Temperature gauge question!!

Hi all
If i was to fit a vdo temp sender do i have to fit a vdo gauge or will it work with any arftermarket gauge ?
Thanks
Second question... i fitted a 88° thermostat to my defender 200tdi it had a 82° one in and the temp stayed at half way now its sits 3/4 the way ..dose that sound right ??

Unless by pure luck the resistance range is the same then no it will read wrong

Did you fit the same style of thermostat (foot bypass type or sliding type) and were the dimensions the same, personally I prefer to have a 74 degreee but an 82 is fine, 88 is too high for me, if your gauge is reading right at the monent you don't want it sitting at 3/4

I took the old thermostat out and it was a 82° and the one i replaced it with was 88°
Got it from euro parts
Like i said it always ran abou half way on the gauge now its 3/4 .

After market gauge I bought came with matched sender.

Even an 88 one wont keep the engine at 88, especially if lightly worked ie town work etc in the winter will see the coolant temperature dropping.
Both mine have an 88 stat in and both run a capilliary temp gauge and are pretty damned accurate, as an example fitting an elec fan to the front of the rad on my series caused the engine to run1 to 2 degrees hotter.

Most of the aftermarket stats out there are just plain carp, always worth carrying 8mm socket and a gallon of water just in case you have to remove the stat on the side of the road to get home.

Get a descent (VDO or similar) matching gauge and sender, once you have installed that you will be properly able to see what your temperature is doing. Standard LR temp gauges and senders are just pants in comparison!

+ 1 on above.

lynall said:

Even an 88 one wont keep the engine at 88, especially if lightly worked ie town work etc in the winter will see the coolant temperature dropping.
Both mine have an 88 stat in and both run a capilliary temp gauge and are pretty damned accurate, as an example fitting an elec fan to the front of the rad on my series caused the engine to run1 to 2 degrees hotter.

Most of the aftermarket stats out there are just plain carp, always worth carrying 8mm socket and a gallon of water just in case you have to remove the stat on the side of the road to get home.

Click to expand...

Yep I am the same, mine only hits 88+ if I work it hard, but rarely goes about 92-93.

Usual normal driving it sits around 84-86c

flat said:

Yep I am the same, mine only hits 88+ if I work it hard, but rarely goes about 92-93.

Usual normal driving it sits around 84-86c

Click to expand...

I noticed working the old 90 hard at indicated 70mph down the m20 the gauge crept just over 90degc and stayed there but got the impression that if I pushed it hard the temp was going to climb which is unusual so something is not right there, with a normal temp gauge you would not notice such small differences.

On my old 12 mile commute I could even tell you where the stat would open depending on the ambient air temp.
Up long hill temp would go to 92 stat would open temp drops to mid 80s then as we keep climbing the hill it would get back up to 90 then crest the hill and a few miles of 30mph and the temp would drop to mid 80s again and in the winter would keep dropping worst was high 70s and the heater output was pretty poor, was fcukin cold!