Oil pressure sender

turbo dave · turbo dave's Garage

Has anybody taken one of these off? It uses a 17mm bolt shape, formed as part of the lower part of the sender, but there isn't anywhere near enough room to loosen with a standard 17mm wrench. Please don't tell me I have to drop the motor to get the sender off.

BTW, don't try to just twist the upper part of the sender to unscrew it, the upper half of the sender just rotates over the lower half. Ask me how I know... But, at least it still holds oil, I guess not much gets in there.

Thanks in advance-

turbo dave · turbo dave's Garage

I think I found it: 17mm crowfoot wrench. I'll post back if it works, maybe somebody else has had the same challenge.

Shakenbake · 03-27-2002, 06:08 PM

David, let me know if that works....I can't seem to be able to get my hand on the da** thing, much less a wrench. Mine has been a source of an oil leak for a long time...keeps on smoking from the constant drip onto the manifold.

Early_S_Man · 11:35 AM

Chris, Correction ... it was a '73.5 2.4 CIS engine that needed lowering!!! For the 2.7 that isn't needed with the pressure sender!

With your CIS system in the way ... the easiest way is to unbolt all four M12 bolts for the engine/trans mounts, unbolt the shift coupler ... then lower the engine/trans about 5"! Then you will be able to get it off from under the passenger-side wheelwell with the wheel off! I had a guy email me a couple of years ago asking if it was really necessaryfor a shop to do a full engine pull to replace the sender and thermostat O-ring with a 2.4 CIS engine. I told him it didn't seem reasonable to me, but that is probably what the 'book' says to do! I suggeasted the above alternative ... and that he buy or rent the tools to do it himself, and to ditch the shop that gave him the estimate!

Dave,

Kind of hard to tell what will work for you with no details of your engine configuration! MFI and carbs can be done in place ... Paul Donkin did his with a crowfoot in short order a year or so ago on his '72 MFI 'S' engine ...

Shakenbake · 03-27-2002, 06:46 PM

Warren, how much time for this? You think I could handle that and the turbo tie rod kit install in a day? It took roughly 4hrs for me to do the Chain Tensioner update...mainly because of the short bolt and an extra trip to find one...Thanks for your help on that one as well.

Early_S_Man · 03-27-2002, 07:08 PM

Probably so, Chris! Might be a long day if you have trouble with the tie-rod ends, or getting the old rods off the rack, but I don't think the sender change will take 4 hours ... unless the cleanup time for the oil spill runs up the clock

You are quite welcome ... on the tensioner hints!!

Shakenbake · 03-27-2002, 07:49 PM

You mean there is a chance I might spill oil???? Heaven forbid...haha

Craig Stevens (on the board) sent me the tie rod tools to use, so hopefully it will go a little easier. I have to assume they have been on since the factory put them there (May will be 28 years).

Picked up a new toy to play with as well...the 1992 Full Size Bronco...

Early_S_Man · 03-27-2002, 10:04 PM

Chris ... actually, I wasn't referring to any oil you might cause to be spilled on the case, but, rather ... the Exxon Valdez-type leak that has been going on for 'xx' years and which you may be surprized by when the eyeballs finally survey the despoiled scenery!

turbo dave · turbo dave's Garage

Yes, I guess a little more information would have been in order: I have a 2.7 CIS in my '73T, and in my car, the oil pressure sender is just to the right of the fan shroud. Access is pretty open to see and touch it, just not nearly open enough to get a regular wrench on it. I think using the crowfoot will work, I'll post my results this weekend.

schulr · schulr's Garage

a mechanic just replaced one on my 87 that took him about 3 hours to get done. the problem was getting the crowfoot wrench around the bolt and moving the oil lines. Seems they could have made this a bit more friendly in the begining. Interesting comment on 101 projects, it states this is an easy job to complete.

Bob

Jim Sims · 03-28-2002, 11:12 AM

I just did this job a couple of days ago on my '76 911S 2.7l with CIS and A/C. I found it was just easier to start at the cam tower oil line connection and take the oil line off, followed by the pressure sender mounting block and the hollow through bolt. Then one can mount the block in a vise and get the old sender off with a thin thickness open end or crowfoot wrench. I removed two 25-30 year old oil pressure senders this way; it was good to have the blocks in the vise as the senders were really screwed into the blocks tightly (attempt to stop oil leaks?). Then reverse order to reinstall. Of course, this means 4 additional metal gasket rings and a new ferrule for the oil line are needed but these are relatively inexpensive. On a related note on a '76 CIS engine to replace leaking oil components on the flywheel end (oil pressure switch, oil thermostat o-ring, etc.) and clean up the resulting mess the engine really has to come out of the car and the induction system removed. Goodluck. Jim

KTL · 03-28-2002, 12:06 PM

A "stubby" 17mm wrench could be worth a shot if the crow's foot doesn't stick out enough?

I did it Jim Sims' way by removing the block/cam line assy. Mine was screwed into the block quite tight as well. Much easier to do when the motor's on a stand!

Superman · 03-28-2002, 12:24 PM

I'd agree that the oil prressure sender mounting block should be taken out for this. It seems to me I saw a torque spec for that sender that was surprizingly high. Considerably higher than the surrounding oil line connections. That would help explain why they're so hard to get off.

pirin911 · 03-28-2002, 01:35 PM

Changed the oil pressure sender in my 1985 Carrera. I used a
24 mm crowfoot with a long extension. I had to made the crowfoot thinner using a drill and a metal cutting disc to mill it and be able to fit under the sender. It was a bit tight but, Piece of cake.

htbetz · htbetz's Garage

Be very carefull! I stripped out my case a bit trying to remove the wrong way.
Proper way is:
1- disconnect oil line from bolt that go's through the block that the sender screws in to.
2- remove through bolt. The bolt, block and sender will all nicely come out.
3 - put block in vice and remove sender

john walker's workshop · 03:02 PM

get the a/c compressor out of the way and remove the 3 bolts and one nut that hold on the top of the a/c bracket and remove that. takes 10 minutes. WAAAAY easier now. the 17mm wrench is just for the thru bolt. i believe the sender hex size is 24mm. why people fight it with the a/c stuff in the way is beyond me. carreras need to have the muffler removed to get at the a/c bracket mounting bolts.

turbo dave · turbo dave's Garage

a/c? What's a/c? While we're at it, what's carpeting? Or radio?

Life's much easier with a minimal car, just the go, stop & turn stuff, little else.

Thanks all for the advice, probably saved me (and others) some serious heartache. And John Walker, I think you'll be seeing my little yellow T before track days, for some final work & checkup. Your posts here have convinced me that you are the go-to guy, even if we have some serious P-car talent in the Seattle area.

pwd72s · 03-28-2002, 04:00 PM

Yes, 17mm crowfoot wrench did it for me...but I have MFI stacks that cause no intereference. CIS Might be tougher. Another tip, though the crowfoot worked, the banjo oil fitting below it also unscrewd from the engine. That loosened every crush washer in the set-up, all different sizes. You'll need an 18mm wrench for tightening the banjo fitting back in, and BE SURE to have a good souce for metric crush washers nearby...I spent 4-5 hours running around two towns before I found what I needed at a "european car" service shop. They were nice, gave 'em to me. My thinking was that if I didn't replace the crush washers, I'd have had leaks...