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Has anyone installed the VDO oil temperature sensor sold by vwparts.aircooled.net? It replaces the oil drain plug. If so, did you have a dash temperature gauge to hook up to? Where did you get the gauge? Is this reliable?
What do the rest of you do for oil temp?
Installing oil temp gauge and sender was one of the first mods I made to mine. I chose to put a “T” in where the oil pressure switch was located and install both an oil temp and oil pressure gauges.
Reliable? Mine tracks very well with my hand held infra red thermometer.Get it at the cheapest place you trust. VDO is VDOI have an old-school VDO temp gauge that uses a special dipstick as the sending unit. Like the one on the drain plug, it measures the oil temp in the sump – which should be the coolest location. I’ve tried sensors in three locations over the years — each location has pros and cons:
1. Oil drain plug — gives a good reading of temp in the oil sump, but can be a challenge in routine maintenance. Routing and supporting the wire so that it doesn’t get worn or contact the hot exhaust can also be a challenge. I suggest you get in the habit of removing the six small bolts and the round plate to drain the oil, rather than removing the sensor each time. This allows you to also check and clean the oil screen each oil change, rather than VWs recommended every other time. It also keeps you from damaging that expensive sending unit…2. On a T-fitting at the existing oil pressure sender location, as Roy describes. This measures the oil temp after ihe oil has been sucked up from the sump and gone through the oil pump, so temp readings are typically a little higher there. It has the advantage of being in a protected location that is easily wired up, in comparison to the oil drain location. I personally prefer to use a T-fitting there that uses the original sensor for the oil pressure idiot light and the sensor for an oil pressure gauge. The oil pressure gauge can provide more insight into what’s going on, but the idiot light will often get your attention quicker should there be a problem. I like having both…3. A special dipstick with the sensor built in, like mine currently has. This one also reads the temp in the sump, and is easily wired. However, you have to leave a short coil of wire that lets you remove the dipstick to check the oil, so it doesn’t look as neat and tidy as the other installations. These are no longer available new, as far as I know, and can be hard to find… I’m glad mine had one when I bought it.Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Actually there is one more option. If you want to have oil pressure, oil temperature and also an idiot light, there is a special sender that combines the pressure and an idiot light into one sender for about $40. Then with a “T” you could add oil temperature. This would give you 3 indicators of what’s going on with your oil and could be considered overkill that is only be recommended for pilots of commercial airliners. Cip1 sells these special senders as do others. Royal2013-09-22 11:30:53
I have my oil temp sensor in the oil pressure relief valve plug. It’s made for a stock oil pressure relief valve and replaces the plug that gets the screwdriver slot stripped out most of the time. But like Kent says its a challenge routing the lead. But once routed and hooked up you don’t have to remove it until next engine rebuild.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack
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