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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Engine Temperature

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Engine Temperature -- page: 1 2     Old Henry 11-10-2012 @ 8:35 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 738 Joined: Apr 2010 What I don't do is drive with a button shirt on. Had a close call shortly after restoring my car and installing the suicide knob. Driving along a dark country road. Road bent to the right. Pulled the knob around to follow the bend and it caught in my shirt. (Yeah, my belly's a LOT closer to the steering wheel now that when I was in high school.) Car coming the other way. I was headed STRAIGHT FOR HIM!! Got the knob out of my shirt just in time to avoid a head on collision. Now I only drive with a golf shirt, turtle neck, zipped up jacket, or, most of the time, just slip my tuxedo cumber bun on to cover my buttons. Someday, if my belly ever gets further from the steering wheel (yeah, like that's ever going to happen) I can drive again with just a button shirt on. Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) Stroker 11-10-2012 @ 3:46 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Ol: I was in High School in the 50's in SoCal, so we associated "necker knobs, spinner knobs, suicide knobs" etc. with the generation before us. We lived in the boonies, and lot's of folks had these on their tractors. Had a neighbor (I dated his daughter), who had one on his daily-driver Model A. One time, he hit a curb, and the spinner knob badly bruised his hand. Ultimately, he had this big lump, that became malignant, and he died. Now, not being superstitious or anything, you couldn't run fast enough to chase me down with a spinner knob. We had one on our 8N Ford, and after the above incident, I took it off. Today, lots-O-heavy equipment stuff like wheel loaders, tool carriers etc. have spinner knobs. They also have power steering. Henry, don't hit curbs! Old Henry 11-10-2012 @ 1:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 738 Joined: Apr 2010 Oh yeah. This is the very car I learned to drive in and dated in during high school (60's). I only knew it as a suicide knob. I didn't learn the necker knob name until recently. Too bad. I may have found more uses for it in high school, had I known. Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 11-10-12 @ 1:25 PM Stroker 11-10-2012 @ 9:24 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 A "NECKER KNOB" !!!!! You're not THAT old Henry. Old Henry 11-10-2012 @ 9:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 738 Joined: Apr 2010 Here's the illustrated description of how I installed the mechanical gauge in the glove box to tell me the temperature of the left side of the engine: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88541 Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) jimmott29 10-30-2012 @ 7:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 15 Joined: Jun 2012 Thanks for the advise & complement. Jim TomO 10-29-2012 @ 4:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7385 Joined: Oct 2009 The sending unit needs a good ground in order to give accurate readings. Remove the sending unit from the head and clean the threads in the head and the unit. Re-install without using any sealant, just a little grease to prevent galling the threads. Your 39 Merc is a jewel. Tom 51f1 10-29-2012 @ 6:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 As long as you know where "Normal" and "Hot" are on the gauge, I don't think the exact temperate is all that important. It's easy to determine what your normal temperature is with a thermometer and to relate that to the pointer position on the gauge. And when the gauge reads "Hot," it's HOT! And if you don't like the way it reads, try a small resistor in series with the wiring to the gauge. Richard This message was edited by 51f1 on 10-30-12 @ 10:45 AM Old Henry 10-28-2012 @ 6:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 738 Joined: Apr 2010 jimmott29: "I'm beginning to think that the right thing to do is to install a new digital gauge so I can tell what the actual temperature is." I've had that same thought. My idea is to keep everything original just as it is and install a modern mechanical gauge sender in the spare unused port on the left head and put the gauge in the glove box where I can take a peak at it if I want to without it destroying my original interior. It's an idea. May still do that some day. Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 10-28-12 @ 6:43 PM 51f1 10-28-2012 @ 9:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 The temperature of the metal block is not important as long as the water temperature is normal. Those old temperature gauges are not accurate. They just let you know if the coolant is hot or cold. When the dash gauge in my '51 F-1 reads one mark above the middle mark, the water temperature coming into the radiator is actually about 160 degrees. At 160 degrees, the gauge should probably be reading in the middle of its range. Before I restored my truck, I had to put a low ohm resistor in series with the wire from the sender to get a reading in the middle of the gauge, otherwise it always read hot even though the water temperature was 160. If you want to check the temperature of the water coming into the radiator, put a candy thermometer into the water in the upper radiator tank. It should read about whatever temperature your thermostat is rated for. Another thought: If you are using a thermostat above 160 degrees, the gauge is going to read above the middle (normal) and closer to hot. Richard This message was edited by 51f1 on 10-28-12 @ 9:22 AM

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