Brass and Aluminum

I’ve got my brass (pretty sure they’re brass) temp senders off the water rail, which of course is aluminum. Some of them had some greenish/bluish discoloring, as I know brass and aluminum don’t work together.

What can I do to stop this? Will a copper crush washer work? Or should it be aluminum? Or ?

You got them off after how many years, put it back exactly as you found it and no need to ever remove again. Copper probably. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

Give it a smear of Vaseline/petroleum jelly when you reassemble it.

Keep the brass sender, send the rest to the crusher, new cars are made from plastic - it will last forever.

Alternatvely, clean with vinegar and assemble. It will last your lifespan…

If these are 1-wire senders don’t forget that they get their electrical ground through the threads and washer. So don’t go too crazy with sealant or tape or whatever.

1 Like

I have 4 senders total in water rails.

A bank

  • oem temp sender (standard threads)
  • aftermarket temp sender where air pump sender used to be (npt threads)

B bank

  • CTS (standard threads)
  • aftermarket temp sender where charcoal canister sender used to be (standard threads)

I used teflon seal on npt, and aluminum anti seize with copper washers on others.

I tested continuity, and they are all grounded.

1 Like