Topic: I cracked the oil sender housing ... what do I do now?

[Sine Deviance]

Today I changed the oil and after doing so my oil pressure gauge bottomed out. I replaced the sensor since the oil pump seemed to be working. Somehow when I was screwing in the new oil sender I managed to crack the housing elbow. Now it spews out oil like a water hose on full blast whenever the engine is running.

Okay so what do I do now? New block? Or can I just replace the housing?

[sharpxmen]

Today I changed the oil and after doing so my oil pressure gauge bottomed out. I replaced the sensor since the oil pump seemed to be working. Somehow when I was screwing in the new oil sender I managed to crack the housing elbow. Now it spews out oil like a water hose on full blast whenever the engine is running.

Okay so what do I do now? New block? Or can I just replace the housing?

what housing elbow? i don't recall having one on mine - do you have a gauge as well as a light? take a pic, but i would guess that if it's like a T fitting of some sort you should be able to take it out and put the sender straight in the block. I'll check the manual but i don't think the 91-95 (the one i have) has any elbow there.

if that is a fitting that you can remove use teflon tape next time or teflon paste sealer, the thread is conical and will pry out on the female thread and crack it if you overtighten, i don't think it's from bottoming out though, in that case you would just strip the threads.

if the crack is in the block you could try 2 things - cold weld (or JB weld), but since it is pressure there you might not be successful and you also never know when will it give so could be a problem if you are miles away from home. The other solution is to try and weld it, that could work you need someone with good welding skills but since you'll need to seal it i would say that it will be difficult - the outside would be ok to weld bt the lip will be a challenge not to mention that you'll need to re-thread. You can however weld in an adapter but i am not sure if you have enough room for that there. you can also try to see how far down the crack goes, try to weld the outside and thread in a smaller plug on the inside if the crack is not all the way down and you have enough "meat" to drill and tap in there - but in that case you'll be without an oil pressure indication which could be a problem - but there could be a solution with a remote oil filter adapter and have the gauge sender there.

post some pics so we can see the problem better

[chardrc]

ya i there is an elbow under the oil pressure sender... you can kinda see it in this pic.. although this is on a 1990 (tbi ) jeep i think its the same for the newer ones.. i would think you could take the elbow off the block and go find a new one...

[Sine Deviance]

Yeah it's pretty much the same as in your pic chardrc. I just don't know if it comes off or not. God, I hope it does. If not, I am screwed :(

[FourbangerYJ]

BTDT! The dealer has that brass elbow. That's the only place I found one. Not sure what thread it is to find it elsewhere.
You might need to take the Alt. off to make it easier to get to.

[chardrc]

your will probably have to go to the dealer for it.. i found the jeep part number for the 1990 version of it but its probably different for yours... just because (future reference or something)the 1990 part# is "J093 4001" and it is different from 6cly to 4cyl...

[sharpxmen]

just take it out and go buy an adapter from an auto-parts store - most likely the thread in the block is 1/8'' NPT (this is what's on my sender and there is no elbow/adapter and threads in the block directly) - not sure what your sender thread is but by the size of the one in the pic could be 1/4'' npt (or maybe some other thread) but take the sender and the fitting with you and they will find something for sure. make sure you use the teflon tape when you put it back in for anything that is NPT and copper or teflon washer for the sender if it's not an NPT thread (but i assume in that case it came with one since you got it new i believe). Good luck.

[Sine Deviance]

BTDT! The dealer has that brass elbow. That's the only place I found one. Not sure what thread it is to find it elsewhere.
You might need to take the Alt. off to make it easier to get to.

Oh, THANK GOD! I am glad that I am not the first (and only) person to do it, and also glad that my block isn't toast. I'll head down to LKN Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge tomorrow and see if they have the elbow.

just take it out and go buy an adapter from an auto-parts store - most likely the thread in the block is 1/8'' NPT (this is what's on my sender and there is no elbow/adapter and threads in the block directly) - not sure what your sender thread is but by the size of the one in the pic could be 1/4'' npt (or maybe some other thread) but take the sender and the fitting with you and they will find something for sure. make sure you use the teflon tape when you put it back in for anything that is NPT and copper or teflon washer for the sender if it's not an NPT thread (but i assume in that case it came with one since you got it new i believe). Good luck.

Will do. TBH I'd rather just go with a dealer OEM part if it doesn't cost $400. But I will consider all possibilities. Thanks for the luck, I'm gonna need it.

[Jeffy]

The fitting is brass so you don't want to be torquing it down really tight.  I think I went hand tight plug a 1/8 turn.

[sharpxmen]

just take it out and go buy an adapter from an auto-parts store - most likely the thread in the block is 1/8'' NPT (this is what's on my sender and there is no elbow/adapter and threads in the block directly) - not sure what your sender thread is but by the size of the one in the pic could be 1/4'' npt (or maybe some other thread) but take the sender and the fitting with you and they will find something for sure. make sure you use the teflon tape when you put it back in for anything that is NPT and copper or teflon washer for the sender if it's not an NPT thread (but i assume in that case it came with one since you got it new i believe). Good luck.

just want to correct my statement here, i'm pretty sure i have that elbow as well after looking at that pic again - at this point everything there is the same color and didn't notice it but it make sense since the sender is vertical just like the one in the pic posted (just different kind).

and yeah, your best option is the dealer but if you don't find one you can always get a generic if it's available. let us know how much they charged you for it once you get it.

[Sine Deviance]

and yeah, your best option is the dealer but if you don't find one you can always get a generic if it's available. let us know how much they charged you for it once you get it.

I will. I'll check the auto parts store first just to see what they have.

[Jeffy]

I will. I'll check the auto parts store first just to see what they have.

I highly doubt they will have the fitting.  It's pretty specialized unlike the sender.

[aw12345]

Any good auto part store should carry a replacement fitting is just a brass 90 degree npt fitting either 1/8 or 1/4 npt I have probably some floating around my garage. Is nothing special most oil ports in engines are 1/8 npt which equals tapered pipe thread

[jagular7]

Why consider only auto parts stores?

If the fitting is brass, NPT or whatever, your local industrial supply should have plumbing, hudraulic, and pnuematic fittings. Check under hydraulic fittings in your yellow pages first. MSC, McMaster-Carr, etc have lots of supply stores local to major metro areas.

[Sine Deviance]

Okay, I got it fixed. I went to the stealership and they had the fitting for $4.95. The only problem was that they had to have it shipped from Milwaukee and it was gonna take three days to get here (Friday.) So I went back to Auto Zone and pulled the fitting. It turns out they had one that matched the threads in the block and ALMOST matched the threads on the sensor (the sensor has a tapered screw and the elbow I used was straight-bore, but the actual threads were the same.) It was serviceable enough and only cost $1.99 so I just used that. I used teflon tape on both the fitting and the sensor so I don't think they'll be able to work their way out. The most expensive part of this was paying $19.99 for a five-quart jug of oil to refill it with.

After test driving for a while she seems to be running fine. The only problem I've noticed is that now when I floor it I can hear the valves rattling. When the fitting cracked I did drive the Jeep for a few hundred feet with 0 oil pressure and I could hear the engine knocking (had to do it to get it off the street) so this worries me a little.

EDIT: BTW the fitting is 1/8" NPT.