Date:         Sun, 10 Mar 1996 20:36:27 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         rickgo@halcyon.com (Rick Gordon)
Subject:      re Installing Oil Temp and Pressure guages in an '81

>        Just last week I bought an oil temp sender and an oil pressure sender
>from Rocky Mountain Motor Works.  I removed the sump plate on the bottom rear
>of the engine and punched a 9/16th hole in it.  I highly recommend using a
>punch to put a hole in this plate, it worked beautifully, much better than
>drilling, if you can get access to a hole punch.  The oil pressure sender I
>bought is the one with warning light provision.  I assumed that this unit
>would replace the stock oil pressure sender, but I am having trouble
>installing this sender.  I don't see how it is going to fit through the tin
>on my '81. Has anyone else installed one of these units?  What did you do? Do
>I need a short 1/8th in NPT nipple? What size worked for you?
>

It doesn't fit through the tin - even if you cut away a little tin around
that area you'll find that the sensor butts against the distributor and
won't tighten down enough. The trick is to get some brass threaded tubing,
say a 3-inch and 1-inch piece, a 45-degree angle connector and a female
coupling. This is tapered-thread stuff, available at most any hardware
store. Anyway, put the 3-inch tube into the sender hole on the engine,
attach the angle connector, then the 1-inch piece, then the coupler. Screw
the oil pressure sender into that. Use thread sealant to make the threads
tight - without electrically isolating them - you need ground through the
engine. You end up with the pressure sender conveniently tilted at an angle
away from the distributor so that it all fits nicely.

Oh, and VDA makes a drain plug sender that you can thread into the center
hole - no need to punch. But either way should work fine.

>        I am quite surprised by the poor quality of instructions that came
>with
>these VDO senders and gauges, there are no instructions at all with the
>oil pressure sender.  These are not cheap accessories, I expected better.
>It seems to me that RMMW could write something to include with these
>units as a custmer services.
>

Mine came with pictorial diagrams and comments in umpteen languages. Not
perfect but I was able to figure it out eventually.
(But you should see these German driving lights I bought on closeout a few
months ago - several diagrams with commentary all in German so I'm not
really sure which one applies. In fact if you want these I'd sell them for
my cost - around $55 I think.)

-rick


Rick Gordon
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
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