Sensor on Continental F140 engine

/ Sensor on Continental F140 engine #1  

k9739

New member
Joined
Mar 7, 2026
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2
Tractor
Massey Harris 22
I have a 1949 Massey Harris 22 tractor with a Continental 140 engine. There was a mushroom shaped part on top of the engine just aft of the distributor and inboard of # 3 and #4 spark plug. It had what appeared to be 2 solid wires going to the cap. I say "had" because i ended up breaking it off because i had to replace my head gasket and this item prevented the head from being lifted. Once the head was off, a long tube with the 2 wires appears to go deep into the engine. I have gone page by page thru my parts manual and cannot get a clue what it is to look for a replacement or even needed. It looks like a sensor of some kind and is now looking coolant out the base, so my guess is it was something to keep the chemistry balanced to prevent corrosion within the cooling system.
Hoping there is someone that knows what that is called and whether it adds value to engine performance. Grateful for any leads. I have done many searches on that engine and I have not found any images that even has this on another engine.
 

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/ Sensor on Continental F140 engine #2  
Asking out loud, could it be a temperature sending unit. That time period they were not monitoring a lot
 

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