I'm wanting to install a VDO oil pressure guage into my newly ordered appearance group centre console from 914rubber, but I need to pick the brains out there. Looking at the VDO cockpit range they offer guages from 0 - 80 or 100 or 150 psi. Plus a variety of thread adapted options I'm assuming I will need metric not US, & I'm guessing these are 52mm diameter guages while the original console guages were 60 mm. I would be happy to not install a clock but instead have an oil pressure guage - the clock will only indicate what little time I have left when the oil pressure "too low" light comes on! Haha.
I thus also need to fabricate an adapter to the smaller diameter guage...hmmmm
Also I'm guessing it's a good time to replace oil pressure sender and rep,ace with stock new one ?
So guys anyone experienced at this able to save me some time? And hassle?
Full Version: VDO oil pressure guages
VDO has a adapter to make the 52mm to 60mm. I am in the process of making 52 mm gauges into 60mm to fit the console with no adapters. I can post some pictures later today.
QUOTE(914Sixer @ Mar 22 2016, 01:40 PM) 
VDO has a adapter to make the 52mm to 60mm. I am in the process of making 52 mm gauges into 60mm to fit the console with no adapters. I can post some pictures later today.
Looking fôrward to those pics and info
Thanks
do a search on here. type in paintball. One of the links
Paintball guns have varying lengths of metal braided hoses that are SAE thread, but they match the stock OP sender hole.... 1/8NPT I believe. People also use hoses for a grease gun. Maybe even some brake lines. Lots of discussion on here about what others have done, lots of pictures too.
I ran an 18" or 24" paintball gun hose up and over the oil filler and mounted the VDO OP sender on the fan housing. You need metal to metal mount for a ground. I believe I bought the 0 - 80 gauge.
Click to view attachment
Be sure you match the sender to the gauge. The sales guy I bought mine from mixed it all up and when I rev'd the car the pressure dropped. Once I got a knowledgeable guy on the phone, they sent me the right guage for my sender.
Paintball guns have varying lengths of metal braided hoses that are SAE thread, but they match the stock OP sender hole.... 1/8NPT I believe. People also use hoses for a grease gun. Maybe even some brake lines. Lots of discussion on here about what others have done, lots of pictures too.
I ran an 18" or 24" paintball gun hose up and over the oil filler and mounted the VDO OP sender on the fan housing. You need metal to metal mount for a ground. I believe I bought the 0 - 80 gauge.
Click to view attachment
Be sure you match the sender to the gauge. The sales guy I bought mine from mixed it all up and when I rev'd the car the pressure dropped. Once I got a knowledgeable guy on the phone, they sent me the right guage for my sender.
QUOTE(malcolm2 @ Mar 22 2016, 04:56 PM)
do a search on here. type in paintball. One of the links
Paintball guns have varying lengths of metal braided hoses that are SAE thread, but they match the stock OP sender hole.... 1/8NPT I believe. People also use hoses for a grease gun. Maybe even some brake lines. Lots of discussion on here about what others have done, lots of pictures too.
I ran an 18" or 24" paintball gun hose up and over the oil filler and mounted the VDO OP sender on the fan housing. You need metal to metal mount for a ground. I believe I bought the 0 - 80 gauge.
Click to view attachment
Be sure you match the sender to the gauge. The sales guy I bought mine from mixed it all up and when I rev'd the car the pressure dropped. Once I got a knowledgeable guy on the phone, they sent me the right guage for my sender.
Thanks buddy, and the photo helps! That's a real nice engine bay! I'm sure I will get there and the next stage is to speak with a technician at VDO from the sound of it. I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
All my gauges are VDO. I made my own adapters from 2" black PVC pipe. I cut thin sections at an angle so the gauges would be canted towards the driver so they can be seen more easily. You can cut two sections and slide one on each side of the gauge to hold it secure. In my case they are mounted on a panel of my own making. The two inch pipe is slightly smaller than 52mm and needs to be sanded inside a bit to make the gauges fit tightly. My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
If I was not worried about appearance (if you ever meet me you will see that I really don't care) I would want more granularity of an oil pressure gauge from zero to 50 psi..
I have always thought that most of the gauges are for looks, not accurate function.
I would go either with more granular analog, or a digital display.
It's so important to know the oil pressure.
I have always thought that most of the gauges are for looks, not accurate function.
I would go either with more granular analog, or a digital display.
It's so important to know the oil pressure.
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 08:31 PM)
All my gauges are VDO. I made my own adapters from 2" black PVC pipe. I cut thin sections at an angle so the gauges would be canted towards the driver so they can be seen more easily. You can cut two sections and slide one on each side of the gauge to hold it secure. In my case they are mounted on a panel of my own making. The two inch pipe is slightly smaller than 52mm and needs to be sanded inside a bit to make the gauges fit tightly. My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Brilliant, great innovation, you've just saved me a packet, love your work!
QUOTE(Riks1972914 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:33 AM)
I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
saving pennies I guess. I had a couple VW bugs and hated that there was ZERO driver feedback. MPH and fuel is all you got in those cars. So I added Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Cylinder Head Temp and a Volt meter.
BTW my sender is a 2 connection sender. One for the gauge and one can go to the dash light (far right of my fuel gauge). The wire is probably there anyway, just attach it to the sender and when you turn the key on the green OP dash light will come on.
On hot days when the oil is thin and I pull to a stop sign and idle, that OP light comes on. I guess the sender sends a signal to the light at 10-ish PSI. I don't see that as a problem. If I was reving at 3000+ and the light came, then we have a problem. I have gotten used to it.
Clark
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 01:31 PM)
My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Isn't that 0 to 80 on the OP?
[quote name='malcolm2' date='Mar 22 2016, 11:52 AM' post='2319082']
[quote name='Riks1972914' post='2319035' date='Mar 22 2016, 11:33 AM']
I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
[/quote]
saving pennies I guess. I had a couple VW bugs and hated that there was ZERO driver feedback. MPH and fuel is all you got in those cars. So I added Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Cylinder Head Temp and a Volt meter.
BTW my sender is a 2 connection sender. One for the gauge and one can go to the dash light (far right of my fuel gauge). The wire is probably there anyway, just attach it to the sender and when you turn the key on the green OP dash light will come on.
On hot days when the oil is thin and I pull to a stop sign and idle, that OP light comes on. I guess the sender sends a signal to the light at 10-ish PSI. I don't see that as a problem. If I was reving at 3000+ and the light came, then we have a problem. I have gotten used to it.
Some of the newer cars don't even have a dipstick. My wife drives a BMW station wagon and you have to go through the "I drive" to check oil level. Fuchin' ridiculous.
[quote name='Riks1972914' post='2319035' date='Mar 22 2016, 11:33 AM']
I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
[/quote]
saving pennies I guess. I had a couple VW bugs and hated that there was ZERO driver feedback. MPH and fuel is all you got in those cars. So I added Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Cylinder Head Temp and a Volt meter.
BTW my sender is a 2 connection sender. One for the gauge and one can go to the dash light (far right of my fuel gauge). The wire is probably there anyway, just attach it to the sender and when you turn the key on the green OP dash light will come on.
On hot days when the oil is thin and I pull to a stop sign and idle, that OP light comes on. I guess the sender sends a signal to the light at 10-ish PSI. I don't see that as a problem. If I was reving at 3000+ and the light came, then we have a problem. I have gotten used to it.
Some of the newer cars don't even have a dipstick. My wife drives a BMW station wagon and you have to go through the "I drive" to check oil level. Fuchin' ridiculous.
QUOTE(malcolm2 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:54 AM)
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 01:31 PM)
My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Isn't that 0 to 80 on the OP?
Yep. Thanks.
QUOTE(malcolm2 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:52 AM)
QUOTE(Riks1972914 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:33 AM)
I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
saving pennies I guess. I had a couple VW bugs and hated that there was ZERO driver feedback. MPH and fuel is all you got in those cars. So I added Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Cylinder Head Temp and a Volt meter.
BTW my sender is a 2 connection sender. One for the gauge and one can go to the dash light (far right of my fuel gauge). The wire is probably there anyway, just attach it to the sender and when you turn the key on the green OP dash light will come on.
On hot days when the oil is thin and I pull to a stop sign and idle, that OP light comes on. I guess the sender sends a signal to the light at 10-ish PSI. I don't see that as a problem. If I was reving at 3000+ and the light came, then we have a problem. I have gotten used to it.
Clark
Mine is the same -ish. My oil pressure gauge indicates pressure 8-10 psi before the oil pressure light goes out.
Here are the pictures of some custom gauges I made using OLD Style 52 MM VDO.
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 10:16 PM)
QUOTE(malcolm2 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:52 AM)
QUOTE(Riks1972914 @ Mar 22 2016, 11:33 AM)
I can't imagine why they never offered an oil psse guage option from new. It's not like Porsche weren't used to fitting them, and not like they never went racing!
saving pennies I guess. I had a couple VW bugs and hated that there was ZERO driver feedback. MPH and fuel is all you got in those cars. So I added Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Cylinder Head Temp and a Volt meter.
BTW my sender is a 2 connection sender. One for the gauge and one can go to the dash light (far right of my fuel gauge). The wire is probably there anyway, just attach it to the sender and when you turn the key on the green OP dash light will come on.
On hot days when the oil is thin and I pull to a stop sign and idle, that OP light comes on. I guess the sender sends a signal to the light at 10-ish PSI. I don't see that as a problem. If I was reving at 3000+ and the light came, then we have a problem. I have gotten used to it.
Clark
Mine is the same -ish. My oil pressure gauge indicates pressure 8-10 psi before the oil pressure light goes out.
Yes a second wire to,the original op light was something I planned too,
Great minds think alike!
On my CaymanS the system does an oil level check electronically with the ignition key in position 2 - which is comforting if the engine is cold, but if hot it laughably tells me I have to sit and wait about 24 minutes with the ignition on before it can give me a tue reading! Can't beat a dipstick can you!
Thanks for sharing your experiences, I've always found 914 enthusiasts to be real helpful and friendly on the whole - must be the car which attracts like minded petrol heads.
QUOTE(914Sixer @ Mar 23 2016, 01:31 AM)
Here are the pictures of some custom gauges I made using OLD Style 52 MM VDO.
Nice job,
Thanks for sharing, I'm starting to get a plan together now thanks to everyone's kind advice and pics are great help.
I think I will use new cockpit guages throughout and sort out a different centre console fascia panel from 914 rubber to take the smaller guages.
Rik
914rubber offers the console with 52mm holes as an option. At least I hope so...it's what I ordered 
. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow so Ill let you know. As for the gauge scale...I agree with Mr. Towle... Accuracy and granularity are important. I'd go with the lower range.
Here's the kit you want for the conversion. It includes everything you need (hose, M10 adapter, block) and it's beautifully machined. It also allows you to keep the idiot light.
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/vw-audi-oil-...relocation-kit/
. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow so Ill let you know. As for the gauge scale...I agree with Mr. Towle... Accuracy and granularity are important. I'd go with the lower range.Here's the kit you want for the conversion. It includes everything you need (hose, M10 adapter, block) and it's beautifully machined. It also allows you to keep the idiot light.
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/vw-audi-oil-...relocation-kit/
Got my console from 914rubber. Really nice build quality. Ordered it with 52mm holes. No adapters needed. Another great product from Mark and the boyz.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
QUOTE(cuddyk @ Mar 25 2016, 04:33 AM)
Got my console from 914rubber. Really nice build quality. Ordered it with 52mm holes. No adapters needed. Another great product from Mark and the boyz.
Click to view attachment
Great - well done I'm thinking mine is on its way, with original 60mm holes and the original oil temp and voltmeters will fit nicely complemented by the 52 mm oil psse, with adapter. Plus your link to the two pole sender allowing use of the "imminent disaster oil pressure" light will work great.
I'm sooo excited......haha
Rik
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 11:31 AM)
All my gauges are VDO. I made my own adapters from 2" black PVC pipe. I cut thin sections at an angle so the gauges would be canted towards the driver so they can be seen more easily. You can cut two sections and slide one on each side of the gauge to hold it secure. In my case they are mounted on a panel of my own making. The two inch pipe is slightly smaller than 52mm and needs to be sanded inside a bit to make the gauges fit tightly. My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Great job...looks like a aircraft cockpit.
Dave
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 10:31 AM)
All my gauges are VDO. I made my own adapters from 2" black PVC pipe. I cut thin sections at an angle so the gauges would be canted towards the driver so they can be seen more easily. You can cut two sections and slide one on each side of the gauge to hold it secure. In my case they are mounted on a panel of my own making. The two inch pipe is slightly smaller than 52mm and needs to be sanded inside a bit to make the gauges fit tightly. My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Elliot, Nice work. I like your gauge panel. May I ask what the three toggle switch functions are? Just curious. Thanks.
Go with a 0-100 oil pressure gauge. I have 80 psi at start up when cold.
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ Mar 22 2016, 11:31 AM)
All my gauges are VDO. I made my own adapters from 2" black PVC pipe. I cut thin sections at an angle so the gauges would be canted towards the driver so they can be seen more easily. You can cut two sections and slide one on each side of the gauge to hold it secure. In my case they are mounted on a panel of my own making. The two inch pipe is slightly smaller than 52mm and needs to be sanded inside a bit to make the gauges fit tightly. My oil pressure gauge is 0-100. My gauge usually reads over 60 when the oil is cold and about 40 when hot.
Elliot I really like your set up I've got to take a look at WCR!
Whatever you do, do not use a grease gun hose for your remote oil pressure sender. While they can tolerate the pressure, they can't tolerate the heat. They will melt eventually and loosen themselves from the metal collar, and spew oil all over your beautifully clean engine. It happened to me.
Chris Foley sells a braided SS hose with the correct fittings. It's special order only at the moment, so you have to email him or pm him for it.
Here's pics of my grease gun hose after it failed.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...l++sender++hose
Chris Foley sells a braided SS hose with the correct fittings. It's special order only at the moment, so you have to email him or pm him for it.
Here's pics of my grease gun hose after it failed.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...l++sender++hose
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