Hello everyone

I have 1992 Chevrolet Camaro RS 5.0 V8 305 TBI. The original engine seized up. A donor engine was installed from a salvage yard but I never actually found out from what vehicle make and model.( I didn't do the install nor was I around at the time) It is a 305 TBI. The problem I'm having is 6 years ago the oil pressure sensor went out on it and I meant to change it, I removed it life got in the way and lost it, its been 6 years so I don't know where I put it. I bought a oil pressure sensor for a 92 Camaro but it does not fit, the threaded area is to large for the hole and I just can't seem to find the right one. The only thing I remember about the one I removed was it was stubby not long like the one you would get for a 92 Camaro. I think maybe the engine came out of a truck possibly. Is there a different oil pressure sensor with a different size threaded area (smaller). I did put a thread pitch tool in the hole and the size that fit was M12x1.75. Any help would be appreciated, just want to get this thing going again. Oil pressure sensor is the one above the oil filter and has 3 prongs or tabs.

 

The threads should be a pipe type taper thread. This is a sealing thread and would be required on. It would not suprise me if it was ANSI or Metric. Most hardware stores will sell taper threaded plugs if you need that to size it. Back in the mid 80's they would have been 1/8" NPT. The 1/8" thread is much larger than you think since the 1/8" is the size of the ID of the pipe and threads are on the OD.

Do you know which pressure sensor we are talking about? A base model will have two, one for the dash light and one for the fuel system. A car with an oil pressure gage will have 3. The one for the gage will be larger. The smaller ones will be like and on off switch. The next part is year dependent. In my experience the one for the dash light is a single wire. It just grounds the wire until it sees oil pressure then it switches off the ground and the dash light goes out. The fuel system is or was in early years 2 wire connector. This allows power to flow through when there is oil pressure. This will cause the car to not start before oil pressure builds. The larger gage sensor is one wire and it will give a weak ground at low oil pressure and as pressure goes up the ground gets stronger, and the gage goes up.

I type all this out because if you know what sensor it is and how many wires and the pipe tap size then you can use any GM sensor that will physically fit. Even if you have to change connectors.

 

the connector has 3 wires coming out of it

 

My guess is the 305 in your car is an older than the 92. I think you are going to have to make the 92 sensor work. The 3 wire sensor is more accurate computer input. Honestly I did not realize that they used 3 wire sensor back in 92. I always think of 3 wires with OBD2. If you found a 3 wire that would fit in the thread you would have to verify the resistance was the same. You could hook it up and use a hand scanner to verify the temps or use an old school Ohm meter to verify resistance. I have no idea how you would switch to an older style 2 wires sensor because the computer is looking for the third wire input.

What you want is the shortest nipple you can find. That will have a male thread that goes into the block and a female thread for the sensor. This would be a plumbing thing. Copper would be best and Cast iron next. You want to transfer heat as fast as possible.