Oil temp pick-up

D

ddewhurst

New member
Question for ya folks. On a 1st gen 1985 RX-7 OEM oil pan is there a best place to install the Auto-Meter cap tube oil temp pick-up in the oil pan ?

Or are there reasons to not install the oil temp pick-up in the oil pan ?

Thanks
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David
 
Not in the pan please! You will only know how good your cooler is working if you read the oil temp as it leaves the cooler. Somewhere after the cooler before the engine. Or you could do as I do and put the sender in to the cooler plug that covers the t/stat that you did remove and plug, right? Just make sure the oil is routed to pass the sender on the way out of the cooler. Not on the way in! The oil in the pan is going to be the hotest in the engine as its just been used by the engine to lube AND cool. Atleast thats the way a V-8 works. All others should be the same. Bottom line is the oil pan is last on the short list.YOU need to always know how well the cooler is working.

[This message has been edited by Dick Elliott (edited May 29, 2004).]
 
Heres some more. Go to RX-7 club.com, then race car tech, then do a "oil cooler" search, then go to the posting oil cooler mounting by ztwister. Its near the top of page 1. Will tell you all you ever need to know about single and dual oil cooler mounting and why or why not to use one or the other.
 
Agreed that oil temperature going to the bearings is important. Too hot or too cold is equally bad.

On the other hand, having the temp sensor in the pan does give you a very good warning of a problem since the pan temps will go up very quickly if a bearing starts to go bad, but before you loose pressure or do serious damage. Most of the prod guys I run with have the sensor in the pan. If I could, I would install both and use the pan temp as a primary gauge to watch during the session, and use bearing supply temp as a secondary gauge.



[This message has been edited by Greg Gauper (edited May 29, 2004).]
 
I used the Racing Beat adapter (reference the link in the previous post) and connected a temp gauge to that port. I have had no problems with oil leaks at the adapter or with the capillary tube going to the gauge.
(having said that I will now dump 5 qts on the ground when I take it off the trailer tomorrow).
 
my block I got from sevensonly.com has 2 ports for temp and pressure, cant remember how much it cost.
 
I got mine from Mazdatrix several years ago. Now it is $48.31. Won't work if you're using the 83-85 style oil-to-water cooler mounted under the oil filter.
 
Another way of looking at oil temp----With the sensor in the pan---you get a worst case(hottest point)----you can also immediately see the difference between running in tight traffic (higher oil temp) or high revs----short shifting will immediately show up as lower temp in the pan----the key is staying below the temp where the oil starts to break down(most say this is 235-250-----temp in the pan shows this----with a pick-up after the oil cooler an efficient cooler could mask excessive oil temp in the engine.---If it is 180-220 in the pan you can be sure that the engine is "seeing" much cooler oil from the oil cooler.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I always appreciate experienced competition proven support. She went in the pan last night. This morning I SHALL screw the he into her.

Lesley don't read this.

Have Fun
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David
 
While searching this forum on oil cooling I came across a post recommending removal of the thermostat from the air/oil cooler. With the arrival of the high summer temps I'm trying to get as much cooling, both water and oil, as I can. Can anyone give me some quantifiable results from this mod?

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Mark Jeffery
IT7 #92 '85 RX7
MiDiv - Arkansas Region
 
This is a very easy to do mod that the factory says to do. Just remove the stat and thread the hole and plug it with an allen bolt. You must plug the hole or the oil will bypass the cooler. How much does it help? It does form a restriction in the cooler and is just one more thing to fail. Only a back to back test would tell if it cools better. Go to RX-7club.com / then race cars / then look at the very long posting about oil coolers / both single and dual. I raced a factory backed rex in the 80s and this was a factory mod. I'm in nw AR. E mail me at [email protected] if you need nore info. I ran both IT and GT with a rex. Hope this helps you.
DICK
 
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