Oil Temp Probe in Drain Plug ??

[kitcarbp]

(see updated solution in my last thread) To make life easier and as a temporary fittment during my start-up and development, I want to use the oil pan drain plug on my 460 (14mm thread) and drill it. tap it etc. to accept a threaded oil temp probe.

My question here is what oil temp probes (brands.sizes) will be small enough to be able insert into the center of this rather small drain plug ? It seems I really cant go beyond 0.25" diameter for the temp probe and most aftermarket gauges have temp probe diameters bigger than 0.25"

Do I need to just get a Fluke meter thermocouple thermistor wire and use my fluke meter to measure the temps by gluing it into a small drilled hole in the drain plug or what other solutions have you found ?. I dont want to pull the pan and install a bung just for the oil temp probe.

Thanks

[madmaxx]

Are you looking for a continuous readout? If not take some black shoe polish and make a black circle on the oil pan, near the bottom. Buy yourself a $35 infered gun set the emmisisvity to 1 (probably a default setting) and shoot the temp on the black spot.

Option 2 buy yourself a multimeter at sears that accepts the optional K type thermocouple and tape the thermocouple leads to the side of the oil pan

[kitcarbp]

I have solved my oil pan temp sensor mounting dilema economically. I will post pics soon. My set up is a 460 Ford Racing Crate engine that uses a 14mm x .5 metric pan drain plug. The Ford drain plug uses a 13mm hex head however which was too small so I cross referenced a metric drain plug from... ahhhhhh ... this is hard to say.......... a Honda. The *onda plug has a larger hex to allow me to mill and tap a hole for a the 1/8 NPT threaded oil temp sensor. Sensor tip will extend a few mm into the sump giving me good oil temp reading. Drain plug was 3 bucks and the time spent with my Dad on his small desk-top lathe was "priceless". I will post photos when I get a chance.

[kitcarbp]

Here is what I did to get an oil temp reading in the sump of my 460 crate engine that uses a 14mm x 0.5 thread metric drain plug, yours may vary.

I wanted to avoid removing the sump pan and installing a dedicated weld-in bung which was way too much work since the motor is complete and in the chassis.
I had to use a *onda drain plug (it uses a larger hex head) and uses an aluminum sealing washer.
My "el-cheapo off-shore" electric oil temp gauge came with a 1/8 NPT- 27 sensor, just the right size for installing it into most drain plugs.
I drilled it (using a lathe) and tapped the 14mm drain plug such that the sensor tip extends past the end of the drain plug about 3mm. Used telfon thread sealant paste to seal the sensor to the tapped drain plug and installed using the AL sealing washer.
Low cost effective and easy solution. CAUTION this solution is only used to monitor the oil temps during my intial fire-up and test/tune sessions. The sensor would get ripped out/damaged from the first big pot-hole if left in for everyday use due to inadequate ground clearance.

Later, once I add an oil cooler, I can relocate the sensor into the oil cooler circuit if needed where the sensor is safely up inside the chassis rails.