Oil pressure senders

[ClassiChimi]

Evening everyone.
I'm about sick of low oil pressure readings on my gauge especially when hot.
My engines been re built and the readings have always been low, Dom assures me the engine produces good pressure so I d like to try a sender that might withstand the heat better and give a truer reading.

Has anyone tried the ones that have an extra earthing point or can recommend a sender.
Late serp engine 2000 car.
Thanks Alun

[bobfather]

Yes, I found one that gave a similar reading to my mechanical gauge off an oil filter port. Trouble is it only lasted a few miles. I'm back with the cr@ppy TVR supplied part again. I'm on android at present so can't easily find my thread on this, I think you commented on the thread. It's linked there as one sender to avoid

[Toolbox200]

Hi Al...have got an oil pressure test kit which we have run on both Rich's and my car, both of which had dodgy senders....confirmed both engines were fine. Borrow it you want....the flexy is long enough to reach the windscreen, so I tuck it under the wiper so I can see what it does on a run.

I have since shelled out for a TVR replacement sender after trying one of the e.Bay 2 terminal units unsuccessfully.

Cheers Pete

[ClassiChimi]

Yes Bob I'll start searching,
Rich (Sheels) car has a good one but I can't remember exactly where he got it from.
His pressure sort of jumps to 50 psi and seems to sit there constantly so I'm not sure about that one either.
I'll ask him and report back.

My engine was hot recently and I had a reading on tickover that barely made 10 psi,,,
I need to get something that reads closer to the real pressure, if mines really running 10 psi I'm in trouble !

[ClassiChimi]

Toolbox200 said:

Hi Al...have got an oil pressure test kit which we have run on both Rich's and my car, both of which had dodgy senders....confirmed both engines were fine. Borrow it you want....the flexy is long enough to reach the windscreen, so I tuck it under the wiper so I can see what it does on a run.

I have since shelled out for a TVR replacement sender after trying one of the e.Bay 2 terminal units unsuccessfully.

Cheers Pete

Hey Pete, good to hear from you,, yes mate I'd really like to use that gauge,, Rich's gauge seems to be working OK from what I've seen of it !
I need to pop down his, I'll bel him then we'll have to meet up mate.
Hope your cars looking the business mate,,
Mine next

I think if I see the actual pressure with my own eyes I can then live with the gauge readings in the car,,, they are pretty consistant and regular so if the pressure is good then any big changes in my gauge readings would indicate a problem,,
That'll do I suppose
Cheers Pete I'll bell you

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

I fitted the one suggested by Chimp on this thread nearly 5 years ago, and it has been trouble free. Looks like the original eBay listing is dead, but you can probably find the same product elsewhere on eBay.

It was easy to fit, once I'd realised that I needed to remove and re-use an adaptor that was still attached to the old sender. Just unscrew the old sender, bung a rag into the hole to stop oil oozing out, move the thread adaptor onto the new sender and screw it into the hole.

If I remember correctly, the old sender had a spade connector and the new one had screw terminals for ring connectors. So I think I made a short adaptor wire with a ring connector on one end and a spade connector on the other, so that I didn't need to modify the car's wiring and could go back to the old type of sender if I needed to. I also used a length of green/yellow earth core from some 16-amp cable, fitted ring connectors to each end, connected it to the earthing point behind the front offside wheel, and connected it to the ground terminal of the sender - cable-tied it to the chassis leaving some slack at the sender end to allow for engine movement.

The gauge now gives much more sensible readings that are closer to what you'd expect the real pressure to be.

Cold idle: ~ 55 psi
Hot idle: 30-35 psi
2500 rpm and above: ~ 55 psi
Below 2000 rpm: Somewhere between 30 to 50 psi depending on revs.

[gacksen]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Cold idle: ~ 55 psi
Hot idle: 30-35 psi
2500 rpm and above: ~ 55 psi
Below 2000 rpm: Somewhere between 30 to 50 psi depending on revs.

depends also on the oil you are running. the thicker it is the more oil pressure you got...

[bobfather]

My thread, a sender to avoid, sold often on ebay too

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=157...

[N7GTX]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Cold idle: ~ 55 psi
Hot idle: 30-35 psi
2500 rpm and above: ~ 55 psi
Below 2000 rpm: Somewhere between 30 to 50 psi depending on revs.

Still on the original single terminal type sender and gives similar but a fraction higher readings as these using 10/40 semi.

[Chimp871]

After a new cam i checked pressure mechanically and got around 40 psi, then put on a new tvr sender and get 30psi so gauges may not be 100%

[mjlloyd]

dont worry about it i have had 3 new ones they all failed after a year.the last one has been on for about 5 years goes up and down like a yoyo so dont bother about it anymore engine sounds exactly the same also temp gauge dont work either.engine done 70000 miles

[QBee]

I ignore the temp gauges on all modern cars, because I learnt that they go straight to the middle position and stay there, even stuck in town centre traffic in a heat wave.

They all, including TVR ones, only really matter if you have a coolant loss, oil loss, or fan failure issue. Though I do have to add that the water temp at 95 degrees and the oil pressure around zero, after 15 enthusiastic minutes around Cadwell Park on wide open throttle or full on brakes, still have the power to get me straight back into the pits. Oil still full, water still there. Panic over.

[mjlloyd]

before it stopped working altogether it was stuck at 70 for 5 years