourself always saves money. That's where we come into it!

Go to your local auto parts supplier (Repco, Burson, Super Cheap) and ask for a VDO sender and VDO Gauge. From memory, the gauge cost $55 and the sender cost $11 (screws into the sump plug hole). Buy a good length of wire (about 6 meters) and wire the thing yourself. Total cost will be about $70.

Sender: 320.007
Gauge: 310 010 015

I cant stress how important a good gauge set up is, especially for long hot drives. What you need it for is really for noticing temp variations. If you drive around town, and your max temp is about 100C, but then one day it rises dramatically, you know something is awry.
Hope this helps

Cheers
Tnate

kombikim disfunctionally capable

1,521 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#46460
If I was in Broome I would get it done for me at $150, no holes to drill, oil to spill & no mistakes to make

Purple Martin Fahrvergnugen

913 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#46476
Get a dipstick sensor: they're accurate and they can't get knocked off by rocks like the sump plug ones can.

And yes, it's worth spending the money so you don't cook the kombi. When the time comes to sell it (I'm assuming you'll sell it at then end of your backpacking) just bump up the price by $150 and you've got your money back!
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper

kombikim disfunctionally capable

1,521 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#46480
problem is - as far as shopping around- he is in Broome & leaving soon🙁

mox3772 Casual Dubber

29 posts · joined Apr 2003 ·

#46498
ok cheers guys i think ill get it done for me i spoke to the bloke he said it was the dipstick type but when i asked him the price again he said $150 for parts and another $50 for fitting but I suppose its not to bad. cheers

lugnuts Custom Title Time!

1,070 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#46810
Please someone correct me if im wrong but doesnt a dipstick just replace the old one and is like 35sec to plug a wire into the oil pr sender,methinks to ask for a second opinion would be a wise move.:o

vw54 Administrator Always Waiting 4 Friday

16,723 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#46827
Think of it this way would you rather spend $150 or sit on the side of the road with a blown motor or have to leave the car there ... and when you get back half of its gone.

Or the other alternative... getting it towed to a town then havin to spend proberly 3 to 4K on a new engine

$150 is pretty good to me.
I read it on FACEBOOK so it must be true


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=91278&page=1#pid848630


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=63561&page=1#pid624099


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=4832&page=1#pid452603


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=60650&page=1#pid574409

Purple Martin Fahrvergnugen

913 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#46845
lugnuts wrote:Please someone correct me if im wrong but doesnt a dipstick just replace the old one and is like 35sec to plug a wire into the oil pr sender,methinks to ask for a second opinion would be a wise move.:o
Yeah like you said the dipstick is really easy - but the new guage still needs fitting in the dash: drilling a hole and wiring it up. OK so that's not exactly difficult but it'll take half an hour.
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper

kombikim disfunctionally capable

1,521 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#46847
lugnuts wrote:Please someone correct me if im wrong but doesnt a dipstick just replace the old one and is like 35sec to plug a wire into the oil pr sender,methinks to ask for a second opinion would be a wise move.:o
thats correct if fitted to the warning light,
but this is fitted to a temp guage as originally stated

aussiebug Officially Full-On Dubber

246 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#46909
Yeah like you said the dipstick is really easy - but the new guage still needs fitting in the dash: drilling a hole and wiring it up. OK so that's not exactly difficult but it'll take half an hour.
The dipstick sender does NOT use a guage - it's attached to the wire from the oil pressure sender and when the oil temp runs over about 225f, it starts blinking the oil light on the dash. Then as the temp continues to climb (meaning the driver has ignored the blinking light), it comes on steady that's about 235f.

There are NO extra wires running forward to the dash.

So it's the simplest of installations - just put the thing down the hole and join the wire to the existing oil pressure sender wire (which still stays connected to the oil pressure sender too).

The driving technique is simple - if the oil light starts to blink, you slow down a little to unload the engine, or if climbing a hill you change down a gear to increase the fan speed, and if the light goes out - you've got the temp back to normal, or if the light comes on steady, either the oil temp is still climbing and the engine needs a rest, or the oil pressure has dropped and you need to stop and investigate anyway.

Quoting $50 for installation of this sender is daylight robbery.

[Edited on 13-5-2003 by aussiebug]
Rob
Rob and Dave's aircooled VW pages
Repairs and maintenance for the home mechanic
http://www.vw-resource.com

Newbie Seriously Crusin Dubber

115 posts · joined Jan 2003 ·

#46967
Im sorry if this has been answered b4...... where can i buy a dipstick sender from???... (the one which goes to the warning light)... i know you can get them from online shops in america, but surely places sell them in QLD... any ideas???
Thanks

vw54 Administrator Always Waiting 4 Friday

16,723 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#47032
Yes where do you purchase a DIPSTICK oil warning temp light as i wouldnt mind one myself

Have not seen any on sale in Sydney.... anyone know wher eyou can buy one.
I read it on FACEBOOK so it must be true


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=91278&page=1#pid848630


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=63561&page=1#pid624099


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=4832&page=1#pid452603


http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=60650&page=1#pid574409

lugnuts Custom Title Time!

1,070 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#47051
Hiya, now im confused,so the dipstick sender type can be a gauge or warning light? Sounds like this is a good time to organize a group buy!😀

manxed69 Officially Full-On Dubber

211 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#47089
My buggy had a dip stick sender that worked with a seperate guage (VDO). I replaced it with a screw in type for three reasons.

1. The seal on the dip stick sender in my opinion is inadequate. The original dip stick uses a cup over the dip stick tube, the dip stick sender is flat with a big felt washer. This is bad for a buggy, but a protected engine may be OK.

2. Every time you check the oil you have to remove the wires from the sender. What a pain in the bum.

3. If you use the sender for oil measurement you need to make sure that you set it up correctly and that the setting does not change if the grub screw decides to comes loose.

Because for this I decided to have a mechanic drill and tap the case for a fixed VDO sender and use the original dip stick.


I have never heard of a dip stick oil warning type before, but it does sound like a good idea if the dip stick sender is the way you want to go. Sounds very easy to install.

Jeza Officially Full-On Dubber

353 posts · joined Jan 2003 ·

#47205
I've got one of the Gene Berg dipstick oil temp senders, which you can attach to your current oil pressure warning light as Aussiebug described above. I decided to run another wire and attached it to a new warning light, either way it works as above...

The biggest pain with it is that you have to be careful not to damage the mechanism when you are checking the oil level, and like Manxed69 mentioned the dipstick then has a wire attached, in my case permanently. I have been thinking about changing this wire to the super flexible silicon (high temp) stuff (Dick Smith/ Jaycar should do this) to make it easier to handle. Probably not to much trouble to also carry the normal dipstick for making measures and fitting the temp sender dipstick for driving.

Otherwise all I can say is that I've never had my car hot enough to turn it on... which is a good thing. It gives me piece of mind that the car isn't cooking itself.

And mine does have a little plastic cup cover on the dipstick where it fits the in the pipe, to keep crap etc out.

This would be the easiest and cheapest way to go, mine cost about NZ $70 ish

Cheers
Jeremy
......random gibberish for today.......

Purple Martin Fahrvergnugen

913 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#47216
aussiebug wrote:The dipstick sender does NOT use a guage
Mine does! It's a VDO dipstick sender, and a VDO oil temp guage mounted in the dash where a clock would be.
manxed69 wrote:1. The seal on the dip stick sender in my opinion is inadequate. The original dip stick uses a cup over the dip stick tube, the dip stick sender is flat with a big felt washer. This is bad for a buggy, but a protected engine may be OK.
The felt washer on my Kombi's dipstick doesn't leak any oil (the washer isn't oily at all) but I can understand why you'd want a better seal on an engine that's open to the mud and rain.
manxed69 wrote:2. Every time you check the oil you have to remove the wires from the sender. What a pain in the bum.
The wires on mine have enough slack that I don't have to unplug them to pull the dipstick out.
manxed69 wrote:3. If you use the sender for oil measurement you need to make sure that you set it up correctly and that the setting does not change if the grub screw decides to comes loose.
Thankfully I've never experienced this problem.
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#47417
Hi

I think the the dipstick senders are bit tizzy and easily unpluged or stuffed by hamfisted people checking the oil, i think that they are also round so its hard to get an acurate oil level because the dipstick acts like a piston and pushes the oil away unlike the 1/2 circle factory dipstick.

I feel its better to use the conventional VDO sender, in the blank off plug if you have a universal case or drill & tap the oil pressure relief valve plug near the oil pump or if your motor is apart, drill & tap the case for the sender.

The only other fault I can see using the Berg type that flashes the oil light is that in my opinion if you see the oil light come on you should stop, with temp sensing dipstick you might just slow down a bit to cool the motor down thinking you have an oil temp problem, where in actual fact you have an oil pressure problem, 2 diffrent problems that need diffrent actions from the driver.

1302Steve

bug eyed Commited Dubber

73 posts · joined Apr 2003 ·

#57207
i have had the sender that replaces the screw in the oil pressure releif valve. no wires to worry about when changing oil
no chance of being disconnected no wiring all over or under the place,

used this for 10 years never a problem it's set and forget