[tulsalfa]

My oil pressure guage on my 86 Grad sits right half way between 0 and 57 when driving at a steady clip. It seems like it used to read higher than that.

The oil level on the dipstick shows enough oil. I changed the oil and filter less than 1000 miles ago. The oil appears quite clear on the dipstick.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Thanks,
Dean

 

[Elio Comello]

What oil did you use?

My 87 quad sits at the top. and only drops down to 80% of top scale when long drive and 90 degree weather.
I use Shell Rotella T 15W40 dyno.

Elio

 

[vf31rhill]

The only easy way to verify the reading is to install another sender and/or instrument and compair the readings. I have a new VDO sender/instrument pair I bought to verify the oil pressure reading on my old black Spider which was destroyed by flood water in May 2010. I can send them to you if you want to go to the trouble of hooking them up for a comparison. I never installed either of the pair, they are still in their original boxes. I don't know if the screw threads on the sender are compatible with the threaded hole in the Alfa engine block. But you can try them if you like and just return them when you are finished with them. I still have your shiping address if you want to give them a shot.

Robert Hill in Memphis, TN

 

[rgrimm]

Mine (granted, it's a Series 2 so take it for what it's worth) used to read about 51 cold and would gradually drop from there as it warmed up. It finally starting failing to read at all. Bad sending unit, now I have pressure readings I've never seen before (all verified by by my wrench's gauge). So the sending unit may be failing. Do you have a shop that can quickly check it for comparison?

 

[ghnl]

The sending unit is the weak link. Replace it and sleep better at night.

 

[Wille R.]

Here's a short video about testing if the pressure is there. My Duetto 1967. www.veloce.se

 

[vf31rhill]

""The sending unit is the weak link. Replace it and sleep better at night""

Eric is most probably correct (again). During recent engine compartment upgrades I removed and replaced the intake plenum and added a rebuilt starter and new motor mounts. During all this I unplugged the oil pressure gauge wire from the oil pressure sending unit. On hooking everything back up, my oil pressure gauge ceased to function. I did the grounded wire check and the system tested OK, so it had to be the sending unit. No amount of reconnecting and fiddeling with the wire connection had any effect. I replaced the sending unit (about $50.00) and the readings came back.

Just the simple act of unpluging the sending unit wire was enough to finish off the old sender. So they must be pretty fragile!

Robert Hill in Memphis, TN

 

[tulsalfa]

Oil pressure gauge

Robert:
Thank you for your kind offer. I will take you up on it - in a few weeks. Right now in Tulsa the daytime temp is 110 degrees. My shop relies on a industrial ceiling fan, which only serves to move hot air at that temperature. By the middle of Sept., the temperatures will cool down and I can get out to work on my Spider. Rather than tie up your parts for weeks until I can get to the car, I will contact you in a few weeks and let you ship me the gauge at that time.

As always, I appreciate your input and your kind offers.

Best regards,
Dean

 

[Elio Comello]

Het Dean, is DeNoya still in operation?
Elio

 

[vf31rhill]

""Het Dean, is DeNoya still in operation?""

WE ARE: DeNoya Trading Post

340 N. Main

Fairfax, Ok. 74637

918-642-5632

Elio, I just happened to run into this on an current ebay post.

Robert

 

[tulsalfa]

DeNoya Trading Post

Yes, they are still there and still quite active with Alfa parts on eBay. I believe that their eBay user name is "1bdanddn" or something very similar to that. Google "Denoya Trading Post" to see their website. He posts pictures of his latest parts cars on his site.

Louie's son, Scott, has taken over the operation and brought in several very nice donor cars lately. Scott lives in Oklahoma City, but gets up to Fairfax on a regular basis.

I trust that the (area code 918) phone that you show is answered better than it used to be. Louie's answering system never seemed to work, so it was difficult to leave a message. If you have problems, pm me at mandlebaum at sbcglobal dot net and I will send you Scott's cell phone number.

Dean