Volks, I just finished installing the VDO Dual Oil Pressure Sender on my 90 Westy Syncro. It was a real pain in the butt to get a nice installation in such a tight place, and I thought I would share some of what I came up with.

The stock .3 Bar sender is located behind the engine tin that covers the push rod tubes on the driver's side (You have to gut under the van). It simply screws into the engine block. However, it is in a very tight spot and the after market .5 Bar VDO Oil Senders will not fit into that spot. After reading the excellent article by Karl Bloss at www.vanagon.com and after consulting the List Archives and after reading the instructions at the Bus Boys site at http://www.bus-boys.com/bbvdo.htm I realized there were two options to connect the VDO sender to the engine block and I didn't like either one of them.

The option described by Karl and the Bus Boys is to purchase the $25+ rubber hose and run it to the outside of the engine tin and mount the sender there. Unfortunately, the hose is 12 inches and it turns out that is a very awkward length because no matter what way you route the hose the sender seems to end up near the exhaust pipes. I really don't like all the bends in the hose or the fact that it is so near the heat of the exhaust pipes... bends and heat are not good for rubber over time. (I wouldn't mind the excessive price for a piece of rubber that looks a lot like the $4.00 hose that goes on the end of a greese gun if it made a nice installation, but it doesn't.)

The option described by several in the List Archives is to use 1/8 inch brass pipe... thread about a two inch piece into the engine block and add fittings to route the pipe to the outside of the engine tin. I really don't like this method because of the torque (and vibration) that will be transmitted by the pipe to its attachment at the engine block. It would be really bad to blow out the threaded opening in the engine block!!

So here's what I came up with:

Mark the engine tin just above the arch between the two lower bolts in the middle of the fore/aft curve , straight out and down from the stock sender hole. I drilled and enlarged it with a round file such that a 5/8 I.D. rubber grommet will fit snuggly, leaving only about 3/8 or 1/2 of a inch of metal between the grommet and the edge of the engine tin. The idea is that a short hose will thread into the stock sender hole, come straight out and angle down at about a 45 degree angle, go through the grommet, attach an elbow pointed toward the oil filter, and attach the VDO sender to the elbow, and attach the VDO sender to the engine tin with a 'P' shaped metal hose strap and a sheet metal screw (Regardless of what anyone says go ahead and use Teflon tape on the threads of the fittings... rubber hose will not ground the sender! If the strap has padding or insulation strip it off, the metal strap makes the ground connection for the Sender if you are using rubber hose). This puts the VDO sender just forward of the oil filter, nestled in the curve of the engine tin that runs fore and aft.

I went down to "Hose & Fittings, etc." in Reno (I'm sure most large towns have such a place... or contact a place that services construction equipment). I found out I could get a small rubber hose made for about $5.00 or a braided stainless steel with Teflon lining hose for about $9.00. I chose the stainless steel hose because it will withstand heat up to 2,000 degrees and should not deteriorate under engine heat conditions... (also it turns out that the nut on the rubber hose was smaller than the diameter of the hose so it would be difficult to reach into the small stock sender spot with a wrench at extreme angle and get a bit on the nut.... the stainless steel hose is smaller diameter than the nut and makes it much easier to get a wrench on it). After a couple of mistakes I found that the perfect length for the hose is 3 5/8 inches.... for the ss hose, if they cut it to 3 1/2 inches (end of fitting to end of fitting) it will grow to 3 5/8 inches when they crimp the collars of the fittings to the ss hose.

Metric fittings are difficult to find, but it turns out that 1/8 inch pipe threads work great on both the sender and the stock sender hole even though those threads are 11 mm. I got my hose made up with a 1/8 inch male pipe thread fitting on one end and a 1/4 inch tapered female fitting (like tapered gas fittings) on the other end. I got an elbow with 1/4 inch tapered male on one end and 1/8 inch female pipe thread on the other end. The tapered fitting works great in that you can install the engine tin with the hose through the rubber grommet and add the sender with the elbow attached last such that you can choose the angle you want it to end up at... with pipe threads once it is tight that is the angle your sender will be mounted at! I also got my 'P' shaped hose strap at the same shop. (If you want to use the VDO single sender instead of the dual sender you can use a T in place of the elbow above such that the VDO sender is at one end of the T and the original stock .3 Bar sender is at the other end of the T)

Now if you don't like the idea of using 1/8 metal pipe threads on your 11 mm stock sender hole threads and your newly purchased VDO sender threads consider this: I order the Pressure Adapter Hose Kit put out by VDO. It came in a VDO package, but the hose was labeled with an American hose manufacturer and both fittings had American size nuts and threads (same as I recommended above). In addition, the American to metric adapter fitting that comes with the VDO kit does not fit the 11 mm sender threads any better than the 1/8 pipe thread elbow described above and the nut is sized for an American wrench! Seems that VDO is making a bunch on a hose and fittings and strap you can buy for about $8.00.

I like my installation better that the others mentioned above. It is cheaper, stronger, there are less bends than the $25+ rubber hose kit. Also my hose doesn't touch any hot surfaces and the sender is near the oil filter away from the hot exhaust pipes. And I like it better than using rigid pipe which with enough torque could damage the threads in the stock sender hole.

After calling around to several of the vendors that have been mentioned on the list I finally bought the sender and gauge from Bus Boys 1-800-792-2697 who had good prices and better advice and service than the others... (Yes, that's right Bus Boys! Despite all the negative vibes on the list they were a pleasure to deal with. I talked to Walter and he is giving list members 10% off.) I guess they have a new/better owner.

Good Luck with your VDO Oil Pressure Sender!

Bill 90 Westy Syncro