<VV> PLASTIC TUBING FOR OIL GAUGE

[Chuck Kubin]

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 completely disagree with the tubing clogging with deposits. Oil fills the tubing and sits there, meaning, whatever deposits are in that initial small amount of oil are all that will get into the line. If you have enough oil FLOWING through the lineto bring up deposits, you have a bigger problem.
  Which brings us to the point where we agree.  The kit I installed used 1/8 nylon line with brass compression fittings. They are hard to properly tighten, as you learn when you ruin the first one or two and have to replace them. Too loose leaks. Too tight leaks. Nick the line and it leaks. All over your new carpet.  Actually, quite a bit of oil might leak before you notice it. I got mine right and it started leaking six months later.
  The nylon line does a pretty good job of absorbing the heat and vibration from the engine, if you are careful not to run it too close to the heads. It was easier to install the line at the engine, standing up, than it was under the dash, balancing on one shoulder.
   
  Chuck Kubin
  
airvair <airvair at richnet.net> wrote:
  Since the subject of using a mechanical oil guage in a Corvair has come
up, let me relate my own experience with one. First off, by its very
nature, the tubing is going to be really long. This means that the
guage's response to sudden changes in oil pressure will be slowed. This
makes for a very real possibility of lunching your engine before the oil
guage has time enough to respond and warn you of impending doom.
Secondly, this is even MORE possible as the system ages, and the tubing
becomes restricted with deposits. And finally, what happens should the
tubing at some point fail? If the failure point is within the passenger
compartment, things could get very ugly very fast indeed.

My recommendation is to only use an electrical oil guage in a Corvair,
NEVER a mechanical one.

Just some of my observations. Don't ask how I know. (G)

-Mark

N2VZD at aol.com wrote:
> 
> i got the longer tubing from air shock kits. monroe or napa shocks have a kit
> with tubing and clips to hold it in place. i get a touch nervous having my
> oil pressure running that far. make sure of clearances and allow for vibration
> . i used silicone rubber to hold it. i do not have that car anymore. i run a
> test gauge on the oil filter for a few hours on new motors then remove it. i
> do know that if a belt breaks the gauge gets hit hard..broken glass all over
> the engine room. so plastic tubing should have some sort of gaurd around it
> there also.
> regards, tim colson
>
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