Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hi all.

I've been using my '55 exclusively and the car is really mellowing out. The slight hesitation I experienced on acceleration from a stop light is gone and the transmission is operating almost perfectly - at least in the "H" or first triangle mode. Gear start is improving but I'm going to keep using the old mode for now.

I have reinstalled the oil pressure sending unit for the dash gauge but now the needle barely moves even at cold start up whereas it registered quite a bit higher before. My thinking is maybe some sludge solidified while it was out even though I had the base sitting in solvent.

I'm toying with replacing the sender and when looking up the part number in the on-site Parts X-ref discovered that we only have a listing for the "Trouble Light" sender. Does anyone have the NAPA, etc. number for the gauge sender? I looked at the NAPA site but couldn't find anything other than the "Trouble Light" unit under Packard even though I saw one that looked right before I narrowed the search.

Thank you in advance -

There is a Napa sender I suspect might work since it was used on multitudes of Ford products and we do know the Ford gas tank sender works for us. There are no real specs on the unit given though.

If anyone is so inclined to possibly throw $ 13.69 (online price + shipping) down the proverbial fixture in the interest of experimentation and possible benefit to Packard mankind, here is the item. Probably available locally since there are 150+ common Ford products that use it. I copied a few of them for illustration.

Having mentioned this as a possibility, understand I have not bought, tested, tried or otherwise even looked at the oil unit. Would hate to have someone spend money on my say-so only to find it won't work. Something from our vendors would be the safe choice.

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Thank you yet again Howard. I think I'll take you up on the Pressure Sender Challenge. I know what my engine is putting out thanks to the manual gauge so it will be pretty easy to see where the sending unit stacks up with reality. Plus, $13.69 is pretty reasonable and even if it doesn't work out, at least we all will know if it's an option. I'll call NAPA this morning and get back to everyone this evening or tomorrow at the latest.
Thanks again Howard.

Just looked up the part on the NAPA website and the sending unit is still available - AND guess what? The price has actually gone DOWN! It's listed at $12.63. At that price it as at least worth a try.

More later this weekend.

Hey Gang,

Went and picked up the NAPA Oil Pressure Sending Unit mentioned by Howard and installed it yesterday. At first glance, the oil pressure gauge reads the same as the manual gauge it replaced so I think the Echlin (ECH OP6091) sender is a "go". It does appear to be a tad wider than the OEM but with care, it screws right down. As an added benefit, the threads are pre-treated with sealing media.

The reason I said "at first glance" is that when I started the car up to check the function the hot water hose from the engine to the thermal valve ruptured delaying any further testing until I replace the hose this afternoon.

All in all, the ECH OP6091 sender from NAPA seems to be a good alternative - especially for $13. I'll post a further test after the little heater hose problem has been righted. At least the hose waited until the car was safely in the driveway to let go.

If the follow-up test goes well, I'll post the part number in the Packard Parts X-Ref section.

Thank you again, Howard, for coming up with this number.

Jim, never a dull moment with old cars is there. Like you said, at least it had class enough to do it in your driveway.

We'll keep our fingers crossed that the oil sender continues to check out well. If it does, then there may also be a Ford temp sender that will work with our gauges and be worth looking at.

Yesterday evening was devoted to replacing the engine to thermal valve hot water hose. Decided that the easiest method was to unbolt and lift the heater assembly out of the way. Getting the old hose off was no problem as it was so rotten that I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did. It was so swollen, that I had difficulty deciding what size hose to replace it with so I took the remains to the auto parts store where we decided that it was 3/4" stock. Had everything buttoned back up by sundown so just ran the engine long enough to see that there were no leaks.

Took her out for an extended drive this morning to check on the Oil Pressure Gauge readings with the new Echlin sending unit. Gauge ran consistently close to the manual gauge readings. The sending unit is set to measure pressure from 0 to 100 psi so 50 psi should have the dash gauge reading halfway which it does. As I mentioned earlier in some post or other; I'm using the car as a daily driver to shake down all systems so by the end of the week, I should be able to state whether or not we have a "winner".

Thanks again Howard for suggesting I try this gauge. I was a little leary of it due to the $13 price tag but so far so good. It even looks like the OEM unit.

More later