A question about changing aftermarket sending units...

[Dante04SRT]

Im thinking I may have a bad sending unit for my coolant temp gauge. The current sending unit is in the engine block, taking the place of the drivers side block plug.

If I pull the current plug/sender and let the block drain into a clean bucket, will just the engine block drain or will I be draining my entire cooling system?

2nd - My other option is to just get another thread adapter for my block and pull the old plug out and swap a new plug in VERY QUICKLY. I realize I'll lose some coolant, but as long as it's not more than 1/2 gallon, I can refill it with some leftover I had from the ELC Swap. That being said, if I go that route, white size adapter do I need for a temp sender going into the engine block?

[a2elvis]

Holy cow seems like a lot of work for coolant temp. Wouldnt a ScanGuage do the same thing without all the headache?

[Dante04SRT]

Originally Posted by a2elvis

Holy cow seems like a lot of work for coolant temp. Wouldnt a ScanGuage do the same thing without all the headache?

Possibly, but I've already got the gauges installed and all the wires run, so I've just gotta bite the bullet.

[a2elvis]

Well dangit alright well if you pull the block plug its going to drain most of the coolant, just save it and reuse it if you can. Kinda a weird place to have a coolant temp sensor... Good Luck

[Dante04SRT]

Do u think it will drain the entire system or just the block?

[War Eagle B]

Originally Posted by Dante04SRT

Do u think it will drain the entire system or just the block?

I think it will drain everything down to the level of that plug. Park facing downhill and not as much will come out. Best bet is to use something clean to catch the coolant and just put it back in when you are finished.

[07OUTLAW]

I have my sender in the same location. When I intalled it I did the "remove the plug and reinstall adapter/sender really f'n quick" method. It took over a gallon of 50/50 mixed coolant/water to get the level back to where it was, and I was absolutely SOAKED in coolant.

SO, I wouldn't suggest using that method, haha. Just drain it into a clean bucket

[Dante04SRT]

Originally Posted by 07OUTLAW

I have my sender in the same location. When I intalled it I did the "remove the plug and reinstall adapter/sender really f'n quick" method. It took over a gallon of 50/50 mixed coolant/water to get the level back to where it was, and I was absolutely SOAKED in coolant.

SO, I wouldn't suggest using that method, haha. Just drain it into a clean bucket

LOL! I don't want to go through that method, but I'm thinking it may be my only option - As far as clean buckets go, I've just got the tall 5 gallon ones that won't fit under the truck.

[07OUTLAW]

go to walmart or a similar store and look at those rubbermaid tote's (the big blue ones)

you could prob find one thats 4-5 gallon capacity, yet pretty low profile

[Dante04SRT]

After work I picked up another gallon of ELC to make sure I could replace what spilled. I was going to get a low profile bucket but realized that the drain was positioned so perfect that the fluid was going to spill all over the link bars/trailing arms and my front driveline (Thus making the fluid unusable).

Anyhoo - I let the engine cool and I swapped the sending units out really quick. I wound up losing MAYBE a quart, but it was probably more like a pint. I had the new plug/sender ready to go in my right hand and I unscrewed the old one with my left. Got a nice taste of Zerex ELC, but other than that, it went smooth.