Can anybody point me in the direction of an oil pressure tap on the 215 engine? I can't find anything and feel like I am missing something here.

Thanks.

The yellow engine is the 215 I am talking about.

 

I believe the pressure port is on the oil pump cover or near the oil filter. It's not on the block.

 

Right, that engine uses an external oil pump at the lower right of the front (timing) cover - a Buick design. I don't remember the specific location of the o.p. sender, but if you check around the area of the filter, you should be able to find it.

Edit: found a pic on the web. This is a British Rover 3.5 version, but it's the same basic engine.

 

My housing does not have the port in the same location as pictured. There is a hex headed plug on the bottom of the oil filter housing, but I thought it was odd that the sensor would be located on the bottom. I was hoping there was another location that I was missing. I'll pull the plug tonight and see if that is it.

Thanks.

 

See the pressure switch on the V6 next to your 215 in the pic? Check that location closely on the 215. Even though your pic is pretty big, I can't really see any detail in that area of the 215. There's gotta be one there someplace.

 

My 215 has it in nearly the same location as in this picture. Mine is oriented slightly more towards the rear of the oil pump housing.

 

The only port/plug that I can find anywhere had a plug that aimed down and towards the center of the car at a roughly 45 deg angle. I removed the plug and some old oil came out - enough to make a roughly 5" diameter puddle on the floor. The plug had a spring on the other side, which is shown in the pictures.





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Picture006-5.jpg

Picture007-5.jpg

The switch you see in the last picture is the oil pressure sender/switch that I would like to use.

Questions:

What does the spring do?
If I plum the pressure sender into this port, will it give me engine oil pressure?
I assume that the oil that came out means that the pump lost its prime - is there a way to get it primed without removing the pump?

Thanks.

 

Slowly put down the wrench and step away from the oil filter adapter....

The spring is for the oil filter bypass and you want to put it back together and stop unscrewing things.

I just went back and looked at the photo you posted initially. Note how the oil filter on the 215 in the photo is at the same angle as the one on the V6. That is NOT correct for an original 215. On all three of the 215s I have, the oil filter comes off at 90 degrees to the crank centerline, not angled forward like that. You apparently have a later model V6 oil filter adapter on your 215 (they interchange), which is why you can't find the port for the oil pressure switch. You will need to get the correct adapter for a 215, which has the threaded port on the REAR side if the adapter, pointing nearly straight back towards the rear of the motor.

I don't know if the V6 adapter has a boss that can be tapped and drilled for a port, but either way the adapter needs to come off. When you take it off, the oil pump gears will likely fall out. Pack the pump cavity with petroleum jelly when you reassemble it (use a new gasket) to facilitate priming the pump.

Edit:
Your third option is to swap the front cover with the V6. Note how on the V6 the oil pressure switch screws into the cover above the oil pump.

 

Thanks Joe,

I've put the wrench down...

I pulled the v6 adapter off and temporarily bolted a stock 215 housing (with pressure tap). I may have interference issues with the new angle that the oil filter comes off. My options are:

1. Find a very short oil filter for the stock adapter
2. Try to drill and tap the v6 adapter for a pressure switch
3. Run a remote oil filter with the stock adapter.
4. Get a 3.5 rover adapter as pictured above and check to see if it fits.

BTW, the picture above with the Rover 3.5 filter adapter - does anybody know what application that I could search for? For example, what year and type of car were these engines found in?

Thanks.