Hi All

 

Whats a healthy reading (i'm using the oil pressure gauge in dash) for a 1990 z32 TT.

 

Mines reading 60 (psi?) when cold but drops to 20psi when warm, thats with the revs held at 2500rpm.

the stock gauge isnt very accurate, & the sender unit is a bit poo as well!

I think thats about right.

As Paul said the stock gauge is pants. Mine reads from 50 too 100 fine then when it goes below 50 it drops to 0 because of the crap sender unit. But the strange thing is that it then works fo 10 to about 30. :confused:

The reason the stock guage is such pants is that most of the sender units are as old as our cars! Having seen one in a dismantled state revealed that it is a resistance based mechanism. Not sure how to explain it but basically there is a tine strip of metal that moves along a metallic cylinder, varying resistance which in turn moves the needle on the oil pressure guage in the dash, dependent on oil pressure moving past it. However, cue in metal fatigue and high oil temperatures, and you can see that after a few years this little piece of metal isn't as responsive as it once used to be. Hence, when you've been driving a while, the engine is hot, the oil is hot, and the pressure guage starts to move towards the zero mark. That doesn't mean there is no oil pressure - trust me, you'll know when you haven't got oil pressure ...

 

Having said all the above, and I stand to be corrected by any of the tech guys on here, a new oil pressure sender unit is only about £80 from Nelson and it is very easy to fit.

 

Danny

Does anyone have a duff oil pressure sensor they can send me ? I'll like to see if they are repairable or perhaps there is an alternative more reliable replacement, or maybe I can re-engineer something more accurate.

Originally posted by AndyP

Does anyone have a duff oil pressure sensor they can send me ? I'll like to see if they are repairable or perhaps there is an alternative more reliable replacement, or maybe I can re-engineer something more accurate.

 

In theory all you have to do is get another make of sender unit that gives off the same resitance for oil pressure. I another oil pressure sender unit for a non-stock dail and it cost £6 for a new sender unit. Better than Nissan's £80 :eek:

 

Stuart