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Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:45 pm

Just thought of this while I was bored at work and wondered if anyone has tried it before. Has anyone tried taking the oil temperature with a high temp. meat thermometer before?

Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:49 pm

Why Herby, has your engine been cooking? :shock:

Fri Jun 24, 2005 5:24 pm

I've used a digital thermometer in the dipstick hole for a quick oil temp check before. The ones I used weren't exactly meat thermometers, one I bought at Sears and the other Harbor Freight. But, you can use a meat thermometer too if they go to high enough of a temperature andyou trust their calibration. Also, with any such thermometer, they'll need to be long enough to reach the oil level.

-Andy

Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:01 pm

Are you "Fully Loaded"?

Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:12 pm

L-jetronic wrote: Are you "Fully Loaded"?

First time I've gotten that.

Yeah, putting it in the dipstick tube is what I was thinking. Some meat thermometers actually go to about 400 degrees. I could always test the calibration but maybe I'll just go with the one you mentioned.

Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:09 pm

Both of the ones I have reach the oil level but just barely. Most meat thermometers are about this length too. Of the two I have, the Craftsman one is worse since it has a larger head that wants to contact the tin and water drain tube off the crankcase breather and sometimes won't want to sit all the way on the dipstick tube.
-Andy

Sat Jun 25, 2005 7:57 am

Here's $3 flea-market find.

Max

Sat Jun 25, 2005 1:10 pm

Max you are fucking killing me man ... I Love it!!!!

Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:30 pm

Gene Berg designed a cheap oil dipstick thermometer already. 10 years ago it was priced at a whooping $12, today's price is just over $20. If that's not cheap enough for you, well, good luck I guess.

Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:35 pm

I don't get it. I mean, if you want to mount a gauge on the dash board that's one thing, but for keeping it back there where you can't see it?

What's so hard about touching the dipstick? With termometers you get a reading, but you are never sure what it means because of all the variables involved. Once you get a feel for how hot the dipstick should be you can allways tell if it is hotter than it ought to be.

Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:39 pm

abdon wrote: What's so hard about touching the dipstick? With termometers you get a reading, but you are never sure what it means because of all the variables involved. Once you get a feel for how hot the dipstick should be you can allways tell if it is hotter than it ought to be.

You're joking right? Do you actually believe your sense of touch will be able to determine the actual temperature of the oil in your engine?

Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:42 pm

abdon wrote: I don't get it. I mean, if you want to mount a gauge on the dash board that's one thing, but for keeping it back there where you can't see it?

The Berg dipstick I'm referring to wires in-line with the oil pressure switch. So when the oil reaches a predetermined temp (220 degrees?) the oil pressure light located inside the speedometer will illuminate. A bright light in the dash is alot easier to spot than trying to read a needle in a gauge, especially while driving.
Check out Max's last pic. He has a berg sending unit tapped into the Type 3 oil dipstick location (just follow the Red wire)

Sat Jun 25, 2005 5:14 pm

Just so's you can stop squinting...

This is the shorty version. Berg also makes one that replaces the stock dipstick. Good stuff.

Max

Sat Jun 25, 2005 11:27 pm

Max Welton wrote: Berg also makes one that replaces the stock dipstick. Good stuff

Very good stuff & it's one of the few things in the Berg lineup that is affordable.

Sun Jun 26, 2005 1:10 am

I already know about the berg temp dipstick. I'm going to get it, but I've spent quite a bit of money already on parts and only have enough money for food right now. Just waiting for next pay check. I just thought of doing this as a quick thing; I wasn't thinking of driving with the thermometer in there, only to take a quick temp.

And also, with the touching the dipstick to see how hot it is, I don't have a stock dipstick, a have a billet one, so that thing is hot no matter what.

I was going to use the thermometer because its been real hot the last week (80's and high 90's) and felt like there was a lot of hot air after a long drive in mid-day.

Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:47 am

[email protected] wrote: abdon wrote: What's so hard about touching the dipstick? With termometers you get a reading, but you are never sure what it means because of all the variables involved. Once you get a feel for how hot the dipstick should be you can allways tell if it is hotter than it ought to be.

You're joking right? Do you actually believe your sense of touch will be able to determine the actual temperature of the oil in your engine?

Your sense of touch will indeed tell you if the engine is hot or not, which is the whole point of measuring how hot the oil is. Oil is not about to get hot without the engine getting hot. Once you get a feel for the dipstick temperature, you will indeed know if the engine is running hot or not.

Heck, put five diferent termometers on your car, you will get five different readings. 40 degrees or more is not uncommon. Once you get an idea of how hot the dipstick should be, it is extremely easy to spot a hot engine.

On my car on a cool day, the dipstick doesn't get too hot to handle. On a hot summer day, it gets to the point where you don't want to hold it for long. If the engine is running hot, it will get unconfortable to hold on a cool day, and too hot to handle on a hot one. I guess I could use a termometer to do the same thing.

Sun Jun 26, 2005 8:34 am

The problem with the approach is that everyone's sense of touch is different.

At some point someone has to correlate "too hot" (an actual temperature) with the "ouch" sensation felt when holding the dipstick.

The next trick is to describe that "ouch" sensation in a way that will be the same between the heavily calloused hands of a construction worker and the sensitive hands of, say, a typist. I say there's no reliable way to do this in words. Don't believe me? Go ahead and try it. "Ouch" to me may not be the same as "ouch" to you.

So why does the dipstick touching technique continue to get passed along on the internet? Because it's an easy test to do and people are lazy. Also, a great many people do not apply enough critical thinking to see the problems with it.

To someone with experience, a hot engine is obvious both from the smell and from the amount of heat radiating off the engine. The many people asking the "is my engine running to hot" questions at this time of year do not have that experience. And simply telling them to grab the dipstick does not change that.

Max

Sun Jun 26, 2005 9:48 am

abdon wrote: Your sense of touch will indeed tell you if the engine is hot or not, which is the whole point of measuring how hot the oil is. Oil is not about to get hot without the engine getting hot. Once you get a feel for the dipstick temperature, you will indeed know if the engine is running hot or not.

So your sense of touch will be able to distinguish between 200 degrees (nominal running engine temp) against 220 degrees (too hot)? Ever touch 180+ degrees? It'll burn you. And if you even "get the feel" for the right temp (200 degrees) you'd be an idiot to want to continue touching it. You end up with the same conclusion, "Damn I burnt my hand again!" :roll:

Sun Jun 26, 2005 11:59 am

Well, Herby's question that started this was a simple one, can you stick a meat thermometer in the dipstick hole.... And of course you can, and that will be a lot more informative than the "ouch" test. I agree that a hot engine should be obvious the moment you open the engine compartment, radiant heat and the smell, once you've experienced it once you'll know when you come across it again. Still, on borderline cases on cars you don't want to mess with wiring on, like me on my 62 bug, popping in a thermometer in the dipstick hole does work. I found the picture of the 10 dollar harbor freight thermomter I used to carry with me in my 62- (which has now been retired to the kitchen, and I use it as a cooking thermometer actually!)

One thing I didn't mention were those infrared touchless thermometers. There's a gazillion of these out there, they are small, fairly cheap and seem to work pretty good. I think I got mine for 15 bucks on eBay - people who run those radio controlled cars or planes with tiny two stroke motors use these to check their engine temps. This is what I now keep in my 62. I just aim that at various places on my engine block or sump plate to get a quickie temperature reading. They are kind of fun to play with, you can get instant temps from anything solid (that isn't too glossy) that you aim them at.
-Andy

Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:08 pm

Thanks Andy for your help in thermometer choices. Like I said, just wanted to take quick temp checks seeing how we get temps in the 80's to 100+ now.