I'm going to be adding aftermarket gauges to my car. Where do I put the water temp sensor on a 3.7?

 

The stock water temp gauge is one of the few that is an actual reading gauge!

You will need to make up some sort of "T" and install it and the new temp sender along with the stock sender in the hole where the stock sender is now.

 

That's what I mean - where is the stock sender located?

 

Never looked to see yet.

 

On the 4.0 V6, the sender is under the intake. I suspect it's still there on the 3.7 as well, because I couldn't find it anywhere else. I further suspect that there's no room for a Tee if it's under the intake, and that I can't simply disconnect the original one and replace it with the sender that came with the gauge because the computer in the car needs the signal from it to adjust the engine according to the reading it gets from the sender.

I found a $23 1-1/2 inch adapter that you insert in the lower radiator hose that comes with a hole for a temp sender, but I'd much rather do something else.

On the driver's side of the block, there's a threaded plug in the side of the block. I ASSUME that this is threaded into the water jacket, but I'm not sure. I would have to find an appropriate adapter (which is probably metric) to adapt down to the appropriate NPT size (1/4?) for the sender unit.

Comments anyone?

 

Well, nothing is the same between the 4.0 and 3.7 so assume nothing about the sender location.

Try looking at the online service manuals at the top of the 2011+ V6 Tech section over on allfordmustangs.com

 

I had to look in the engine cooling diagnostics section, and the only reference I found to a coolant temperature sender was for the 5.4L motor. That can't be right. Could the water temp gauge in the instrument cluster be showing an interpolated status based on cylinder head temperature?

It's looking more and more like I have to use the lower radiator hose to mount an actual sender unit, using this:

http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?tp...action=product

 

As far as I can find the 3.7 and 5.0 don't have a coolant temp sensor, just the cylinder head temp sensor.

So, you may be right, PCM may figure coolant temps off the head temp.

 

Well, I found a sleeve that can be inserted into the lower radiator hose that accepts a water temp sensor. It's not the way I wanted to do it, but it looks like the *only* way to do it. It's $35 with shipping.

 

You know it just hit me that you kept talking about putting the sensor in the lower hose, that is wrong, needs to be in the upper hose, that is the outlet side of the engine. The lower hose is the water coming from the radiator so it is the cool side. To get the correct engine coolant temp reading the sensor needs to be in the top hose. And even then you may get some erratic readings when the thermostat opens and closes.

I would look for a place to put it in the top side of the motor somewhere, even if you have to drill and tap a hole.
_

 

That's why I asked about the threaded plug that's in the side of the block. On my '65, I seem to remember the temp sensor being in the thermostat housing on the engine side of the thermostat, or on the intake manifold just behind the distributor, and that's where I looked first on this motor.

You're right about which hose to do, and besides, the upper hose would a) be easier, and b) require less coolant draining to be done to effect the mod. Drilling/tapping requires partial motor dis-assembly, doesn't it? I suppose I could drill/tap the thermostat housing, but I'd have to take the top of the motor apart to do it, and then hope I don't screw up the housing in the process. A new hose would cost less, and I could mod it without disabling my car for more than about 15 minutes.

 

I'm just off a 3200 mile trip, California and back in 4 1/2 days so I'm beat, but if I can think about it tomorrow, I will look at my car and see if there is an easier solution.

 

I've ordered the sensor sleeve, so there's no rush. I'm going to get a new radiator hose and put the sleeve in it, and just swap it out with my old hose - a few minutes work, and it's done. I'm kinda surprised though that Ford didn't put a real water temp sensor on the motor, and even more surprised that someone (like Ford Racing) hasn't come up with a replacement thermostat housing that comes pre-drilled/tapped for a sensor.

All of this stuff is the "easy" part. The hard part is going to be trying to come up with a dash pod that looks decent. The Boss pod is a no go, and even the SpeedOfSound Concept 2 pod is questionable. Nobody makes a pod specifically for the 2010+ dashboards, so it's essentially up to me "to find a way".

 

Ford uses the one sensor apparently and is satisfied with it's performance so no need to add a second.

What's wrong with the Boss dash pod?

 

Just went out and looked, strange cooling setup on the 3.7.

The thermostat is on the lower hose size not the upper and both hoses run to the same housing on the motor, remote from the water pump.

Wish I had a diagram for the cooling circuit to know where the best reading for the temp sender would be.

There really doesn't appear to be any good spot to drill and tap for a sender.

So, I guess using that radiator hose tap is the only option, just keep it as close to the motor as you can.

 

Found the diagram, actually might be best to tap the heater hose at the back of the motor going to the lower intake but would be a lot harder to get to.

Or you'd have to pull the lower intake and drill and tap it but it's plastic, might not work too well.

http://iihs.net/fsm/?dir=841&viewfil...%20Cooling.pdf

 

Looks like the upper radiator hose is the best place to get an accurate read because that's where it exits the motor on the way to the radiator.

 

Personally, I'm going to be satisfied with the stock gauge.

The more critical one is the oil pressure, especially since the stock gauge is just a dummy, not a true reading gauge.

 

That one's easy though. The sensor is easily accessible on the V6, and I don't even have an oil pressure gauge in my car (base V6).

 

Is this just for looks or something else that I' missing?