[pontiacpetey]

72 lemans 455 ho engine.

I've been chasing an oil leak and my oil gauges have been really erratic, bouncing from 0 at idle to full pressure while driving and all in between.

After reading a bunch of posts I've determined the leak is from either the oil pressure sender or the housing is cracked. Oil runs from the top of the filter down the side and is blowing all over the transmission. Oil filter is brand new, just did an oil change 10-w 30 non synthetic.

I found a new sender at a yard along with the housing, good deal for 25 bucks. The spring is shot inside and the circular tab that holds it in is rusted, can I use those parts from my old housing? were the springs from the 455 engines different from the 350 engines? I can get the spring and tab from my old 350 of needed.

Would the cracked housing or leaking sender cause my crazy oil pressure readings?

I've been keeping my eye on the oil and its leaking about a quart per 100 miles or so. It does not leak at idle or when the car sits, maybe a few drops coming off the bottom of the transmission where it sprayed.

The engine was rebuilt about 10 years ago but only has about 4000 miles on it since then.
Is it possible the oil pump would cause the erratic readings?

Also when installing a pressure sender do you use thread sealant? the sender on the car now had Teflon tape on it, I was wondering about the electrical conductivity when using Teflon tape.

Sorry im a noob at this, thanks for any advice. ALso sorry for the jumbled questions im not much of a conversationalist at typing..

Thanks,Pete.

[mgarblik]

Take the new oil filter housing and get it as clean as possible first. The little spring, disc and retainer plate are all part of the oil filter bypass system. If the filter were to get clogged or you were pumping too much oil at any given time for the filter to pass through, the pressure in the housing would push the disc against the spring and allow oil to skip the filter. The parts need to be in there but not a critical calibration. Use the best parts from your two housings. Oil sending unit is 1/8" pipe thread which is tapered. I like liquid pipe sealant with teflon, but tape is fine. Don't overtighten. If you are running stock rally gauges the transducers are notorious for all kinds of incorrect readings and leaks. I would recommend starting with a known good unit or a new one. Use a gasket and don't overtighten the housing to the block. Good luck.

[Blued and Painted]

Yes a leaking sender can/will cause a goofy gauge readings.