I figured i ask this here because im not getting any help in the EG section..and I use this thing on the track as well.

I have an autometer mechanical oil temp gauge and the fitting on it is a male 1/2 NPT style fitting..I need to convert this to a 14x1.5 (metric) to fit a b18c5 oil pan drain plug.
heres a pic

---sorry i dont have 3l33t MS paint skills


Now i would love to rip off the oil pan and drill a hole and have my shop weld on a bung for this but I daily drive this thing to and from work every day and I cant pull off having a couple days of down time (or aleast I would like to avoid it)

 

so are you wanting to use the temp sensor as your drainplug?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by obviousBOY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Now i would love to rip off the oil pan and drill a hole and have my shop weld on a bung for this but I daily drive this thing to and from work every day and I cant pull off having a couple days of down time (or aleast I would like to avoid it)</TD></TR></TABLE>

There are other places you can get a oil temp.

If you want to do it your way though just go to a hydraulic place (look for hydraulics in the Yellow pages). Bring the stuff and they will probably be able to come up with something.

Problem is though that it will likely stick out (and depending on the motor is at an angle) and potentially get caught on things. Which would be a disaster. I would just wait until you can drop the pan and do it right. Doesn't take long to drop the header and the oil pan.

I guess Autopower does sell the part you need though... is mentioned here:
http://www.miata.net/garage/GaugeInstall/

 

If you don't have the time to wait for the pan to be welded, get a new pan, have that welded up, and then install at your convenience. Having the sensor in the drain plug is just asking to blow a motor. Especially because all of the drain bolts hang down at an angle, and not straight out.

 

yeah im bailing on this idea...im gonna do have to do the bung..

thanks guys

 

I agree that the drain plug is not as good an option, especially for a mechanical gauge. However, I did adapt my drain bolt for an electric sender, which is much smaller. I basically just drilled and tapped my drain bolt on a drill press to accept the 1/8" NPT sender. I only meant to have it on there temporarily, but it has worked fine so far. I did take one pretty big hit to the underside of the car when I straddled a burm at FIR in Dec. It scuffed and bent the sender very slightly, but did not break it. Still though, it is kind of nerve racking. After that hit, I had to keep looking at my oil pressure religiously for the rest of the race to make sure it wasn't dropping.

- Scott

 

I too used the adapter for the drain plug with the electrical sender. It doesn't stick any farther down than the stock bolt. Maybe out to the side a little, but not down. This is on a B18c

 

I dont know if it will make a difference in your situation, but a friend had one on his celica race car. Note, use as little fittings as possible when installing it, his unit cracked in half from being too long, I'm guessing from vibrations. He changed it out for stainless steel lines and has been working fine.