Myles Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 In relation to me fitting a SPA pressure gauge to my wet-sump k here... There are allegedly two fitting kits/suppliers - CC (expensive and slightly OTT) and Think Automotive (cheaper, simpler). Trouble is, Think need to know the precise fittings (they aren't aware of a 'kit' as such). So - what are the two fittings (existing pressure sender thread and '"VX remote pressure sender" = same as SPA according to Hoopy)??? Regds, Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 i *think* its 1/8NPT (or something similar) for the sender. no idea what the car end is though... TA will make up anything you ask for - not sure caterham will tell you what the specs are though HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin C Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Myles, I have fitted one of these to a wet sump car. The temp is easy, just insert the SPA sender in lieu of the Caterham one into the Appollo. For the pressure sender the option I used (as recommended by Jonty Lyons) is to obtain from Think a length of aeroquip hose (approx 300mm long) with appropriate fittings at each end. Now, the K-Series pressure sender housing changed in 1998, since then you require an M12 x 1.5 male fitting.(As mine is post 1998 I do not know what size it was before).This screws into the same housing as the filter in lieu of the existing electronic sender. On the other end on the pipe you need an !/8 NPT female fitting to take your SPA sender. An option is to fit a tee here so a low pressure warning switch can also be included attached to a big yellow light on the dash. Once connected the sender is tie wrapped to the chassis at the front of the car in a higher location than the standard one thus offering greater protection. Think should do this for about £18. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 14, 2003 Author Share Posted July 14, 2003 Robin C - slightly confused now... Temp is not a problem - but I've had a reply from SPA - they say "the thread sizes are 1/8 bsp for the pressure and 1/8 npt for the temperature." So I'd assume I need a 1/8 BSP female for the pressure, not NPT... Who made the typo, you or SPA? Oh, and Caterham want 60 quid plus VAT for their 'remote fitting kit' Regds, Myles Edited by - Myles on 14 Jul 2003 15:16:56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 60 quid - wow then it has gone down, am sure I paid more ☹️ however it is a very comprehensive kit and you get everything, including gasket, new housing, oil filter, connectors, wires and all the bolts washers etc rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 14, 2003 Author Share Posted July 14, 2003 But I don't want all of that I really just want to unscrew the old pressure sensor and screw in the new one (via an adapter). I've been told that I can get away with this without draining the whole system - which I doubt you can if the entire filter and housing are changed... Regds, Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 yes a full oil change is required if you remove the oil filter housing... I wasn't saying whether you needed all the kit or not, however just trying to highlight that the Kit is not too expensive once you consider what you get (although for you it is not appropriate) rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 14, 2003 Author Share Posted July 14, 2003 Sorted (well, when the posty comes...) SPA confirmed that in the UK, their connector will be a BSP - the yanks sometimes use npt, but not the UK. TA are supplying a 1/8BSP female-to-hose connector, 300mm of hose and then probably two adapters to make up the final hose-M12x1.5 male (they don't have a direct hose-M12 unit apparently). Total price - just under 15 quid (think that includes VAT - but perhaps not - other people mentioned 18 quid as their recollection). I will close the thread when it is all nicely installed... Thanks and regds, Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin C Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Myles, Sorry to cause confusion - I was working from memory which is fading!!!! However ISTR 1/8 bsp and npt are interchangable?! Anyhow it seems like you're sorted. I'm a bit surprised TA don't have a M12x1.5 "end" - I'm sure mine came in 1 piece. Happy fitting! Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 The "engine" end is a banjo connection. Banjos probably work for a variety of threads. I have pics if anyone wants them. Will email Myles as I've got his details. Worcs L7 club joint AO.//Membership No. 4379//Azure Blue SLR No. 0077//Se7ens List Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miraz Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 The flexible bit of brake hose normally used for the front brake calipers works just fine as an adaptor for the SPA pressure senders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Hmm... I have a spare bit of hose like this - came with the spare widetrack kit Caterham sent (I think....) I should probabyl bring it on Euro as a spare actually... HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 16, 2003 Author Share Posted July 16, 2003 Well, the parts arrived today from TA. I'm not 100% sure about fitting them together though. I've placed some photo's here The two connectors (see here) that go directly onto the hose have a long nipple, a tapered brass collar that goes over the nipple and a lock/clamp nut that clamps the whole lot together. I assume (somebody please confirm!) that the tapered collar is forced between the steel braid on the hose and the inner hose itself. This will flare the hose braid and give the outer locknut something to apply pressure to in order to clamp the hose tightly onto the nipple. Correct Q1: Other than tightening this lot up, is there any threadlock or other gunk that I need to apply to the threads/nipple/whatever to seal the thing? Now please look here. The SPA OP sensor is top-right and it will screw onto the hose fitting that is top-center. You can see that the sensor has a washer around the thread - this has a rubber inner grommet with a metal outer and is fairly loose on the thread body. The hose connector has an inner cylinder that will be the male connection into the black hole on the sensor. I think the inner cylinder might be slightly tapered - it doesn't slip cleanly into the female section of the sensor - I assume that when it is all tightened up, forcing the tapered cylinder into the sensor orifice will provide a seal. Correct??? I don't want to damage the sensor by forcing this connection - is it supposed to be like this? The rubber and metal outer washer do not come into play when this is just finger tight... Hope someone can help. Thanks and regds, Myles Edited by - Myles on 16 Jul 2003 12:58:25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Molloy Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 The wiring diagram indicates that the OP gauge receives its signal from the engine ECU. Hence I assume the wire from the OP sender goes to the ECU (it ain't explicitly marked). Does this mean the ECU relies upon the OP signal for something? If so, swapping to a SPA sender that just feeds the dash gauge will deprive it. Anybody know how this all works? I wanted to datalog the OP sensor output, but I've never had a scope on it to see what the signal looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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