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Picked up a set of 64cc 2.02 reconditioned heads for my 71 350 rebuild. Pulled engine this weekend, as short block is due this week. I noitced that the hole for the water temp. sensor on the new head is 1/2" whereas the sender pulled out of the old head is 3/4". Should I have the new head re tapped for the old temp. sender or is there another unit I can use with my old gauges.
With all the "as long as i`m at it' going on this project, costs are rising looking to avoid another one! thanks guys
You can go either route. I like to hog out the hole and re-tap. It is not difficult. You could ask a machine shop to do it but you can do it if you are careful. The other way involves calibrating the sender. That is more difficult IMO.
I walked into my local Carquest, told the guy what I was doing...and two minutes later I had the sensor for the smaller hole.
...and he didn't even have to look it up in the computer!
The auxiliary fan switch (for those that have one) is a little more challenging. The guy sold me a 1/2 brass fitting. I had to drill and tap a hole for the sender, which has a 3/8 coarse thread. Originally, the sensor was screwed into a larger-size fitting...very "bubba" considering GM did this originally!
I'll let you know if it works...I should have it running this weekend. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work...these things aren't rocket science. Perhaps the unit you got was faulty.
I will be dealing with the same problem with my new heads. I hope this isn't too far off topic, but my 73 has a sender in both heads. One is for the temp gauge, but what is the other one? Is it a switch type sender? Any suggestions for a 1/2" replacement? Joe