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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 9:26 am 
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2.3L Lima motor of unknown age. The sender/sensor is installed at the lowest point on the block,not the head...there's no place on the head to install it,(below the oil pressure fitting) The guage works when tested out of the block(pan of boiling water) When reinstalled in the block/fitting it will not work(register) unless you wiggle the sender/sensor very slightly and then it will..usually. Have tried a similar guage with exactly the same results. This seems so simple but I am at a loss as to what is causing the problem. There does not appear to be an air pocket, most likely cause, but,again this is installed at the lowest point on the engine. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 10:39 am 
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Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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First guess is that the sensor is intermittent.

Second guess is that the sensor body isn't being grounded to the block. Hold a grounded wire to the side of the sensor and see what the reading does. This only applies if the sensor is single wire. If it's two wire, you have an intermittent sensor, connector, or wiring.

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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 11:03 am 
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This is a mechanical guage, no electricty involved.


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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 11:14 am 
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There might be a crimp in the tube. If you can find it, you *might* be able to use pliers to gently squash it back into shape.


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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 1:07 pm 
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I can't think of any way that a mechanical gauge/sender can be sensitive to a wiggle. If they are installed anywhere, either they work or the diethyl ether has leaked out. They work on the pressure of the diethyl ether on one end and a bourdon tube on the gauge end.

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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 2:11 pm 
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87SaberSeven wrote:
This is a mechanical guage, no electricty involved.

Ugh, I'm an idiot. I agree with the others, it doesn't make sense that it works/doesn't work with a slight wiggle.

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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 5:30 pm 
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Nick,

what happened to you a year ago?

You asked for info about the Saber.

How about a few pics of the saber?

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Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
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360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
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McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12


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PostPosted: May 10, 2021, 7:45 pm 
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It dosen't make sense to me either..I just can't come up with a plausable explanation either but those are the facts. I don't think i should be able to wiggle the sensor bulb either. When i say wiggle it's a tiny, tiny amount. I dunno know.
I'll try and post some pics of the Saber Seven soon. Thanks for asking.


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PostPosted: May 11, 2021, 9:43 am 
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Top rear of the block is the normal location for the coolant temp sensor, below the oil pressure sensor port in the head on a "lima" 2300.

If it doesn’t register temp in the block, make sure the coolant system is completely full. Since the water neck is low and the radiator is usually lower than the head, a remote filler tank that pipes into a heater fitting on the head and located on the shelf behind the engine is needed. A VW jetta round tank with cap is about $20 on ebay but you need to make a support bracket. An inline filler in the upper hose may not be high enough because the neck is not the highest point.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12


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PostPosted: May 11, 2021, 6:04 pm 
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Yes, that's what I found with this installation(radiator lower that the highest point on the engine). Fabricated a different way to fill the system that is now the highest point in the cooling system. In the past you had to remove the nose to fill it..no more. and I do have a coolant recovery tank mounted on the firewall., also on the same level as the top of new filling system.
Yes, I thought about an air pocket but every time I've pulled the sensor out I've gotten coolant.
This is a new one on me and I've was in "the business" for 35+ years starting in the back so not exactly a newbee.
Just baffeling.
Nick


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PostPosted: May 12, 2021, 8:13 am 
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Put the old gauges on the shelf and buy a cheapo $10 temp gauge (mech or elec if sensor included) on ebay to try. Inflation has officially hit the name brand gauges. You know if any wiggling of the tube at the fitting changes the indication, it’s bad. Does this have an electric cooling fan? Where is that sensor or is it just a manual toggle?

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12


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PostPosted: May 12, 2021, 2:11 pm 
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Posts: 14
It may come to that but I hope not. I'd like to maintain the "look" that the present gauges have in the dash.
The car does have electric fans that are on a toggle switch.
I wouldn't feel so incompetent if this were a really complicated problem but it seems so straight forward. Bulb sensor, capillary tube, guage. What could go wrong. Little did I know.
Nick


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