temp guage

[mach2]

hey all

how easy is it to fit a tempreture guage to a standard 1098 engine?

thanks

[MarkyB]

About one and a half spanners.

What tools and experience do you have?

[mach2]

well my dads an engineer and i have been working on old cars since i was about 5 years old and i can get a hold of most tools

[bmcecosse]

5 minute job then ! Avoid the electric gauges.......

[mach2]

surely electric guages are more accurate? are they not?

[bmcecosse]

No.

[charlie_morris_minor]

be aware that if you buy the tim gauge, I seem to recall that the threaded nut around the sender would not screw in far enough in to the head to give a seal. So i had to make up a brass union that screwed into the head and allowed a good seal onto the sender .. but that was about 10 - 15 years ago so they might have changed the kit since i purchased mine.

[Neil MG]

It's a very good idea to fit that brass union in any case as it helps prevent the sender unit getting stuck in the head. Ask any MG (Midget, MGB, MGA) owner who has had to remove one!

[mike.perry]

No problems with my TIM gauge. I had my side valve head drilled and tapped to fit the standard thread and the TIM capillary gauge fitted perfectly.

[mach2]

So am i right in guessing that a TIM guage is a good buy?

[dalebrignall]

tim guage is fine i have 2 on the car .

[charlie_morris_minor]

all the TIM gauges i have ever fitted were fine.. i just wanted to point out a problem that i had when fitting one about 10 - 15 years ago...

[daveyl]

I have a TIM one. Easy to fit. Until recently I thought it wasn't very accurate (70deg when at norm temp). Of course bought a new thermostat recently and temp. is as it should be. Doh! Running 3 years like that.
I know it seems obvious but, the previous thermo. was new at the time. I just thought cheap gauge, can't be that good. Wrong.
Works fine. Look for one for MG perhaps, as they should have the correct fitment.

[bootlid]

i dont know what a tim guage is but i fitted a temp. guage on my morris 8,i just cut a hole in the top hose and pushed the sender unit in,it sealed with a rubber/brass device which worked very well,no leaks.

[mike.perry]

Tim is the make of gauge.
The places to fit them on a side valve engine are as low a possible in the rad header tank or on the later engines drill and tap the circular boss on the cylinder head near the distributor.
Electric gauges generally operate through a voltage stabiliser, only fitted to 1098 cars and need a matching gauge and sender.
Capillary gauges need to be handled with care to avoid breaking the tube