Oil pressure sender

Ive read around on the boards about a faulty oil pressure sender. My gauge started off bouncing around wildly and now settles all the way to the right, well passed any measurement. I read that it is wise to buy the "quality" sending unit. Where would i buy the good one and what are the places i would want to avoid. Im guessing Napa would be safer than say Schucks. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I got one from Advance Auto parts. Not sure if you have those out there and its been in there for a few months and haven't had any issues out of it. I broke on while changing the oil filter!

I usually buy BWD or ACDelco for electronics and sensors - Bosch for HEGO sensors (BWD and ACD HEGO sensors are pretty much reboxed Bosch anyhow.)

Standard Motor Products is also acceptable. And, pretty much any of the "minor chains" (NAPA, CarQuest, ...) should have them as "house-branded" parts anyhow. C/S/K, Autozone, Advance, Schuck's - pretty much all of their stuff is reboxed Chinese, and worth slightly less than the box it comes in.

Most mom-and-pop stuff will be branded one or more of the above, and if they have a house brand, it's going to be something decent (they can usually tell you if you ask. Mom-and-pops trade on reputation, instead of pricing. Since they can't buy parts by the 100K lots, they have to buy good stuff and beat the bigger chains with rep instead.)

Oh - and that port is threaded 1/8" NPT, so you can get nipples and elbows to move the sensor if you feel the need to at your local hardware store. Suggest you use brass - it's easier to work with and won't corrode (outside) as readily as iron will, even the galivanised stuff can give up after a few years.

The oil pressure sending unit (aka: switch at some parts stores) is one thing that I buy from the dealer. I have had mixed (poor) luck with many aftermarket senders.

If the oil press is peged to the right of the gauge it could be a bad connection at the sender. I hit mine all the time when changing the filter.

Just make sure to get one for a gage and not the oil pressure light! Looking at Rock Auto, you can get an Airtex or other cheepo for about $20 while the AC Delco costs about $50. I guess if you are really after reliability, you'd be better off getting a mechanical gage from Summit. Probably $20.

5-90 said:

I usually buy BWD or ACDelco for electronics and sensors - Bosch for HEGO sensors (BWD and ACD HEGO sensors are pretty much reboxed Bosch anyhow.)

Standard Motor Products is also acceptable. And, pretty much any of the "minor chains" (NAPA, CarQuest, ...) should have them as "house-branded" parts anyhow. C/S/K, Autozone, Advance, Schuck's - pretty much all of their stuff is reboxed Chinese, and worth slightly less than the box it comes in.

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BWD, Standard, and G.P. Sorensen all pull from the same lot of merchandise in centralized warehouses from what I can determine. They all list the same addresses on their packaging and you will find the identical product in their "economy" line of sensors and tune up parts. It is advisable to ask for the "premium" line and pay the extra for it when using these companies. The premium line will usually use part number consisting of "letters- then numbers" and the "economy" line will use the same part number with an additional letter suffix of "Z." It is this "Z" that you want to avoid-- it tells you that it was bought from an over seas "world supplier" and usually made in China.

The premium line will often get you the product that these suppliers sell to the OEM as original parts, built in North America to OEM quality standards. The "Z" line, not so much.......

Shorty said:

BWD, Standard, and G.P. Sorensen all pull from the same lot of merchandise in centralized warehouses from what I can determine. They all list the same addresses on their packaging and you will find the identical product in their "economy" line of sensors and tune up parts. It is advisable to ask for the "premium" line and pay the extra for it when using these companies. The premium line will usually use part number consisting of "letters- then numbers" and the "economy" line will use the same part number with an additional letter suffix of "Z." It is this "Z" that you want to avoid-- it tells you that it was bought from an over seas "world supplier" and usually made in China.

The premium line will often get you the product that these suppliers sell to the OEM as original parts, built in North America to OEM quality standards. The "Z" line, not so much.......

Click to expand...

Thanks - I'd forgotten about that. I've been dealing with the same countermen for the last dozen years - they all know to not give me Chinese crap when I come in for parts, even if I have to wait for it.

Nice knowing that these people can still be trained (of course, they're hobbyists themselves, which also helps.)