Temperature gauge

[Doug G]

There is no gauge in my Mini Moke.

There is however a temperature transmitter thingy sticking out of the engine block.



Should I get a new one of them?

What else do I need to get (apart from the gauge naturally)?

Any recommendations for temperature gauges?

[Robin Jones]

My personal preference is for a capillary gauge instead of the electrical ones.
If you're going with the electrical one, bear in mind that the gauge needs to get power from the voltage stabilizer on the back of the speedometer. And the gauge and sender have to be compatible. In the Mini world (that Mokes are based on) mixing and matching these components have resulted in all sorts of drama.

From my own experience on my last Mini; the previous owner said that the gauge and sender were a "matched set purchased from a reliable Mini supplier". Well, according to that gauge, once hooked up, my car was overheating.... Changed the radiator to one of the fancy two core units, tried watter wetter, plumbed the heater tap to the upper radiator hose, added an auxillary radiator (heater matrix) and an electric fan pulling through the wheel well...
Finally, I heeded the advice from a decent mechanic and actually checked the temperature in the radiator compared to the gauge. Found out that when that gauge was reading in the red, I was running at 185deg.

Got rid of most of that stuff and plumbed in the capillary gauge. I did leave the electric fan so, if I sat in traffic on a hot day, I could just flip a switch if the temp climbed above 200 and it would come right back down.

[Doug G]

Does the capillary gauge 'sender' screw into the engine block at the point where the existing electrical 'plug' goes?

[Robin Jones]

Doug,
I think you need something like this:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Temp-Gaug ... ,7197.html
But, it's been a long time since I installed one.... My forgetory is much more reliable than my memory.....

[Willie_B]

http://www.minimania.com/part/11K2846/A ... ge-Adapter

[Doug G]

Thanks.

Now I know (or think I do) what I am looking for.

[janz]

Doug, if you're not too worried about having a Smiths gauge (bloomin expensive) TIM do them at about £24 on Fleabay. It comes with the 5/8 UNF adapter. That screws into the drilling in the thermostat housing and the capillary bulb fits into that. Use some PTFE tape on both (sparingly). Word of advice - keep the excess coiled quite losely up by the bulk head with slack to the sender bulb. Vibration and pulling can make compromise the fitting and the gas can escape. Happened to me when I decided to store the excess behind the binnacle. No gauge! Called Time Instruments - they sent me a replacement FOC even though I didn't even have to supply proof of purchase through Ebay - what service - top stuff award to TIM!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIM-52MM-MECH ... 45fa2ad9bc

See my other posts and discusions with Wally2 on this

[Doug G]

Doug, if you're not too worried about having a Smiths gauge (bloomin expensive) TIM do them at about £24 on Fleabay. It comes with the 5/8 UNF adapter. That screws into the drilling in the thermostat housing and the capillary bulb fits into that. Use some PTFE tape on both (sparingly). Word of advice - keep the excess coiled quite losely up by the bulk head with slack to the sender bulb. Vibration and pulling can make compromise the fitting and the gas can escape. Happened to me when I decided to store the excess behind the binnacle. No gauge! Called Time Instruments - they sent me a replacement FOC even though I didn't even have to supply proof of purchase through Ebay - what service - top stuff award to TIM!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIM-52MM-MECH ... 45fa2ad9bc

See my other posts and discusions with Wally2 on this

Thanks for that information.

I shall look at the other posts and discussions you had with Wally2 on this and then make a final decision.