Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike
doesn't it flow from the cooler into the pan?
|
Yeah, via the engine block!
Oil cooler(colder oil)-->engine block(warmer oil)-->pan where sensors are, thus reading the warmer oil
Dustin's description follows this reasoning, but the sensors are in the oil pan...not the engine block. Thus, the sensors read the sump oil temperature where the oil collects
after circulating through the motor. The outflow from the cooler passes through the engine block (where it gets heated), and that oil doesn't hit the sensors until it collects in the pan again. So it would reason that the sensor temp should reflect the oil temp in the block and not the cooler outflow.
Take a look at the picture I've attached. The temp sensors are essentially where the arrow indicating 'oil pan' point. Our cooler plumbs in-line to the right of the oil filter in that picture (courtesy of the sandwich plate). So oil from the sump goes through the filter, through our cooler, and then through the engine.
Simply put, Dustin suggests the sensors are in the area labeled 'main oil gallery' and they're actually in the pan.