Hi! I bought a water temp, volts, and oil pressure gauge for under the dash. I think the water and volts are straight forward, but two questions for the oil gauge:
1. Where to I connect the little nylon hose and fitting.... there's what looks like an electric sending unit I think on the oil filter housing. Is that the place?
2. Do I need to drain the oil first?
Thx in advance!
'68 400HO Coupe, 4 spd, 259 interior, Windward Blue. My other car's a Johnson 15 outboard on a '61 Starcraft rowboat... Just sayin'.
Hi! I bought a water temp, volts, and oil pressure gauge for under the dash. I think the water and volts are straight forward, but two questions for the oil gauge:
1. Where to I connect the little nylon hose and fitting.... there's what looks like an electric sending unit I think on the oil filter housing. Is that the place?
2. Do I need to drain the oil first?
Thx in advance!
I bought the copper pipe kit and the nylon kit. Both gave me grief. The copper one is slightly better. The nylon one kept leaking. The copper one would not seat the second time I installed it.
There is a steel fitting from your pipe kit that attaches to the oil filter adapter. Remove the your old electric sending unit and attach the new fitting for the nylon pipe. Attach the other fitting from kit to the gauge. Install pipe to gauge adapter.
Here is the answer you asked for that you did not want to hear. Ditch the oil pressure gauge with the tube and get one that uses an oil pressure sending unit. GM used electrical oil pressure gauges and so should you. Why? Well after the plastic lines rot and fail behind your dash, you will pump engine oil into your interior. When the line fails under the hood, you may pump oil onto the exhaust manifolds and burn your car down. Yes, the oil pressure gauges with electronic sending units cost $20 bucks more than a pressurized tube of hot engine oil plumbed into your cabin. We know the factory knew what they were doing. There will dozens of folks who will tell you they have never had a problem. And most who have will not come on here and admit it. I have done it twice, once in the original plastic. Then I was told the copper lines never leak. The plastic lines rot and the copper lines flex and eventually fail. If a sending unit fails, just install a new one. Remember if the line fails and you don't burn your car down, then you may just pump all your engine oil onto the road as you drive that long trip. Oops, no oil pressure? Nope, no oil, it ran dry and its time for a new short block.
Here is the answer you asked for that you did not want to hear. Ditch the oil pressure gauge with the tube and get one that uses an oil pressure sending unit. GM used electrical oil pressure gauges and so should you. Why? Well after the plastic lines rot and fail behind your dash, you will pump engine oil into your interior. When the line fails under the hood, you may pump oil onto the exhaust manifolds and burn your car down. Yes, the oil pressure gauges with electronic sending units cost $20 bucks more than a pressurized tube of hot engine oil plumbed into your cabin. We know the factory knew what they were doing. There will dozens of folks who will tell you they have never had a problem. And most who have will not come on here and admit it. I have done it twice, once in the original plastic. Then I was told the copper lines never leak. The plastic lines rot and the copper lines flex and eventually fail. If a sending unit fails, just install a new one. Remember if the line fails and you don't burn your car down, then you may just pump all your engine oil onto the road as you drive that long trip. Oops, no oil pressure? Nope, no oil, it ran dry and its time for a new short block.
x2 I had it leaking all over the engine on my test stand (better than the inside of the car) but it f'd up the reading when it leaks. Not something you want to be screwing around with when your doing an initial break in. I'm going electric!
I admit the thought of having hot pressurized oil, albeit through a tiny tube, entering the cabin was a little disconcerting. You two clinched it for me. I just bought the electric version.
Anybody want to buy a mechanical oil pressure gauge?
...didnt think so.
THX!
'68 400HO Coupe, 4 spd, 259 interior, Windward Blue. My other car's a Johnson 15 outboard on a '61 Starcraft rowboat... Just sayin'.
I admit the thought of having hot pressurized oil, albeit through a tiny tube, entering the cabin was a little disconcerting. You two clinched it for me. I just bought the electric version.
Anybody want to buy a mechanical oil pressure gauge?
...didnt think so.
THX!
I just swapped all my gauges out for electronic (oil, trans temp and engine temp). No idea why I didn't go this way to begin with. The temp gauges are way more accurate. Nothing worse than trying to diagnose an issue and it is a faulty gauge. You'll be happier in the long run, especially if you want to move the gauge (it's just wire).
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
