Removing Oil Pressure Sending Unit

Sorry for the dumb question, but ...
What kind of tool do you use to unscrew the oil pressure sender in an '88 Carrera? There is so little space down there it looks like it would require some sort of right angle open ended spanner. I dont have Bentley with me, but I think it said the sender is torqued to about 50 lbs, so some considerable leverage is going to be needed, both to get the old one out and to torque in the new one. Is there some special Porsche tool for this?
Also, my torque wrench just has a fitting for 1/2" sockets. How do you torque something that you can't get a socket over? Is there some special torquing device I need to buy?

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John C
1988 Carrera coupe
1957 Speedster replica
1997 A6 Avant

John,

In order to remove the sender safely, I'd remove the camshaft oil feed line and the chain tensioner line. Then you can back out the hollow through bolt that holds the sending unit mounting block in place.

You can then remove the sending unit itself by placing the block in a vise. I removed the sender by using a 1 in. open ended wrench. Sorry, I only have up to 19mm in metric at the moment, but the 1 incher fits nice and tight anyway.

As far as torquing it down, I simply used the 1 in. open ender and snugged it down a bit. You could try a crows foot wrench to torque it close to 50 if it makes you feel better, but the crow might be a little thick to fit in between the sender and the block.

So, you'll need three new seal rings (one big copper for the sender and two alum. for the hollow bolt) and maybe a little ferrule fitting for the cam line. But don't over tighten the hollow bolt or the cam line nut. I know this because I had to redo the seals and cam line when mine leaked upon reinstallation. The cam line nut seems to be touchy. Too tight and you get a pesky drip leak. The hollow bolt is kind of easy to overtighten too so be careful not to gorilla crush the washers like me. I have a hard time with what feels tight enough I guess.

Hope that helps.



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Kevin
87 Carrera

If you remove the A/C belt, then you can use a 15/16" craftsman crowfoot. I bought a 3/8" drive unit, and used my rotary tool to remove a small amount of material (so that it slips in easier).
Unfortunately I'm too scared to try and remove it. The sender is REALLY in there. I tried moderate force, and then slightly more, but the idea of ripping out that block for the oil feed line...eeeek!~ I'm not sure how much brute strength I can apply before damaging something.
I saturated it w/ penetrating oil and I figure I'll try again in a couple weeks (the next time I reove the A/C belt).
If you must have it out NOW, then I'd heed KTL's advice (although removing all that stuff looks like a real pain).

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Dan Tolley
1987 911 Coupe
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/gallery.asp?sort=0&userid=294

Dan's right, it must have been a 15/16ths size I used. Whatever the size, it'll be a tight fit. You'd have to use the crows foot to remove the sender in the car because the jumbo 15/16ths open end wrench wouldn't fit in the engine bay. I'd recommend removing the sender in the vice simply because the hollow bolt holding the sender mounting block in place is not torqued very tight at all. You could therefore make the block rock/pivot against the little aluminum sealing washers and develop a leak?

I forgot to mention that my A/C is removed, so the access is MUCH easier. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier. No A/C makes a BIG difference.

That's just my $.02 but it's easy for me to say to remove the whole gig because I don't have the A/C to wrestle with!


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Kevin
87 Carrera