hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 3, 2013 Whos using what housings on their clevo? Id like to get chromed or polished alloy but have provision for thermo switches but dont seem to be able to find anything suitable. Do i buy the shitty looking cast one and polish it or the chrome one and drill and tap the switch holes? Or does anyone have any other suggestions on fitting the switches ( apart from the probe tucked into the radiator hose)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordon 351 69 Posted April 3, 2013 I thought xc had provisions for senders in thermostat housing an you can get them in chrome out of the box Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 3, 2013 I thought xc had provisions for senders in thermostat housing an you can get them in chrome out of the box Yeah you can get chrome off the shelf but they are not drilled for senders. They look like it in the pictures but are not in the flesh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted April 3, 2013 You can run a temp sender straight into the water pump i actually run two ( one for the in dash gauge that's 50 years old and tells lies and one for the supermarket temp gauge) you will have to enlarge the photo but you can see it in the pic one sender in the block one in the water pump, I've swapped them around couple of time and both locations read within 5° of each other 2 robbie and hendrixhc reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 4, 2013 Thanks Thom. I'll have to look into this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerg 10,871 Posted April 5, 2013 I tapped my heater outlets to take 3/8" and 1/2" NPT brass screw-in fittings, which enabled me to use angle fittings and route the hoses where I want them. I also dropped my hose size down to 1/2" to make them less bulky, and adapted them back up to 5/8" at the firewall end. Heater still works fine. I shifted the return heater hose to the bottom hole (3/8)" on the water pump which normally is plugged or has a vacuum switch. The top one (1/2") is now where my thermofan switch goes. I am lucky enough to have a brother who is a fitter, and he made me a staino thermostat housing from scratch. It's the elbow type. He even welded a bung on there and threaded it to 3/8" for the dizzy vacuum switch. They are available though, but like you said, aren't drilled/tapped for the switches. Easily fixed with a drill and tap. Ask for 3/8" NPT or BSP, they're slightly different but brass is soft enough to cope. The local parts guy sells these chrome housings for about 60 bucks. Pretty expensive really. 1 robbie reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tweaker351 148 Posted April 5, 2013 James DO NOT buy the chromed ones....... I guarantee they will leak eventually. For some bastard reason they warp a little over time and just dont seal properly, have had 2 and they both did it. Even sanded them flat with the speed file, tightened the bolts till i thought they would snap....... also did one on a belt sander and still end up leaking, dont know what it is but they just do it LOL. They come with the o-ring and agian ive used the o-ring, not used the o-ring, o-ring with silicone, o-ring with gasket and silicone, just gasket........You get the point Never ever had a problem with the alloy ones I reckon go alloy and polish it up since your such a gun on the buffer bro! Just my 2 cents 1 hendrixhc reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 5, 2013 Thanks Adam i'll take that advice BUT did you try it with gasket, silicon and oring and holding your tongue on the left or the right when you tightened the bolts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tweaker351 148 Posted April 5, 2013 Geeze i forgot the tongue.....knew i was doing something wrong. Will try tonight and get back to you tommorow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 5, 2013 Just out of interest what thermostats do you use Adam? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gregaust 319 Posted April 5, 2013 Chrome ones are jink like mentioned above , always seem to leak , gasket or o'ring doesn;t make a difference . 1 robbie reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted April 5, 2013 Alloy thermostat housing with a 95° thermostat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tweaker351 148 Posted April 6, 2013 Just out of interest what thermostats do you use Adam? 82 degree tridon high flow. (180f) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tweaker351 148 Posted April 6, 2013 Alloy thermostat housing with a 95° thermostat WWWAAAAAAAYYYYYYY too hot for a clevo bro, not even the jap engines run that hot......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted April 6, 2013 Typo that was meant to be 85° Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 6, 2013 Thermostat HousingWell i took the advise of some learned friends and bought one of those of the shelf Kilkenny castings shitty looking thermostat covers. While the practicality of it is justifiable the appearance is plahhh! It has plenty of ports for switches to.So first thing was to hit it with a mini flappy disk on the die grinder and then a carbide bit to remove all the flashing from casting.Then spend the next few hours with 240 grit, 400 grit and 1500 grit wet and then another 1/2 hour on the buffing wheel to end up with this.I could spend a few more hours and be a bit more pedantic but i think it will look ok as is.All in all worth a few hours pissing round in the shed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bear351c 10,270 Posted April 6, 2013 Noice ! As said, the chrome ones leak, eventually. I did what Thom does, tap into the sender near the water pump. But, still have to buy a housing ! Used to sell the KC stuff, it's errr.....average, to say the least. Having said that, got one on my engine with 2 grub screws in the ports, and it still doesn't leak. My 11 cents (GST incl.) worth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,920 Posted April 6, 2013 Yeah i chucked one on my cortina bought 25 years ago and thats still going ok! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bear351c 10,270 Posted April 6, 2013 You could paint it "alloy silver", then it would match your waterpump and inlet manifold. Just a thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerg 10,871 Posted April 6, 2013 Yeah nice, she came up good. Though my approach is that you only ever look at the engine when something goes wrong... So make it reliable and you won't have to look at it! Nah seriously, looks good but you will have to coat it in some sort of clear coating to stop it from corroding. Clear acrylic might do it but the temp may be too high for it. Believe it or not, it's the thermostat housing's job to corrode! It acts as the sacrificial anode in the system, just like a zinc anode does on an outboard motor. This is why they fail.... They take the brunt of the electrolosis so your engine wont. And cheers for the info on chromeys guys... I'll skip that one next time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tweaker351 148 Posted April 7, 2013 Looks the part James! You should start selling them polished up! 1 Mr Polson reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SJG351 6 Posted April 7, 2013 This is a machined alloy housing, I have tapped it to take the temp probe for my electric water pump. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bear351c 10,270 Posted April 9, 2013 Yeah, I was thinking of posting that. Windsor housing, change top rad hose.? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
