I obtained an Oil Temp Sender from (I think) an 82 or so. Upon replacing my basic Oil drain plug, the sender type was difficult to thread in. Hopefully the thread wasn't very different but I went ahead and wrenched it in.
Now that it's in I'm dripping which never used to happen. Does the sender have different thread and did I strip the thread on my Oil Pan? I'm feeling scared.

I've always thought that the drain plug was a lousy place for a temp sender. When I put an oil temp gauge in my '83, I used the oil light sensor spot instead. Using steel, hydraulic fittings, I created a T at the sender spot. One branch holds the oil pressure gauge/oil light sender. The other branch holds a conventional style temp sender. I went to my local VDO dealer and got a temp sender with 1/4" pipe thread for the range of the oil temp gauge. Works great, and I don't have to unplug it to change the oil!
DS

VDO part numbers and Volvo's corresponding part number.

B21 Through B230 4 cylinder.
VDO:801/4/41
Volvo: 1307535-3

B28 engine
VDO: 801/4/31
Volvo: 1324624-4

D24 engine
VDO: unknown
Volvo: 1324625-1

I have pulled these part numbers directly from the senders and cross referenced them with Volvo's manuals and catalogs.

Look at the numbers on the side of the sender and check to see which one you have.

These OEM senders are getting hard to find. Especially the 4 cylinder engines.

The best place to find them is in the 780 Bertone with either the V6 or B230Ti+ in the PnP.

hello j,
you may have stripped something. the proper sender should screw on easily.

does your sender have a 90 deg angle connector on the end?

on my sender, i use a flat, rubber washer on top of the crush washer. mine would slowly, slowly drip a little if i didn't have the washer on there.

washer is for a bathroom sink.

if you tap it, be sure to remove all metal filings and burrs before finishing.

regards,
byron golden
86 245
92 245
94 940

A good test to see if the threads are the same is to try the oil drain plug in a Mann W917 oil filter. The oil filter has the same threads as the oil pan drain.

At least on my '86. Not necessarily all Volvos everywhere.
--
1986 Volvo 245

Hello
hopefully you didnt get one from the 6 cylinder 780 bertone as it does not work in the 240.
good luck
mike

I would pull it out and give the threads a good look over. Maybe you cross threaded your oil pan when you installed the sender.

If you are not sure about the pan thread, try your old oil pan nut and see if that threads in smoothly.

Sounds like you are going to need a tap or die job on one side of the other.

Regards,

Paul

Sure sounds like you have gotten the bad news chewed on.

Now you can only hope for some good news. Hope that the senders thread stripped from the body. Then all you have to do is clean out the oil pan thread. You may have to use a tap of the proper size and thread.

If the sender body was aluminum you have a good chance of the good news.

I’m curious. What made you think a sender would go there? Why would you want a sender down that low close to the ground?

Phil

Because that is exactly where they go. Mine doesnot sit lower than the cross member.

Thanks for advising me of that sir.

I was thinking of turbo oil temperature would be more important. Since he could have pulled a sender from where ever they put those. Maybe they are in a return line from those.

Come to think of it. My neighbor has a pyrometer in the exhaust of his turbo on his diesel. I'll have to ask him about oil.

I would not think that the oil pan could run hotter than the engine coolant does way down there. I can see one on an air cooled engine where that might be a good thing.

Does the oil temperature move around a lot?

What is a good temperature to shut down a engine to avoid sludge? Do you let it run until it gets that high on short trips?

Do they recommend a temperature to have your oil up to before driving? I have never read an article on that. You could enlighten us to where there is a good article or your experience on when the 5w, 10 w etc. works best.

I have heard stories of oil balling up in a engine from excessive heat. In every case the engine was overheated. Most of these stories are oldies now. They surfaced from the desert temperature like environments. Someone was bragging about how fast and hard he was able run his big engine. Apparently it was too far.

I learned a lot on this site. I would have never thought to check my drain plug with an oil filter. Would you?

I didn’t know six cylinders have different drain plugs. Guess their oil has to drain out faster or slower? Engineers, what could we do, with out them? Use the same wrench on all. Nah!

You are right about the drain plug not being lower than the cross member. I don’t know how much above even it is either.

I would be more careful about backing up over anything. Cringe, a wee bit more going over a rolling bouncing object knowing I had one.

Do they look anything like an oil pressure sender? They can leak and are made of glass like a spark plug. Thankfully they are shorter. I assume a temperature one is short with a flat type terminal would work.

Bet you can keep it from going into a drain pan that way.

Hope I didn’t ask too many questions.

Phil

The Oil Temp Sender is basically just like a drain plug with a core sending unit in the center. The probe protrudes into the oil pan about 1/4 inch. The terminal is a round disc that a female spade connector will plug onto. It only sticks down about 3/16" below the bottom of the drain plug. I have not a clue as to the answers to the other questions that you posed, other than to tell you that I run nothing but Mobil 1 Synthetic oil. I have never seen a temperature that would be close to causing oil breakdown. As to gauge fluctuation, Not much there either. My gauge and sender are maxed out at 170C. Most of the time the needle is down in the 120-130 range. That's nearly bottomed out. In the cold months (if we have one) I allow the engine to warm until the needle comes off the peg before I add any substantial load to the engine.

Thanks for giving me more details.

The things you both said were interesting.

Especially, when one of you owns a Centigrade gauge over a Fahrenheit one. The centigrade scale has always seemed harder to relate to other things we use in this country.

The one scale has Stick builder’s a lot hotter than yours. Maybe that's why a rocket mission missed a planet not to long ago. I read there were conversion errors and language barriers. Hello there, it's planet earth!

It is like you said about different fluids. You can have oil and water doing their jobs. Mixing them is another matter.

I'm just an old fashioned American. I was in Scotland and an Irishman noticed I was a colonist. He said I used only my fork and not my knife to eat pancakes. True story!

The other things sort of confirmed my belief that with today's modern oils and engines. Oil temperature is not as high a priority. It is just my opinion and to each his own.

In Scotland it’s what ever blows your skirt up. The Scot’s make claim to a lot of sayings we use here in America. I'm not sure that's one they would claim!

Thanks for posting back.

Phil

If I ever have the pan off, I'll probably weld a bung into the side of the pan, and move the sensor there. I have never had any issues with using the sensor as a part of the drain plug though. I don't have to worry about driving around in Ice and Snow (we seldom see any of that here in Central Florida). As to the difference in temperatures, it may be due to differences in calibration of the different units, or it might be somewhat due to different ambient temperatures. I never thought that mine ran the slightest bit warm even. My water temp. never makes it to 9:00, and even in the hottest days of summer, the water temp stays at about 8:30. I do have the Swamp Cooler fan clutch, the pusher fan on the condenser, and the Nissens all metal 3 row radiator. All of that might serve to keep the temps at bay.

I've had an oil temp gauge in my 240 for a few years. The highest oil temp I've ever seen is around 210 degrees F, which happens when I'm idling in the summer with the AC on after driving for some time. In the winter, I need to be driving for some time before the needle moves from bottom (120 degrees F). The temperature fluctuates more in the summer than the winter and does so between driving and idling. During normal driving in the summer, my temp hovers around 160 degrees.

I've noticed that the water temp rises much more quickly than the oil temp does. I assume that this is due to the nature of the fluids.

I now use full synthetic oil and am not as concerned about thermal breakdown or sludge formation. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on these assumptions!) I also run a cold engine for 30 seconds - or a minute in the winter - before driving, but I never rev it high until the water temp begins to rise.

I'm also a bit paranoid about that sensor sticking down from the oil pan. I've even thought of building my own belly pan extension to protect it from the occasional run-over of debris and snow and ice, but never did because it may cut off air flow and reduce the engine's ability to cool itself during driving.
--
Mike F - 1984 244 DL - 296,000 miles
Original engine, transmission, drive train, starter
Undergoing reconstructive surgery with POR-15