Dash grommet size..

[leinamoon]

The one where choke cable runs thru? Need to run temp gauge capillary lead thru, it's widest point half inch/13mm. Don't want to destroy the rubber grommet if it ain't gonna fit. Or any other suggestions? thanks, Leina..

[Harv]

a) Take the grommet out of the firewall using a blunt screwdriver, and put it into a coffee cup.
b) Pour hot water on it and let it soften for a minute.
c) Stretch it gently over the sender capilliary while it is still warm.
d) Let the grommet cool.
e) Push the sender through the firewall.
f) Push the grommet into place with a blunt screwdriver.

or...
Buy a $2 plastic blister pack of grommets from SuperCheap and go for your life

Cheers,
Harv.

[MeFB]

a) Take the grommet out of the firewall using a blunt screwdriver, and put it into a coffee cup.
b) Pour hot water on it and let it soften for a minute.
c) Stretch it gently over the sender capilliary while it is still warm.
d) Let the grommet cool.
e) Push the sender through the firewall.
f) Push the grommet into place with a blunt screwdriver.

or...
Buy a $2 plastic blister pack of grommets from SuperCheap and go for your life

Cheers,
Harv.

g) Stand back and admire your handywork whilst sipping the nice cup of grommet tea you prepared in steps a & b

[leinamoon]

Thanks Harv.. capillary went through too easy, hole bigger than expected.. plug isn't budging one bit though, was going to connect to rear heater hose point or is this not advised?

[leinamoon]

g) Stand back and admire your handywork whilst sipping the nice cup of grommet tea you prepared in steps a & b

never went there in the end.. and have something more 'refreshing' on the go

[Harv]

Haven't had a cup of grommet tea, but have swigged the last mouthful of a VB stubbie after brother-in-law used it as an ashtray... not sure what was worse, the mouthful of crap or the lost "last mouthful" of beer .

Rear cylinder head heater connection is OK for a temperature sender, but only in the later model FB/EK/EJ heads. These heads have two tapped holes - one for the idiot light, and one for the heater (or in your case one for the idiot light, and one for the temperature gauge). The earlier model FX-FC heads had only one hole, used for the idiot light. Do not tee-off and put the idiot light and temperature gauge on one hole. The senders get no water flow past them, and read low... you cook the engine before you get any warning. Options with an early one-hole head include using the heater plug in the lower thermostat housing (FX-FC had a 3/8” plug, later model thermostat housings do not but can be drilled and tapped), tapping the upper thermostat housing (I ended up doing this in my Chev motor), or making up a pipe fitting to go into a radiator hose. All these options will give slightly different temperature readings... and on occasion have confused the crap out of people putting in gauges ("I put a new gauge in... and my car runs at 210 - whats wrong?!!").

Cheers,
Harv.

[leinamoon]

Tapped the rear cylinder head (also have heater connection in lower thermostat housing) and went for a drive out north and beyond, temp sat on 60' pretty much the whole way?? Outside temp 20 - 25'.. Was informed by Sam, very cool lady at Howard Instruments optimal temp of stock 138's was 90'.. Big difference.. thought by tapping rear i would get a higher reading also than say tapping at front? EK ran well though, didn't miss a beat.. except on way home outa left field timing gear shat itself free ride home on a tilt tray
Thanks Harv for your input..

[MeFB]

.. except on way home outa left field timing gear shat itself free ride home on a tilt tray
Thanks Harv for your input..

Yep, they do that. Expect it when you least expect it. Should be called 'bad timing' gear.

[Harv]

Could be 60C, depending on how much crap is on the head, how far in the sender sticks, how the sender is calibrated etc etc. Trick is to drive it around when it is "behaving", and see where the temp runs, and call that "normal".... then watch out for when it is running heaps hotter than that .

I dropped my timing gear on the day before Good Friday... in the middle of the F3... with a box trailer full of EK parts on behind... and four kids in the car... on a 40 deg. C day. Called the NRMA and let them know I had shat a timing gear and needed a tilt tray.
"Sorry sir... we can't accept your diagnosis... you'll have to wait until a mechanic comes out. If it is a timing gear, then we will arrange for the tilt tray, but not before."
... an hour wait for the mechanic, 3 seconds to verify what I had told him, then another hour to wait for the tilt tray.

MeFB's right - definitely a bad timing gear .

Looks like this may be useful Leina:
http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtop ... 25&t=13931

Cheers,
Harv.

[leinamoon]

Thanks for link Harv your symptomatology report was spot on.. against grain of enthusiasts though, i went for fibre..

In regards to temp, thinking sender isn't long enough.. it's a mechanical Cockpit Vision 52mm.. ( #180077022 ) as temp drops off quite quickly after engine turned off.. ?? .. she's running well, 60 - 70' C is what i'm getting, street and on the high way..

[Harv]

Plenty of cars have been replaced with fibre, and as long as they remain oiled, they are good for quite a long time.

Cylinder head will cool down relatively quickly once water flow stops. You're right, a shorter sender will measure more "steel" temperature than "water" temperature and will drop faster than a longer one. Looks like 60-70C is your "normal" - nothing wrong with that.

Cheers,
Harv.