<VV> PLASTIC TUBING FOR OIL GAUGE

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/7/2006 8:43:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time,  
dreamwoodck at yahoo.com writes:

Hey  gang,
I'll have to disagree with Mark on most points but agree with  him on one, 
from my experience.
The long tubing will delay the  gauge's response, but in the time it takes 
that to happen, the chances of your  looking at the gauge the instant something 
breaks are pretty remote. That goes  for any gauge, when you think about it. 
Do we see the gauge drop off or hear  the BANG! first? The gauge is handy to 
tell you HOW MUCH perssure you have,  but keeping the idiot light is the better 
choice if you want to know, right  now, IF you have oil pressure.



I have run a number of different set-ups over the years. My current race  
Corvair has a pair of systems for oil pressure notification. On the engine, I  
installed a "special" pressure switch from one of the racing houses. It turns on 
 when oil pressure drops below about 15 PSI. That measures the pressure as it 
 returns into the engine from the front mounted oil cooler after being pumped 
to  the front of the car and back. It is the "pressure that counts". The Oil  
pressure warning light is a 3" Trailer Brake light mounted in the right  side 
of the 140 Dashboard, (replacing the Tachometer?). If it comes on you WILL  
know it. In the front of the car, after the oil cooler, I split off a  separate 
oil tube. I used a heavy duty 1/4" flex tubing that is intended for  
hydraulic use. It feeds a big 2 5/8" Autometer gauge under the  dash.(Although it 
really should be IN the dash) This type of tubing  has a special slide-in metal 
insert that prevents collapse when the compression  ferrules are tightened down. 
Absolutely no leaks. And the 1/4" tubing allows  quick transition of pressure 
waves, I believe. I do remember long 1/8" tubing  from the rear on some 
Corvairs in my past. You could start the engine, watch the  idiot light go out and, 
after 30 seconds or so, the gauge reading would start to  move upward. When 
turning off the engine, you could watch the pressure remain at  20 psi well 
after the engine had stopped, then drop slowly to zero. That was not  a help to a 
belief in the warning ability of that system. If you want more info  drop me 
a note - Seth.