Should the oil pressure sender have a hole in the middle or is this some sort of sintered arrangement, mine certainly doesn't have a hole, it was always sluggish and I never replaced it after it had sat for 20 years. Edit : I cleaned it up and there is a hole but it is also 'restricted' and it looks deliberate, there are what appears to be 'copper cores' or something like twisted wire actually in the hole itself.

As part of waking the car up I wanted to prime the oil galleries as everything down below the heads has been off - want to make sure the oil pump gets primed - thought this would be a simple task but oil sure doesn't enter via the oil sender hole particularly quickly, going to take a week at the rate it is going down.

Anyone ever made up a hand pump to pressurise oil galleries / prime the oil pump on a V12 other than spinning the engine over (which I will do once satisfied everything is oiled, cams and chains will be manually soaked).

In replacing the sender would the members that have done so have any 'avoid' stories - seems the OEM is no longer available so I'm considering second hand - or is aftermarket OK from (read some stories about them not being anything more than an on off switch also)

 

Nothing special on the senders, aftermarket from Manners etc will be fine. Be careful to support the casting they fit into when removing/tightening.
Grant has used a garden sprayer to prime the bearings, via one of the oil sender ports; he will come along and explain what he did!

 

Already 'removed' and replaced to keep junk out, did the same with the switch, had the whole pedestal off for inspection but didn't disturb the banjo's on the back of the head, although I have replaced the Jaguar banjo's with a modified and longer one the stories of disaster on those things make me nervous.

I recall reading a couple of methods but not sure if Grant's was one of them - one of the methods was to remove the oil pressure sender hence me playing around with it.

Can't use the starter just yet as currently no crank pulley installed but the day I get it back from the machining I want to be ready to go - first job is to build oil pressure, I also plan to measure it externally so I'm not relying on the sender but would be nice to compare actual to what that says (this was on my to do list 4 years ago).

 

What am I guilty of now, oh yeh, coffees COLD.

Priming the beast, SIMPLE.

Remove the oil idiot light sender, screw in a brass threaded fitting, 1/8BSP, with a 5/16 hose barb. Attach a hose,, with a clamp. Attach a prefilled syringe to the open end, and push SLOWLY, and repeat as needed. When the engine is primed, the resistance to push more oil in is HUGE, so you know its done.
Prefill the oil filter saves a shiiit load of time, HA.

Memory, about 2 ltrs, with a prefilled filter, BUT, that depends on what has been disturbed etc down below.

Auto stores have syringes,cheap and very good, about 350ml approx per stroke.

I have never looked at the oil switches, but they need a hole, no hole, no oil, no reading. BUT, how big/small, oops. I run a Toyota idiot switch, been there too many years. The New OE started leaking in the OZ Outback, only Auto Place was a Toyota dealer, so I got a switch, same threads, spade terminal, borrowed a spanner, dome deal, and the car never complained.

Gauge thingy, VDO, from a Datsun ??????, forget already, as it was the ONLY sender they made with "reverse Ohms" reading. Again, been there forever. OE at the times, AKA Smiths, were crap out of the box.

 

FORGOT, welcome to my world.

ALL my engine priming, since the 60s, is IN SITU, and fully connected. The priming being the LAST task prior to starting the thing.

IF your engine is out of its home, you may/will need to plug the oil cooler holes. A rag stuffed tight should suffice.

 

Nah it is all back home and undergoing the final surgery before first start in 4 years, I want to spin it on the starter with no plugs in to get everything primed up including the half gallon that the cooler will consume, I want to confirm oil pressure and no insane leaks because I failed to find a joint to tighten (been around everything three times now) before going too far, plus I feel that's the right way to wake an engine that has sat a while or been in surgery. I am also buttoning up the power steering for similar reasons.

Fittings ordered - syringe is on hand - I have a pretty good one that I got for delivering oil upside down in transmissions / diffs etc.

I have kept it turning and 'oil fogged' but not had any oil in it for a long time because the necessary circuits including the auto cooler were incomplete (need to fill the transmission too).

 

I made this to pre oil my 5.3L.
Thread is written on the plastic can, fits on the oil sender position.
It is gravity feed and will oil all the passages on the outlet side of the filter.
It might fill the filter if the non return valve is on the inlet side of the filter.
I know if you top up that can the engine takes a lot of oil.

While working in that area a good idea to slot the 2 bolt holes at the rear of the capstan pedestal.
Those 2 bolts are not easy to remove or replace if you need to get at the oil sender again.
With slots you only need loosen them a few turns, remove the 2 bolts at the forward end and get the pedestel out of the way.

 

When you say slot I take it that you mean actual open slots so that the pedestal can be removed without pulling the throttle capstan off ?

I hadn't thought of that but I think thats worthwhile. I had to remove the oil pressure sender (the big top one) in a bench vice, no way for sure I was removing it when it was surrounded by other stuff.

I also need to go shopping again I think - I already ordered barbs to Grants dimensions - now to find some 1/4 BSPF ..

 

Correct - open slots so you pull the pedestal forward after removing the 2 front bolts.
On your car you might have the coil on the pedestal which also needs removing.
On my 79 coupe I have the coil elsewhere and can move the pedestal well out of the way complete with throttle capstan, and allow easy access to the oil pressure sender.
My car has the 1/4 BSP thread, and I expect all cars with the regular sender has the same thread. Of course with Jaguar, you never know if and when that might have changed.

 

I shall do this, like the idea. No coil or distributor to worry about don't have them .

I'm not a fan of disturbing the throttle pedestal even if the space exists, setting that sucker up along with the throttles is a pain, one day I will move to drive by wire but I need the car to be less of a project so I can kick the wrinkles out post 'restore' before I do much more.

 

Ben
I am a big fan of slotting the two rearmost holes on the throttle capstan pedestal. Then drilling two access holes in the pedestal, big enough for a 1/4 inch drive 7/16ths socket and long extension, to allow access to the rearmost two fixing bolts.
The front two can be easily got at. This makes changing the plugs far easier: dizzy cap off, capstan off, disconnect coil leads, coil lifts off, pedestal off. Replacing does not need throttle rod readjustment.
This is a Grant Francis idea and a damn good one!

Silly wings left over from the E type application cut off.

Access holes for rearmost slotted bolt holes

Slots from below

A cinch to undo!

 

I remember that battle - what a pig of a location - glad you posted those or I'd have probably got the wrong holes - I was thinking of the oil sender pedestal ....

Looking at some footage I have I was considering the replacement of that pedestal - look at this and tell me if this is a bespoke or whether it is off the 6.0 - the rails in this image are I believe -

 

I think, repeat think, that is bespoke. The 6 litre capstan is different from the 5.3, but from memory it is not like that, so I also think the capstan in the photo is bespoke.