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Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:27 pm

Five years ago I added an oil pressure gauge to my '89 and yesterday the little hose from the block to the sender broke and leaked annoyingly. It could have been worse, messed up my driveway and we left the van at home and camped in a tent. Has anyone figured out a way to mount the sender with out using a flexible hose? Bus Depot sells an "extension adaptor" but with no photo I don't know what that is.

Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:22 am

Build a hard-line extension out of stuff you can get at the plumbing store. I've detailed exactly which parts are needed and how to build this in several threads.

This benefits you, not me, so you can spend your time searching. Search for my posts, keywords "oil pressure sender" , "copper tubing" ought to get you there.

Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:18 am

i bought a fitting from autometer that adapts the metric threads to the tapered threads used by most analog senders.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autof...toview=sku

if the sender you have is small enough to fit between the pushrod tubes this is a great solution. i've had mine in place for three years with no issues.

Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:10 pm

Be sure to support the end with all the brass fittings on it by using a cushion clamp around something as close to the end as possible, like a straight section of brass. Avoid clamping/supporting on the copper tube itself, or you'll risk a vibration induced crack in the copper where it mates to the brass flare fitting. Steer well clear of the #3 exh header if you're routing the line topsides. Adding a thermal sleeve over the copper tubing in this area to minimize heat soaking of the oil inside the copper tube wouldn't hurt.

Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:59 pm

mbvanagon wrote: Five years ago I added an oil pressure gauge to my '89 and yesterday the little hose from the block to the sender broke and leaked annoyingly. It could have been worse, messed up my driveway and we left the van at home and camped in a tent. Has anyone figured out a way to mount the sender with out using a flexible hose? Bus Depot sells an "extension adaptor" but with no photo I don't know what that is.

I used that "little hose" on my first Vanagon and in fact still have a brand new one I had stored as a spare. Being somewhat dissatisfied with that "little hose" arrangement which as evidenced by the other posts is a troublesome setup, I used, on my present van, a sandwich adapter:

http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/oil-cooler-Sandwich-adapters.aspx

I know that I will hear all kinds of reason as to why my solution is wrong however it works for me and I have both oil temp and oil pressure on it therefore keeping intact the "OEM" gauges/idiot lights and their senders.
The sandwich adapter also has the advantage of letting me connect my engine oil cooler there.

Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:15 am

The Mocal thermostatic sandwich adapters I use don't really have enough meat in the walls for sender drillings. You could get away with it but there would only be about three threads' engagement with a 1/8"NPT sender.

For OP senders and switches, I just made up this little manifold for a customer:

That has an Autometer OP sender, and both OEM OP switches mounted in it. It bolts firmly to a threaded boss on the left head.

The feeder pipe comes off the bottom like this:

That looks like hose, but it's a 1/4" copper hardline with a braided hose sheath.

I put the Autometer OT sender in the hi-OP switch position at the head of the main galley. 1/8"NPT threads into M10x1.0 just fine, but to get more depth so the nose of the sender sticks into the oil flow, I tapped the bushing to 1/8"NPT, and drilled it out to 9/16" on the outside. That gets the sender nose sticking a good 3/8" out of the bushing so it'll get a good temp sample and be more responsive:

This is all going into a gorgeous blue Syncro Doka resto show car.

Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:54 am

Nicely done 10 cent.

Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:44 am

Old thread from the dead,

10c, did you make that manifold out of bar stock then use a drill press or?

Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:52 pm

Ah-yup.

Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:48 am

on my syncro doka a made up some pipe from braded break pipe with an m10x1.0 male fitting to going in between the push rods and female at the outher end,, then notched the tim where to locate the pipe in to the engine compartment where i mounted the sender on a large p clip. the brass t peice houses a second presure switch so that the buzzer of doom still works. i made a new loom for the gauges and conected an oil temp sender where the second oil preshure switch was (between the pullys).

oh and i only used vdo senders

hope this helps neil

Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:51 am

That looks good, what vdo sensor did you use? I assume that it's a dual and you replaced the stock high pressure one with it?!

Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:14 am

http://www.machine7.com/section.php?xSec=1169

i used the double pole sender, one of the outputs is for the gauge and the outher is used for the low preasure switch as it switches at 0.5bar, the oil preasure switch in the t-peice i use fro the high preasure switch. as i have taken out the factory high presure switch and installed a oil temp sender in its location.

if you planing on doing something like this i would also buy a roll of PTFE tape, (pulmbers use this tape to seal threads) only costs about 50p per roll but it will keep all the threads nice and oil tight.

neil

Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:35 pm

I copied Tencentlife's set up (thanks TC for sharing idea/design), still have to tweak copper line route.

more:

http://shufti.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/vanagon-oil-pressure-sender-relocation/

alistair

Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:14 am

I am dealin with the details of getting my rig fully functional for this cross country trip..

I have been putting this off, and thought about what am I going to be doing for this oil pressure gig..

How are you guys wiring?

BTW, these are all real nice lookin manifolds!

Sadly, I'm going to be doing a tee/stud/tee sorta deal cause I dont have access to a CNC.. however, I am going to have to get braided stainless steel lines to the head..

IS the head the most ideal place for the tap?

Coming from the A1/A2 platforms, I have to ask, is anyone tapping psi from the top side of the filter flange?

Al

Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:29 am

Al,

when I get around to it, I'll be using the old VDO gauges (Cockpit series, I think) that I used in my gas I4 in '82 diesel westy. Was so much easier to add senders to that engine. I ran some 3/4" black plastic irrigation pipe from engine compartment up to under dash. Will do similar in my syncro but will use up some left over plastic flexible electrical conduit and run it along the old a/c lines route. In my previous install I used ethernet cable to carry signals (well, It was lying around). I wasn't that keen on the solid core wire, but it actually worked for 14 years with no problems. Others have suggested 3 strand extension cords or trailer wiring cable.

I decided to not tap from rear stock press. sender position as I thought there was not enough room to put in an elbow let alone curve tubing. I don't think there is a spot on top side of filter flange/boss.

BTW, no CNC here either, just an old lathe and a little milling head attachment.

alistair

Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:43 am

Here is a nice little kit to relocate those switches and also has room for a gauge sender......

http://store.42draftdesigns.com/VW-Oil-Pressure-Relocation-Kit_p_314.html

Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:50 am

Thanks Alistair for the great information, this gives me a good direction to go in.

I am using Cockpit guages, they were pretty cheap, right about 25 a guage, using six. I did want to tap the Automatic cooler line for PSI/temp. Volt, Ammeter, cooling and engine PSI/Temp.

Also, thanks for the link Syncropiliot!

Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:37 pm

Syncro Pilot wrote: Here is a nice little kit to relocate those switches and also has room for a gauge sender......

http://store.42draftdesigns.com/VW-Oil-Pressure-Relocation-Kit_p_314.html

Just checking on this, I like the kit is $35 and that's a real nice piece..

I was trying to use Oil temp guage, the article says:

The spare port cannot be used for an oil temperature sender. Though the sender may fit, there is no circulation of oil in this adaptor. Temperatures may never exceed 200.

Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:43 pm

dubbified wrote: Syncro Pilot wrote: Here is a nice little kit to relocate those switches and also has room for a gauge sender......

http://store.42draftdesigns.com/VW-Oil-Pressure-Relocation-Kit_p_314.html

Just checking on this, I like the kit is $35 and that's a real nice piece..

I was trying to use Oil temp gauge, the article says:

The spare port cannot be used for an oil temperature sender. Though the sender may fit, there is no circulation of oil in this adaptor. Temperatures may never exceed 200. :bay_blue: This part will fit your low and high pressure sender and a pressure gauge then you use the high pressure location in the front to hook up your temp gauge! :D