What Is This Intake Pipe Made From?

[MearCat]

RE - The pic below...

I have a brass nut which my temperature probe fits into and will be using it to measure intake temps. What is this intake piece (circled in red in the pic) made from? Cast Aluminium? Can it be soldered/brazed/welded to brass at all?

If not, how else can I join this brass nut onto the intake pipe? Maybe a steel washer between the brass nut and intake pipe?

[bbe]

its cast alloy...mine had to be tig welded

[MearCat]

Can it be TIG welded to brass though?

[RANDY]

I'm looking to do much the same thing! I'd really like to know what the intake temps are, and find a good location to mount something threaded. If you don't mind, mearcat, what kind of temp probe are you going to use? (and come round and make my engine bay as clean as yours!)

[MearCat]

I'm actually measuring 4 temps, with 3 of them using a K-Type thermocouple probe - mainly designed for testing flue gasses. I'll PM you with more details

As for the engine bay - it came like that from Japan a few months ago! Nice eh?

[RANDY]

Rather! Thanks mate, appreciated!

[MANWHORE]

Since you've got an aftermarket rice off valve mounted on the intercooler piping, are you still using the stock one?

Maybe you could just take the stock one off and cut a flat plate to go in its place and mount the temp probe in that?

[MearCat]

That rice valve is long gone. The pic I've used is when I first got the car. First thing I did was pull the BOV off and sell it. Bah - Stupid aftermarket show off valves.

[blind_elk]

Why not simply tap a hole into the cross-over pipe, and screw the temp probe directly, rather than through an adapter?

[MearCat]

Why not simply tap a hole into the cross-over pipe, and screw the temp probe directly, rather than through an adapter?

I did think of that but I talked a welder this morning and he said that the wall thickness of the cross over pipe is not really thick enough for a decent thread for (relatively soft) aluminium. I have got him to weld a small block of ally on the side on the pipe to increase the thickness and tap a thread through that block and the pipe wall instead.

So I will now end up screwing the probes' compression gland directly into the pipe.

[RANDY]

wow! Great read, Mearcat!

I only want the intake temp... would you suggest that a thermistor for budget/heat-range?

Pity that I can't find a decent threaded temp probe with display... I spent aaages making the consult cable, and I don't have much time on my hands these days. =[

[MearCat]

wow! Great read, Mearcat!

I only want the intake temp... would you suggest that a thermistor for budget/heat-range?

Pity that I can't find a decent threaded temp probe with display... I spent aaages making the consult cable, and I don't have much time on my hands these days. =[

If you wanted to read a single temp, as a cheap option I would suggest this thermometer from Jaycar http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=XC0224 These are quite accurate and if the cable isn't long enough, you can solder some more wire on it without affecting it's accuracy too much. This reads from -50degC to +150degC too.

My temperature gauge project is using thermocouples with braided stainless sheath to stop the wiring from frying around the turbo and engine - they are a little more expensive that std thermocouples that you get from Jaycar etc, but temperature probes and thermocouples genarally are not threaded. You will need a compression gland to seal around the probe.

btw - See the attached pic for my weld & thread tap result

[RANDY]

LOL! I have been looking at that unit for a while actually!

I was a bit concerned about how hard it may be making it sit in a hole, but the gland option is always there. Threaded like the o2 or cat sensor would have been nice though.

Weld/tap job looks good!