Hi guys,
I'm planning to install additional water temperature gauge in my M52B28 swapped E30. I have purchased the gauge, it's a VDO unit 52mm.
Where should I tap the sender into to get an accurate reading? I have tried searching in the forum but I couldn't find definitive answers. Either opinions or suggestions. Has anyone done this before in an M52 engines? Mind sharing some photos and reviews?
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There are empty ports in the engine head you can tap for a coolant temp sensor. Remove intake manifold and theyll be visible. If not pre-drilled and plugged youll usually want to remove head to tap for the fitting
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You can also use the throttle body coolant lines as a coolant temperature sender source.
It depends on what you mean by "accurate". Your engine isn't all one temperature; different parts are at different temperatures. The sensors in the head are close to where things are the hottest, so they're in a good place to tell you the worst. Sensors further away, less so. Definitely recommend using those ports.
'02 M Coupe
The coolant circuit for the throttle body is connected to the head by a nipple that screws into the head, same thread as the stock temp sensor. As long as you cap the other end of the line, you can unscrew this nipple and insert your temp sensor there and it will be at the same temp as the stock sensor, 3 cm away. It is straight threaded and uses a crush washer to make the seal rather than using tapered threads.
The M50 heads had three ports because there were two different temp sensors, one to the computer and another to the dash. The last fed the throttle body circuit. Early m52's had 3 ports but one was capped off, probably leftover heads from m50 production.
The throttle body preheat circuit is totally unnecessary unless you are trying to prevent intake icing in the arctic. I capped mine where it attaches to the metal coolant line that runs underneath the intake manifold.
Last edited by gdavid; 10-06-2020 at 03:33 PM.
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The throttle body circuit is connected at two places, ultimately one end connects to the nipple into the head and the other connects to the metal coolant pipe, in some applications, there is a thermostat that is also in line to stop the flow. None of it is necissary unless you drive in the arctic but you need to ensure that both ends are capped off so avoid a leak. I have no idea which direction it flows.
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