so I take my car to the GM dealer for it's annual service & inspection, tech finds a bunch of things to fix, I'll cover them one at a time, first was the coolant mainfold to intake manifold gasket - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20907

second was the bypass hose - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20946

third was the engine oil cooler hoses - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21125

fourth is the engine oil pressure sensor/switch - there is oil stain on housing around area that pressure sensor screws into, tech suggested oil pressure sensor is leaking, says it is a common problem with engine this age.

jack up & support car, remove passenger front wheel, remove splash shield -



view of sensor from wheel well -



remove connector -



remove sensor -



sensor removed, reverse to install new sensor -

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1995 SSEi

Thx for pix. getting ready to do this one.

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1997 SSEI 3.8 L67 149,000 miles Moonroof, Polished Gen V w/L32 intake, 3.5 mod. Pulley, SD Headers, Intense Stage 1 tune, MagnaFlow Cat 94109, Catco catback, Autolite 103s, 180 stat, Intense FWI, 1995 OEM trans cooler, Cleared corners. KYB Excel G struts and shocks.


2006 Malibu SS 3.9 60 degree V6, Variable Valve, Tap shift Trans, 100,000 miles Bone stock

SOLD - 1992 SSEI FWI PEM Catco Cat NGK TR55 180 stat Original owner 209,000 miles Original Engine and Trans - Still strong when she left

Use an AC Delco sender ONLY. Unless you want to buy 2 of them.

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Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

some additional commentary:

the quote from the dealer to replace the sensor was about $245 - list price of delco sensor $138, labour & shop supplies $79, then add 12% hst

even with the wholesale price I get if I buy the part over the counter, the delco sensor was still pretty expensive at the dealer. I just got around to installing the sensor this past weekend but I actually bought it a couple months ago, at the time I did not do the research that I should have done and did not realize there was an issue with aftermarket sensors. Anyway I just went on eBay and bought a Tru-Tech replacement sensor for $16 (free shipping)

I notice that right now on eBay there is someone selling delco sensors for $55 plus $8 shipping - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ACDELCO- ... ccessories

but I didn't find that listing at the time I was looking to buy the part, or I would have bought that. But more on this later in this note.

regarding the splash shield, there are 3 plastic push-pins that hold it in place, 2 are easily accessable from the wheel well, but the front one is tucked up behind the front fasia, had a hard time getting assess to it, so had to use pliers on it and ruined it, didn't put it back in when I installed splash shield so now only held on by 2 push pins, should be good enough and easier to remove if there is a next time.

after I removed splash shield, I sprayed some degreaser around the sensor and rinsed off, then cleaned up area with rag, really was not that much in the way of oil residue.

when I inspected oil sensor, there is absolutely no sign of any oil leakage in sensor, threads are good, no signs of leakage where metal meets plastic and no signs of leakage at end of sensor at electrical contacts, Personally, I don't think the sensor was leaking at all and the residue in the area of the sensor must be from some other source in the general vacinity. So I put in the new aftermarket sensor but I saved the the original delco sensor and if the aftermarket one goes I could just put the old one back it, but also this gives me some time to score a good deal on a proper delco replacement, so I'll just keep an eye on it, and we'll see how long the aftermarket one lasts.

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1995 SSEi

a few other observations:

- when I removed the connector from the end of the sensor, I noted the position of the tang that engages with the clip on the connector to lock it in place, the tang was pointing straight up, so when I installed the new sensor I tightened until it started to require effort and then continued until the tang on the new sensor was in the same position (i.e. straight up)

- I notice on eBay there is a special wrench that appears to be specifically for this purpose - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWAX%3AIT

I considered buying it, but I decided to give it a try with a common 1 1/16 open end wrench, which worked just fine

- have a pan under the sensor when you remove it, I was surprised at the amount of oil that drained out of the sensor hole when I removed the sensor

- the new sensor did not have any sealing compound on the threads, so I wrapped the threads with pipe joint tape

- after installing the new sensor, I started engine and ran until warm to check for any leakage before I installed splash shield and wheel

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1995 SSEi