Classic Alfa Forums

Hi guys - hope you are all keeping safe and well.

As you know I am using the Green Machine for "essential journeys", mainly the weekly food shop. This morning I turned the key and before I had even cranked the engine on the starter, the oil pressure was reading 30 psi

Once the engine was running the pressure increased to a very healthy 110 psi

Since I replaced the oil seal on the distributor shaft there has been no oil leaks on the top of the engine and I think some localised corrosion might be setting in. That said, this isn't the first time this sender has done this too me, so I think it might be on the way out.

I was going to order a new one, but VDO sell both NPT and metric threaded senders. I am pretty sure that the Alfasud sender is metric M10 x 1, but before I shell out could someone kindly confirm this for me?

Thanks everyone!

Lauren

Sud shop have them.
Not the cheapest, but read his description.

Thanks for the quick reply Dave, much appreciated. I've certainly seen higher prices for the same product elsewhere. Not a whole lot of technical description (well none actually), but at least I know it isn't Chinese!

may have one in the shed Lauren, come to think of it I don't think I actually have....

M14x1.5 Lauren, found a T piece I had on the 16V Sud

I also have my patented tool for removing the sender without the hassle of access, there's no room to swing a 22mm spanner with the alternator and carb linkages.
This little homemade tool solves it all.
Available for hire

Not Chinese, and is accurate.
What else would you want to know!

Cheers guys - rather than take a chance with ebay I have ordered one from Sudshop. I might as well treat myself to a new one, the original is 40 years old!

Lauren

TBH I've seen original Alfa NOS ones at 3x the price of those, so all things considered it seems a decent price for a good quality part

Hello Lauren

A few months back I bought a Kerr Nelson SOP141 off Ebay for around £8

I can't see the link on Ebay anymore but it may be worth searching elsewhere.

It is the correct thread and pressure range.

You just need to add a separate earth lead as it doesn't earth through the body.

This one Dave?https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Kerr ... 1926573159

That's the one!

I bought that one too. Works a treat.

Thanks guys - well, slightly embarrassingly, I have discovered the hard way that senders in the US of A work on a descending resistance with increasing pressure curve, the exact opposite of our European counterparts. Annoyingly there isn't any apparent way of differentiating between them - same part numbers etc. VDO's own application note reads "0 psi = 10 ohms, or 240 ohms"

Putting a European sender on my US manufactured oil pressure gauge results in the gauge reading backwards. So I have had to order another sender from the US which will be here in 4-6 weeks.

At least I can console myself that Lamborghini would have had the same problem with the early Countach, which used American made Stewart-Warner instruments...

Lauren