It was Permatex thread sealant - high temp.  Doesn’t require much and give
about 4 hrs min of drying time.  The stuff works well.

BT

On Friday, June 25, 2021, Richard Koller <brvkoller@gmail.com> wrote:

> HI Bruce,
> I'm going to be doing the same project soon, which specific thread sealer
> did you use?
> Thanks
> Rick Koller
> '90 syncro westy ( needs some TLC)
>
> On Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 11:26 AM Bruce Todd <beeceetee@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Ok - so with some guidance from Dennis - I can update the list by stating
>> the digital oil temp gauge was pooched.  The good news is it comes with a
>> lifetime warranty.  The bad news is that the buyer paid postage will cost
>> about the same as a new gauge when sending it to Ohio.  Oh well - I
>> settled
>> on a VDO analog gauge for about the same price I bought the digital one
>> for
>> from Intellitronix.  When I removed the VDO gauge from the packaging I
>> could tell I had a better instrument - perhaps the weight - just felt and
>> looked well put together.  Plunked it into the gauge cluster after wiring
>> it to all the leads - and voila I now have readings!
>>
>> I bought the VDO gauge at Cal Imports and it being located about 30 km
>> from
>> me - I took the van on a good highway run on a relatively warm day.  I
>> have
>> to marvel again, by replacing the rockers and fuel injectors with the
>> Mansispeed products I am grinning from ear to ear - noticing a subtle
>> power
>> increase.  Not requiring to change gears as quickly when climbing inclines
>> and just having a little more power at my fingertips when driving highway
>> speeds.  I noticed this on both ends of the Alex Fraser bridge where there
>> are times I have to pop the van into third  - but not yesterday - steady
>> 3000 rpm in 4th and keeping up with the flow of traffic all the way.
>>
>> The cooling system is working well - I had it rechecked about 2 weeks ago
>> and everything is good - just the temp gauge is still reading a little
>> higher than what I am used to.  Could be the new aluminum t-stat housing -
>> not sure but the fan comes on when it should and things stayed steady
>> yesterday - needle didn't budge much when idling in traffic.
>>
>> Another small victory was that the oil dripping from the pressure hose
>> fittings for relocating the oil pressure switch has stopped. Thanks Dennis
>> for the tip on using a thread sealer - things are very dry again under the
>> butt of the van and on top of the case where oil was also seeping from the
>> oil pressure sender I had installed.
>>
>> OK - the kinks seem to finally be worked out and summer is here - so
>> hopefully (knock on wood or pat the dash 5 times), I will have few issues
>> to contend with and report during vacation season.  One last project is to
>> set up and try out the rear attaching add a room tent  I picked up last
>> fall from Bus Depot.
>>
>> Thanks for all the tips everyone.
>>
>> BT
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 8:53 AM Bruce Todd <beeceetee@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > So - I am having some issues getting an aftermarket digital oil temp
>> gauge
>> > to work.
>> >
>> > The sender connects to a threaded adaptor that replaces the oil
>> > relief plug - which I imagine many of you folks likely have in place on
>> > your beloved vans.  First question - if this is your set up, have you
>> had
>> > to ground the sender since the bottom of the block is aluminum?  When I
>> > jumper a ground to the sender the gauge reads -18C which equates to 0
>> > Fahrenheit...(I opted for Celcius over Fahrenheit).  Without the jumper
>> to
>> > the ground, the gauge reads full scale - 181C or 300 F.  Note - This is
>> > just with the ignition on without any temp being generated from the
>> motor.
>> >
>> > When I run the motor with the sender jumped to ground and the sender
>> wire
>> > attached to the gauge the gauge just stays on -18C and there is no
>> > fluctuation - so somewhere in this equation the resistance isn't
>> dropping
>> > as the oil temp rises....which is how I believe things work with temp
>> > gauges.
>> >
>> > If I drive the van without the sender grounded - the gauge at full scale
>> > (181C)  begins to slowly decrease as the motor warms up - but continues
>> to
>> > drop until it reaches -18C and then stays there - it doesn't set on a
>> > temperature.
>> >
>> > This gauge is from Intellitronix (M9108) and came with a sender.  I had
>> > originally installed a GW sender but then exchanged that earlier this
>> week
>> > thinking it might be the issue as it may not be matched correctly with
>> the
>> > gauge.
>> >
>> > When looking at GW (as a resource) they don't seem to mention grounding
>> > the sender - nor did the instructions I received for the gauge and
>> sender -
>> > however I imagine they typically sell these units to vehicles that don't
>> > have an aluminum cases and the sender grounds directly to the motor.
>> >
>> > Any thoughts appreciated as I am running out of ideas here.
>> >
>> >
>> > Bruce
>> >
>>
>