oil pressure gauge noise

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slantscamp

slantscamp

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ok, so heres the deal. on friday i got my car ready for the track. i switched over from a plastic tube for the oil line, to a copper one. thats all i changed on my engine that day. on the way home i noticed a new ticking noise. this started on the freeway once everything warmed up. it sounds like a valve is a little too loose. so i didnt worry about it. sunday i ran it at the track all day long with no problems. just the annoying ticking on the way home. so today i rechecked the valves. the wernt too bad. so i took it for a test drive and after about 5 miles i got the noise back. i figured its because the oil is getting hot and thin. so when i got back to the house i popped the hood and put my ear next to the valve cover but i couldnt hear it. i can only hear it when im in the car. it almost sounds like when your speedo is going bad. but it does it in neutral so i know its not that. i thought maybe it was the transmission but i couldnt hear it down there either. finally i stuck my head under the dash and noticed its coming from my oil pressure gauge. i dont know if its the gauge itself or maybe just the copper tube transfering sound from the oil pump to the gauge. like i said i never noticed this sound with the plastic tube. has anyone ever experienced this? i may swap another gauge in there and see if thats it. i just thought i would check here and see what you guys think.
thanks
-aaron-
 
I have a copper tube and no problems, but just to fully elminate it do switch the guage and the tube back and forth and see what's happens
 
You need to get the air out, and strap down/insulate the tube. The noise is in synch with the pulses of the oil pump, and the metal tube transfers the pulse noise. You probably have a huge bubble of air in the tube that will make it even worse.
 
how do you bleed the air out? just run the motor with the line diconnected from the gauge? and this may sound dumb but how do i insulate the tube? sorry i just havent done this before.
 
slantscamp said:
how do you bleed the air out? just run the motor with the line diconnected from the gauge? and this may sound dumb but how do i insulate the tube? sorry i just havent done this before.
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I disconnect the coil wire so it doesn't start, disconnect the tube from the back of the gauge and place it into a small soda bottle or the like. Give the key a bump or two till you get a solid jet of oil out and then reconnect. As for insulating it, if you have it running thru the firewall slide some split vacuum line over it so it doesn't rub and cut thru. If you split some rubber line and place pieces over the tube it dampens the vibrations, and it should be supported over some of it's length to keep the vibes down.
 
well at least that makes sense. i thought i broke something. i want to put a braided line on eventually. i even have one. i just need an adapter. maybe that wont transfer the noise like the copper. looks like i have a enw project for tomorrow. hehe. thanks for the help.
 
hey travis. i went out and bled it and took it for a 20 minute drive so it could get nice and hot. the noise got quiter. i can deal with it now. thanks for the tip.
 
i have a cheap sun pro guage that does that, autometer guages dont
 
The hamster in your gauge has been bred to live on oil and only oil. The air in the line was making it choke....

You kill the hamster, you kill the gauge. It's that simple.
 
slantscamp said:
so are you saying the air in the gauge damages it? i thought the hamster was what powered my car.
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No....air won't screw it up, but it may give a false reading. The dampener in the gauge may be affected or is just plain cheap. Moon's stuff looks great but is made super cheap. Their stickers are the only thing made with quality.

The GERBIL/RAT hybrid powers the car, not the hamster.
 
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