TeamSwift

I have a non mechanical(electrical) Auto meter oil pressure gauge.well not to sound stupid ,cause i never installed one,how/where do you hook it up.It is brand new,but i cannot take it back since i bought it a year ago,,if i bought the wrong one.Does it need the sender,or is there a wire i can tap into to get a reading,and if you need the sender(which comes with one)how and where,what extra stuff i need(like fittings,etc)

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"One Of Three ORIGINAL (CERTIFIED) LNLC Co-Founders"
1991 Suzuki Swift GT.
1994 Suzuki Swift GT.
If my Swift was as fast as Tg or m's car I'd be famous...
My car is a trailer queen 'cause it's too slow to merge safely into traffic

Okay let me get this straight you need the sender for the gauge? Autometer does sell them seperatly since I am in need of a replacement for my own car too at the moment... You need Auto meter ATM-2242 to be exact... You can order it from http://www.summitracing.com (I've ordered from them before) and they want $28.39US for it... It will thread perfectly into the side of the head if you want to put it there (there are ALLEN screws you can remove)..

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

there's a second spot next to your existing sender in the block that may be a better spot to get a real oil pressure reading from ..
i've got a volvo electric oil pressure gauge kicking around that i've been wondering about as well .. of course no real manual for it, i wonder if i can use any sender unit, or if i need to find another turbo volvo to pull it from .. you'd think the signal would be the same from the various senders out there .. & the one already in the block...

It comes with a sender(the gauge)i need to buy another one?where is the spot where it would thread into on the block?

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"One Of Three ORIGINAL (CERTIFIED) LNLC Co-Founders"
1991 Suzuki Swift GT.
1994 Suzuki Swift GT.
If my Swift was as fast as Tg or m's car I'd be famous...
My car is a trailer queen 'cause it's too slow to merge safely into traffic

I've successfully installed an Autometer electric oil pressure gauge in my own Swift. I've answered installation questions before in this thread:
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?p=35929

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one note: The threads on the autometer sender are 1/8" NPT, the threads on the block are 1/8" ISO Tapered. These are NOT the same threads. They are very close to being identical, but they are slightly different. To be sure you get a good seal, the only answer is to chase the threads in the block with an 1/8" NPT tap. Remember to suck out all of the metal chips when you are done.

If you decide to just thread the sender into the existing hole without chasing the threads, be aware that you will not get sufficient engagement without distorting the block threads. This isn't really bad if you do it well, because the sender will actuall thread form the block threads into 1/8" NPT. But if you start the procedure a little crooked or so, you run the risk of messing up the threads pretty badly.

note to all of the engine designers in Detroit and Japan: Tapered threads suck ass! Please, please stop using them!!!

--Roy

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1989 Suzuki Swift GTi - ITB Racecar
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS - Daily Driver
2004 Dodge Ram Pickup - Tow Vehicle
2006 Suzuki DR-Z400SM - SuperMoto
2009 Cannondale Rize
I rarely visit TeamSwift anymore, so please email me if you have a question. On average I'm only checking my PM's here once a month. "roy (at) forcefed4 (dot) com"

I may be wrong but as I understand it ISO tapered is also known as Japanese pipe thread and British standard pipe thread (BSP). They work the same as National pipe thread (NPT).

Unfortunately BSP and NPT are tapered at a different angle and have a different number of threads per inch so they cannot be interchanged. (get an adaptor or re-tap)

I don't hate pipe thread but they are not the best choice for anything that will ever be removed and reinstalled and it is not easy to find BSP stuff in USA.

Ed

If you want to be a fanatic, run an oil pressure hose to your oil pressure sender. They work better and last longer away from heat and vibration.

It's not necessary but if you feel like going the extra yard, it's a good idea.

Remember to get a good electrical ground on the sender.

Ed

Well I guess no one read my post entirely... Cause the threads on the side of the HEAD fit PERFECTLY.. They aren't tapered and neither is the sender.

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

It uses a copper washer to complete the seal?

I haven't seen that style before but then I haven't been looking.

Ed

That's exactly what I did. I also put a T on the end of the hose so the stock pressure switch can still be used. If you use a braided stainless steel hose it also automatically grounds the sending unit as well. Just to be sure though, measure with a multimeter between the sender housing and the negative battery terminal (mine measured 1-2 ohms, so no additional grounding was needed)

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I disagree. My autometer sport-comp oil pressure sender is 1/8" NPT. That's tapered. Again, you COULD thread it into 1/8" ISO parallel, but you'll be damaging the threads in the head (not such a bad deal, if you are carefull).

Mcguirk: Yes, ISO and BSP are the EXACT same thing. Be careful in that, unlike NPT, they come in both parallel and tapered threads. As far as the differences between the two (tapered), here is my comparison of both, side to side:

Thread pitch: As I measured it, they are identical.
Taper angle: again, as I measure, very close (if not identical)
Start/End major diameter: this is where I see a noticable differenece. The ISO parallel threads seam to be a little bit "narrower" than the NPT.

Bottom line is, an 1/8" NPT tap will cost you $4 at Home Depot. Like Carroll Smith said (RIP):

If you can't find the time to do it right, make sure you have the time to do it twice.

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1989 Suzuki Swift GTi - ITB Racecar
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS - Daily Driver
2004 Dodge Ram Pickup - Tow Vehicle
2006 Suzuki DR-Z400SM - SuperMoto
2009 Cannondale Rize
I rarely visit TeamSwift anymore, so please email me if you have a question. On average I'm only checking my PM's here once a month. "roy (at) forcefed4 (dot) com"

Sure it is.

How about:

http://www.swagelok.com
http://www.ham-let.com
http://www.parker.com

plus a ton of others... you just have to know where to look. I actually deal with BSP/ISO/G threads all day long at work (I work for a german company).

_________________
1989 Suzuki Swift GTi - ITB Racecar
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS - Daily Driver
2004 Dodge Ram Pickup - Tow Vehicle
2006 Suzuki DR-Z400SM - SuperMoto
2009 Cannondale Rize
I rarely visit TeamSwift anymore, so please email me if you have a question. On average I'm only checking my PM's here once a month. "roy (at) forcefed4 (dot) com"

JC Whitney has a set of BSPT and straight metric to NPT adapters for around $5. There's also http://www.adaptall.com/ . I just got a stock oil pressure gauge from an Isuzu Trooper, no adapter necessary.

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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

I haven't had to deal with BSP for a while but I remebered a thread on the MR2 list a few years ago that was about the difficulty of finding the proper adapters.

I am going to remember that adaptall link and it looks like adapters are easier to find these days.

I can't find the link I had yesterday about the differences between BSP and NPT but I found a better one today:

"In general BSPT (Tapered) / BSPP (Parallel) threads have different angles (55 vs 60), shapes (rounded vs flattened valleys and peaks) and in most cases threads per inch than NPT. "

http://www.anver.com/document/vacuum%20 ... rsions.htm

I was mistaken about the taper they're both the same, it's the angle of the thread walls that are slightly different. So apparently some fittings are effectively interchangeable according to this website.

Ed

does anyone actually know what sort of signal the stock sender unit puts out .. & any reason why it couldn't be used to feed info to both the stock warning light & an electronic gauge ? that area's a bit warm to be reaching in with my multimeter ..

On a Metro, it's a switch. The contacts are closed below 4.5 psi. Won't drive a gauge very well.

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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

When the wire on the pressure switches goes to ground, the low oil pressure light comes on. The signal isn't variable, it's either open circuit or closed circuit. Hence why I installed a T-fitting, so the pressure switch is retained.

That's the idea anyways, the wire broke from the pressure switch a while back and the only data it communicates now is a false low oil pressure warning when I'm going over 140 kph (the combination of wind and vibration is shorting it to the frame) Hmm, good thing I have a working oil pressure gauge.

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yup , just a simple switch..


however a warning to those who have T'd in their gauge to the switch port, Maybe it is me with the vibration mine sees, but i have had 2 "t"'s break off on me, so i have decided to use to the light only. lucky for me, ,both times happened just before i stopped (smell & smoke - light didn't come on yet) and did some emergency repairs.

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NULL

My T fitting is on the end of a braided stainless steel oil line. No vibration problems there.

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d'oh .. was just checking my new electronic sender, it's the 1/8-27 NPT so i'll probably have to get a tap & re-thread the hole in the block. i don't really want to use an adapter or a hose to keep things simple & out of the way. would it be alright to move the warning switch to the location in the head ? it would be easier to put the sender there (as it's bigger then the stock pressure switch), but i've heard it's not as good a spot for getting an accurate reading.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

for a helpful thread

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Here's a small list of other threads concerning oil pressure gauge installations:
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?p=78227#78227

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>>ALERT! Old Thread Resurrection<<

Here's some pics of how I installed my oil pressure gauge:





And the gauges themselves. Gotta love hose clamps!

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I know this is an old thread, but i'd hate to start a new one for this question, so here goes

Can i plug my sender into the head near the thermostat and still get a decent reading? I dont want to touch the stock oil sending unit if i dont have to...i mean, how far off would the pressure reading be if i did install the oil pressure sender for my gauge in the head instead of the block? are we talking a few psi, or way out?

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when the clutch drops, the BS stops

"Life's a rally, cut corners"