8n temp gauge

Forum Members,
Considering installing a new temp gauge on my '48 8N. Have read several ways for this to be done. Currently the old gauge is installed in the drain plug on the left side. Beginning to think there may be a better place to install the sending unit. Seems the lower block is the cool side of the engine. Are there better sending unit locations that will better register the actual engine temp? Any and all thoughts are welcome.

On my '50 there was a boss in the cylinder head casting just to the left side, front where the water exits the engine. I drilled and tapped it (3/8" pipe thread I think maybe) and
the temperature gauge bulb adapter fir right into it. Worked great.

Head the best place for the sender, next would be in top radiator hose.

A guide to pop'N the hole in the head.




For anyone that goes their you can be off front to rear BUT try yer best to center it 5/8" from the top of the boss the casting is thick their... Tap it about haft the length of the tap and test fit yer adapter,,, go one turn on the tap and re-check yer adapter for fit,,, a few threads on the adapter should protruded once its tighten down,,, Pipe threads are on a tapper and use interference fit to seal,, I add blue lock-tight as a sealer... BTW use the 3/8" adapter drill the hole with a 37/64 drill...

It's your tractor and your time and money so you can do whatever you want, but, as far as installing a temperature gauge, it really isn't needed. Overheating can be caused by a few things - over or under filling coolant; lack of a thermostat or installed backwards; radiator fins plugged with chaf; and more. FORD had a temperature gauge on the NAN models as they determined the kerosene burners ran hotter. See MPC scan of 39-47 dash with port on dash at the 5 O'Clock position to the oil gauge, only on NAN models. The 6050 Cylinder Head was revamped to have an additional cast boss for an NPT plug for a sensor line to the gauge. The boss was cast on the LH side of cylinder head near the oil filter mount and in between the 1st and 2nd head studs. At mid 8N production, Ford was going to add a TEMP Gauge permanently to the standard model but decided against it at the last minute. Bruce Haynes wrote a good article on the N Cooling System in the N-News in the JAN 2020 issue -SEE scans. To properly drill and tap a hole on the boss for a sensor, you need to pull the head and have it done by a qualified machine shop if you don't have your own Bridgeport. For those who insist on adding a TEMP Gauge, a few alternatives can be found. SEE pix. FWIW: Thermostat is located in the upper radiator hose with the newer style pointed end facing towards the radiator bur nearest the engine. The band was to keep the thermostat from creeping up the radiator inlet.

COOLING -


FORD N-SERIES TRACTOR ORIGINAL 160°F THERMSOSTAT & HOSE w/BAND:


MODERN BAND ALTERNATIVE – HOSE CLAMP OR WIRE TIE:

8N-6050-C HEAD w/TEMP SENSOR BOSS:





FORD TRACTOR 29-47 DASH PANEL w/TEMP GAUGE PORT:


FORD TRACTOR COOLING SYSTEM INFO:



THE N-NEWS; “KEEPING IT COOL” –by BRUCE HAYNES






The “N-NEWS” is published quarterly and subscriptions can be found at www.n-news.com
or by mail at:

THE N-NEWS
9N-2N-8N-NAA NEWSLETTER
PO BOX 275
EAST CORINTH, VT 05040-0275



Tim Daley(MI)

The reason that the 8NAN tractor ran hotter because they came with a 180 degree thermostat. This was necessary to allow burning distillate
fuel. They came with a temperature gauge because you had to run them up on gasoline to a indicated temperature hot enough to facilitate the switch over
from gasoline to distillate. There is a 180 degree thermostat in the parts books, it was required for the 8NAN but never intended for the 8N
back in those days.

Forum Members,
Thank you very much for the thorough explanation of the thermostat/temperature gauge possibilities. It was great reading on this cool Minnesota morning. For the past week or so I had thought about purchasing an 861 Ford but maybe the 8N will outlast me!

I added a gauge to my 9n. it's not there to tell me when it's hot. it's there to tell me when it was warmed up so it will pull a load without coughing and
dying in cold weather when I let the clutch out.

I put the sending unit in the upper radiator hose. I made the adapter myself out of exhaust pipe and a black pipe fitting. The gauge is on the lower left
side of the dash. Held with the same bolts that would hold the tool box if it had one.

Found out later you can buy an adapter for the upper hose.

Some don't like putting the sending unit in the upper hose. That's where most tractors of the 1940's put the sending unit. Case, Allis Chalmers, and even
John Deere put it in the large pipe between the radiator and the block which is the same thing.