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Temp sensor 454 bb

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Old Mar 20, 2016 | 09:56 PM
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Default Temp sensor 454 bb

My temp gauge does not work and the car overheats....I have replaced the radiator but am unable to locate the temp sensor.....any help here I have thoroughly looked over the engine and cant locate it. The gauge shows no reading so I'm guessing the wire must be missing or off the sensor.


thanks
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Old Mar 20, 2016 | 10:05 PM
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Left or right cylinder head or the intake if it even has one. No telling whats been done or whos done what with the sender after all these years. Hell when I first got my car it started up an ran, thats it. Absolutely nothing else electrically or vacuum operated worked. 95% does now though.... 20 grand later.
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 12:53 PM
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Look for a green wire (may be covered in loom) near where vicjr said. Then ground it, gauge should move.
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by mikem350
Look for a green wire (may be covered in loom) near where vicjr said. Then ground it, gauge should move.
thanks for the reply.....still no wire...guess I need to trace it from the inside dash to the engine compartment....also when I removed the thermostat housing I discovered no thermostat....why do you suppose someone would do that?? and do you think it might have created problems with the engine??..I had to have the car inspected here in Pa and I have only owned for 3mos and had not driven it....driving home from garage and drove into driveway the engine was making a weird noise and the overflow was spewing dark brown water...I thought that the garage had added antifreeze and for a moment was pissed that it didn't look like green fluid. when I removed the radiator brown fluid came out the bottom of the hose and when I tipped it over in the yard, all green antifreeze came out the top....I am under the assumption that the radiator was plugged and now worried I might have caused an engine problem.
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 04:45 PM
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Hi sws,
I wish you had said what year car you had and whether it was a 427 or 454. But in any case….
Typically the original location for the temperature sender was on the driver's side head between the first and second spark plugs.
The configuration of the electrical connector varied to match the sender.
The lead generally had a woven sheath on it to give it some heat protection.
I wish I had a bb picture to post but a sb picture will have to do until someone else comes along.
Regards,
Alan

Here it is on a sb.


The sheathed wire running from the harness to the switch under the exhaust manifold.
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 04:52 PM
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Hi sws,
Well it sounds like you didn't have a coolant flow through the radiator.
That could be caused by a faulty water pump, a clogged radiator, or a thermostat that's stuck closed. Since there was no thermostat that eliminates that as a cause but makes one wonder why it had been removed.
Had you run/driven the car at all before or after you bought it?
How far was the drive from the garage? What sort of "weird" sounds did you hear?
Did you attempt to flush the engine before installing the new radiator?
Regards.
Alan
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 07:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi sws,
Well it sounds like you didn't have a coolant flow through the radiator.
That could be caused by a faulty water pump, a clogged radiator, or a thermostat that's stuck closed. Since there was no thermostat that eliminates that as a cause but makes one wonder why it had been removed.
Had you run/driven the car at all before or after you bought it?
How far was the drive from the garage? What sort of "weird" sounds did you hear?
Did you attempt to flush the engine before installing the new radiator?
Regards.
Alan

Yea figured that the rad was clogged when I turned it upside down. I test drove the vehicle and it ran really well and the engine had no unusual noises other than that nice rumble of a BB. Upon returning from the garage I drove it apx 20 miles and noticed a rattling noise on the left side thru the driver window. I parked and lifted the hood and the coolant blow was pretty impressive with dark brown water. I left the engine cool about an hour poured some water into the reservoir and started the car. It sounded fine for about 5 minutes than noticed a rattle in the engine and the coolant started to blow again....so shut it down and pulled the rad. If the radiator was clogged, how would I flush the engine?
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by stephenmsweigart
Yea figured that the rad was clogged when I turned it upside down. I test drove the vehicle and it ran really well and the engine had no unusual noises other than that nice rumble of a BB. Upon returning from the garage I drove it apx 20 miles and noticed a rattling noise on the left side thru the driver window. I parked and lifted the hood and the coolant blow was pretty impressive with dark brown water. I left the engine cool about an hour poured some water into the reservoir and started the car. It sounded fine for about 5 minutes than noticed a rattle in the engine and the coolant started to blow again....so shut it down and pulled the rad. If the radiator was clogged, how would I flush the engine?
you can get a flushing "T" from most any parts store .hook it into one heater hose and then to a garden hose and turn on hose and it should flush most of junk out of engine leave radiator hose off .hope that helps
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Old Mar 23, 2016 | 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by 530planeman
you can get a flushing "T" from most any parts store .hook it into one heater hose and then to a garden hose and turn on hose and it should flush most of junk out of engine leave radiator hose off .hope that helps
I purchased an aluminum radiator and noticed a small blue plastic plug on the side.....is this to be used for a hot water solenoid??..if so I guess I could use that and run it into the panel????
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Old Mar 23, 2016 | 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by stephenmsweigart
I purchased an aluminum radiator and noticed a small blue plastic plug on the side.....is this to be used for a hot water solenoid??..if so I guess I could use that and run it into the panel????
You can NOT use a sensor in the rad. It must be in block or head. I would suggest flushing the block before installing new rad.

Make sure the rad cap is good...or buy new to match your year and if it has the overflow bottle. If cap is leaking or not tight it will cause overheating.

Also ign timing and advance systems (inc vacuum) should be working.

Check fan and clutch also. Should really move a LOT of air at idle!

Last edited by mikem350; Mar 23, 2016 at 04:52 PM.
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