Sorry if this is a dupe-post, but I need some ideas badly. I added BigMark's excellent quad gauge, but the car did not have a temp sender of the wiring. The car is a '71 with a 2.0 4 cylinder.

Before I could add the new taco plate, I had to remove my old plate/cover. I was amazed that the bolts were just a little bit more than finger tight. I added a used taco plate/sender and it was hemoraging oil after I refilled the oil. The only, 'my bad' was reusing the old crush washers (yes, I will get some new ones tomorrow). Second, trying to apply an even amount of torque to the bolts is next to impossible. The rest of the case is dry, so I would like to keep it that way.

Besides new crush washers, any suggestions on how to effectively seal it? Any goo to apply to the bolts, or? And how does one apply an equal amount of torque to the bolts - count each turn of the wrench? There must be a better way. HALP!

Pic of DELEAKER....

did it have the red oring on it?

make sure the surface where the o-ring seats is clean. make sure the o-ring is clean. lube the o-ring with some fresh oil before assembly. make sure you got the paper gasket that goes between the plate and the cover. use new crush washers ...

don't overtighten, i forget what the correct torque is, but it's close to "hand-tight", 18 lbs or something like that.
too much force and the plate warps ... (or worse)

that usually does the trick.
if not, use gobs of RTV and, for your own safety, make sure to stay away from Captn Krusty ...
Andy

Good god, not 18 ft/lbs. Try like 5 ft/lbs.

I like some Hylomar on the O ring and anaerobic Loctite on the bolts. Not much torque, Mark's about right.

if your case is warped a little, there's gonna be a gap, no matter what. there's a thread here somewhere that describes a fix to this part of the problem if the plate doesn't seat properly. i don't like putting sealant there because it'll goop into the engine case.
you also talk about "bolts" plurally, do you have one nut in the center, or several bolts or nuts around the edge?
anyway~
after making sure you are seated properly, i'd clean the threads of oil really well, then reassemble.
put a light coat of finger nail polish on the threads (first) and tighten the bolt(s) 1/8-1/4 turn past finger tight.
add a bead of the polish (some bright color from your collection:)) around the nut or bolt(s).
inspect it often. if something comes loose (it wont, the nail polish works great at locking threads), you'll see the polish has cracked and you'll know you need to redo it.

paul

Thanks for the replies. Here's the scoop:

Yup it had the "O" ring and it was in like-new condition.

The case is not warped. The old plate cover sealed perfectly.

The old plate and the taco mount with two small bolts equidistant from the center of the plate.

Finger nail polish? My wife will wonder... but WTF, if it works....

Question time..............

I placed the crush washers on the bolts BETWEEN the sensor plate and the cover. Is that correct? It seemed like if I put them on the outside of the cover, they wouldn't help the seal any. But I am just logic-ing.

Would it be smart to cut out a O shaped piece of gasket material and place that up against the O ring for added insurance?

Can RTV, Hylomar, and the crush washers be found at any hack auto-parts store?
what is RTV? Is it a thread-lock material like Locktite - which can be accomplished with nail polish on the threads or is it used on the bolt heads after installed. Also, how is hylomar used - coat the O-ring in it or just use fresh oil? I know different people have different approaches.

Andy, forgive the stupid question, but what would the paper gasket between the sensor plate and cover accomplish, since the leak is between the sensor and the case?

I didn't know a paper gasket was needed between the two. Would that help seal as well?

Thanks for the word on the Capt'n!

Sorry again for all the questions. Really appreciate the help before the oil drip bucket fills up.

OH, and before I forgot - I was tempted to not reinstall the cover so I could more easily see where the leak was coming from. Good idea or bad?

First, the crush washers go between the fastner head and the cover plate. The crush washer seals the fastner. The paper gasket seals between the sender plate and the cover plate at the fastners.

Second ..... RTV = Room Temperature Vulcanization Silicone Rubber .... comes in a tube .... known as gasket sealer, gasket maker, etc,..... Found at Home Depot (HI Trekkor), FLAPs, Harware Stores, Grocery Stores, etc

The cover protects? the sender unit and has a clip to hook the sender wire to. Other than that, I cannot see it strengthening the assembly as it is to thin.

It would be nice to have a flat plate guage (machinists' thingy) to check the plate for trueness, but ....................

If the "O" ring was in good condition and the plate flat, it should have sealed if it kinda "snapped into place" without the fastners. The fasters just keep it from falling out under vibration (kinda).

Now, I would add a small bead between the "O" ring and place where it seats on the plate. Install it and let the RTV set up before filling the engine (Sorry Cap'n). Don't over use the RTV, it just makes a mess and you don't want any on the interior of the engine.

Hey, that's my bucks worth .... others' opinions may vary, but I don't care.

Ron,

I am sure that if I was lost at the South pole a zillion miles from anyone or anything, you would find me and save my @$$.

Did someone make a heavy duty Taco plate that won't bend like say a tostada Plate?? Just thinkin out loud

IIRC - someone makes a billet one....
group buy anyone? LOL

Ok I searched and can not find please help OLD WISE ONE Billet taco plate???

i do not remember where i saw it...

maybe on STF? call clayton... he knows.

I thought it was you oh god of aluminum!

From 2004 on the Pelican Site

milt
Zeke member

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Ghetto by the Sea, Long Beach CA
Posts: 12265
DD, you are right. And the threads are available for the VDO sender in SAE and M14 (which is also correct). You remember that I developed a billet sump plate that never got manufactured. So, I researched all of this.

Mikey, tell our host exactly what you want, a VDO sender with the M14 threads that screws into the taco plate, or buy it anywhere. A Google of VDO will give you dozens of suppliers. The VDO website lists the PN.


__________________
' 88 Carrera, "Back in Black" (black on black)

So there you go .... Milt had drawn up a taco plate and clutch pulley replacement but couldn't generate sufficient interest to get them manufactured. Any one with a lathe and a round of aluminum should be able to machine a replacement quite easily.

Thanks Ron looks like he's a local Boy wonder if he's still makin them?ps I only work with 02 thin alum

Did you install a new chrush washer between the oil temperture sending unit and
the taco plate. Unit will leak with out one.

Call Glenn Sager .... he will have Milts' (Zekes') phone number. I saw that he had posted on the LLC site about a week ago.

I have the billet plates all 3D rendered and ready to send the file to my CNC, just busy right now, I promised McMark that'll I'll have something in the next few weeks...with the 914 gone, I have been getting more progress done on my "other" projects which this is one of them...if someone beats me to the market, I'll have a some scrap material I guess for the recyclers

How much are you planning on selling them for Mike?

I'm targeting the $50-$60 range...if more, it shouldn't be too much more...
still trying to get better pricing on the O-rings...

I'll wait but hurry up Mikey LOL

Now that the drip is solved, a new billet plate? Cool, but here is what worked - thanks to Slits.

The trick involved thoroughly cleaning the "O" ring, the contact surface in the case, and the sender plate, I applied a small amount of clear silicone sealant to all sealing surfaces, including the holes for the bolts. I was very careful to only use enough for the contact surfaces, and now it doesn't drip a drop - even after a 30 mile road test. The silicone is good to 400 degrees F and will not crack or shrink. Oh and the bolts, with crush washers, are a 1/4 turn past finger tight. I also used a little extra on the outside surfaces where the mate for insurance.

Total cost of fix $2.75 at the Home Desperate.

Now I am ready to fix the bathtub.

Here is a some what old link reference:
Billet Taco Plate


Perhaps you were thinking of a billet sump plate??
Billet Sump Plate

--- bill

I just happened to stop by here a year later. I tried to work with Mike, but that did not come to fruition. So, I gave my prototype to Jake Raby a long time ago. I never heard a word back if he liked it or threw it away.

BTW: Karl's Jr. has a Taco plate for $3.49. Unfortunately, it also leaks oil...

Amazing .... after pressure cooking their "meat" for 24 hours, I am totally amazed that any oil would be left. Ah, the mysteries of heat and pressure.