TeamSwift

I was wondering if any on has hooked up a mechanical Oil Pressure gauge to the side of the head. What are these threads? It seems like the best place to have one because the Cam journals are what need oil the most. The oil pressure in the head is my main concern. Thanks in advance.

Dan

I ran my electric gauge off one of those plugs on my GT engine. The thread is a 1/8"-28 BSP . You'll need an adapter which autometer sells. I have a few kicking around if you are stuck.

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"Don't argue with stupid people. They just bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

and what was the reading? near what it should be for normal oil pressure at the block or what? also, the gauge i have is from princess auto, i know, shame on me, but it was so cheap, and electrical at that! anyways, its just for my winterbeater. i dont know what the threads are...ill check at work tomorrow though. It says it comes with the most common thread on it...what would that be?

Greg

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when the clutch drops, the BS stops

"Life's a rally, cut corners"

The most common thread size is a 1/8"-27 NPT . It is very close to the BSP but not quite.

On my old GS which I ran the gauge on at idle when first starting the car the gauge showed about 60PSI when the engine was fresh.. After the car warmed up at idle the gauge showed about 10PSI.. Many km's later with the engine broken in at idle it was just under 60 cold and around 7 warm. On my other GT I am measuring the pressure on the block and have only recently connected the gauge so I can't comment on the readings since I have yet to drive the car anywhere.

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"Don't argue with stupid people. They just bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

how much do you want for one of those adapters? My dad might be able to get them...but i just want to know how much you might charge me for one incase my dad cant get them at his shop.

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when the clutch drops, the BS stops

"Life's a rally, cut corners"

If your dad can get them I would try that first. I looked around for awhile trying to find them but my only options were to order the Autometer ones or have the adapter made. Autometer wants like $10 each plus shipping so if your dad can get you some then I would go that route but believe me they are hard to find. Some oil pressure gauge testing kits come with them though.

I ended up buying the proper tap and die and getting them made since the tool I needed to machine one was less then what autometer wanted for one and I could get as many as I wanted/needed.

If you want one I will check to see how many I have left. SprintDan wants one but I am not going to leave myself short since I need one more for the turbo going on the car and another for my Aerio. If there is any leftover you are welcome to one.

If your dad is going to find one he needs a 1/8"-28 BSP (male) to a 1/8"-27 NPT (female)

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"Don't argue with stupid people. They just bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

Okay, ill have my dad look tomorrow.

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when the clutch drops, the BS stops

"Life's a rally, cut corners"

I had my dad order one. He had to get it from autometer. the only ones who sell them. I got it fro 9 bucks CND, which is better than 10 US plus shipping....

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when the clutch drops, the BS stops

"Life's a rally, cut corners"

Found this thread amidst the murk...good enough for FAQ status .

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LNLC Founding Member

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

So what about the plug between the water outlet housing and the distributor? Has anyone used that for a mechanical hook-up? (I personally don't like electric reliability).


John

i was wondering if there was any better place to hook one up on a mk 1. i have an oil pressure gauge from summit, and the sending unit is huge, and will barely fit in the stock position.

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1988 Chevrolet Sprint (Forsa clone) 3Tech cam and underdrive pulley, MSD 8mm wireset, shaved head, Weber 32/36 carb, Honda short shifter, KYB Gr2 suspension, Summit tach and gauges, Pilot steering wheel, NEW! Summit Multi-spark CDI
Project Page
1993 Geo Metro Only mods so far are a Honda short shifter, Glowshift tach and a 3a Racing ricer muffler (freebie)

Your sending unit should be remote located. Here's why:
http://www.theoldone.com/articles/oilpressure/

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Bringing this back up from the dead...

I installed my gauge using the port in the side of the head and pressure reading is 50PSI at start up and after its warm I'm basicaly sitting on 0 at idle. Needle moves very slowly (driving on the highway has at about 20psi) too. I think that it could be because of the area I'm tapped into. The gauge is mechanical so I think grabbing the pressure from an area nearer to the sender may be manadatory to get a good reading. Hopefully I'll have time in the next couple of days to test it out near the factory sensor and see if it works better.

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FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

what type of oil are you running?

Dan

10w30 Synthetic Mobil1.

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FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
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you ever think of running 5W50 synthetic? I've been running that for the winter and my next oil change I might go back to 10W30 synthetic but don't know yet.

Dan

Never really thought of it. Always have gone with the 10w30. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it though...I'm due for an oil change soon. Car never drives in the winter and is strictly a summer vehicle though. I was hoping to relocate the oil line today but never got around to it...maybe Thursday .

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LNLC Founding Member

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

Try using a heavier oil first 10W50 or 5w50 synthetic and then see if that make a difference on the gauge first. If that doesn't then change it locations.

Dan

You should be seeing over 50 PSI at 3000 using 10w-30 on a warm engine. Thicker oil shouldn't be necessary to get that pressure. I hope it's just the gauge location.

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1994 Metro - MPH project (getting a DOHC G13B)
1994 Metro - MPG project (getting an XFi G10)
1992 Swift - Parts car (gone)
1991 Swift - Parts car (gone)
1990 Swift - Parts car
1997 Metro - Parts car (gone)
1993 Metro - Parts car
1989 Swift GTi - Parts car
1998 Metro - Parts car

He has his gauge in the head, same oil port the lifters get oil I believe. In the side of the block it will always read higher.

Dan

Just thought I would update. Relocated the oil line to the factory location and now pressure is reading properly. I guess the head just doesn't see nearly as much pressure.

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LNLC Founding Member

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

i hate to drag this topic up but i didnt want to start a thread over it.
i just picked up a multi gauge set from walmart (made by equus, in china ) and it came with a bunch of extra fittings. one of them is
1/8-28 BSP
the gauge set only cost me 20 bucks(compared to the 10$ oil gauge with only one fitting included)
so from what i understand here i should be able to use this without drilling and tapping the oil sender hole, right?

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"Beating the hell out of other peoples cars since 1999!"
and..."Rusty, Crusty but Japanese Trusty!"

I believe I have that gauge set and yes, the adapter allows it to be connected in place of the pressure switch - the problem with that approach is that you need to keep an eye on the gauge, since you have no low oil pressure light.

One of threads on this forum shows how to connect a flex line to a T that feeds both the guage and the switch.

You can do it, but u should use the same gauge & sensor to get accurate reading, I used Honda sensor with auto meter gauge and it wasn't showing proper figures.

Second it's good to put oil pressure in the engine head in GTi as the genuine sensor is a not a good thing at all. It's showing u oil pressure from oil pump and before oil filter, that means, one:
If r engine is loosing pressure at main bearings it won’t show u anything and by the time r light will come on it will be too late for r engine. I had it one time with swift and was thinking why that light came that late ....the engine was gone even the engine head was seized all the way...
In most cars the oil pressure sensor is placed where the oil is returning to the oil pump again from engine head ...and will give u immediate warning ..
Second : if u have remote oil filter or oil cooler it won't show u any pressure drop as well so it's better to put extra sensor in the oil filter return ( next to where stock sensor )

hope i do make sense

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