When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm sure this has been covered NUMEROUS times, but couldn't find it... so here goes. MUST I use the Oil Pressure Relief Valve Alignment Tool prior to refitting the OPRV...? Hate to spend $60 + shipping on a tool I'm only gonna use ONCE...
Sorry, I should have posted it's an 87 base w/ Automatic. I would HOPE that a single piece OPRV wouldn't need to be aligned... or am I missing something. Thanks!!!
Originally Posted by V2Rocket
If your car is 83-86 with the 3 piece then yes but the tool is like 40
Hate to spend $60 + shipping on a tool I'm only gonna use ONCE...
Unfortunately, the only way to do it right is with the tool. Since the one piece OPRV can fit in with a slight knee action, it can bind and either cause too much oil pressure or none at all.
Do you want to gamble your engine on a couple of tanks of gas?
This summer, I bought both the early and then the late tool because I initially thought my 924S had the early OPRV but it had the late one. I would say that you definitely need the tool.
You can always sell the tool when you are done and recoup some of the money for it.
The results are in!! I'm buying the tool. To be clear, it's not ALL about the $$... the new tool is only $60 + shipping... but there is so much conflicting or at the very least UNCLEAR info that I felt compelled to ask the guys who've done it before. I've spent $$ on parts that frankly didn't need to be replaced but I applied the "While Your In There" rule of thumb. Typically this results in the safest and most reliable car... but it can also get expensive. The other rule of thumb is "You're $10K away from owning a $5K car..." That's a common line in the 928 community. Gotta start drawing the line somewhere.
Thanks again for the insight. It will not go unheeded. Now, where is that website for Pelican Parts...? I'm kidding!! LOL!!!
Timing belt, balance belt, water pump, belt tensioners & rollers, front engine & camshaft seals, aligned balance shafts, motor mounts, oil cooler seals, automatic transmission cooler hoses, exhaust manifold gaskets, new aux belts, all fluids and filters and CLEANING, CLEANING, CLEANING... DONE!!!
Buttoning her back up, flushing the coolant system and we'll be DONE!! First time we've ever ventured into the inner workings of a 944 and it was quite the learning experience! That was a helluva job!!
I did mine without the tool. I may have used the actual OPRV as a guide, I can't remember, its been quite some time.
I think I used a combination of dirt lines and marks where the housing came off to have an idea of where it went back on. When we installed the OPRV, it went in pretty smoothly.
Maybe we just got lucky. I don't want to steer you wrong, but I guess it can be done without the tool.
Legend has it the later style OPRV is more or less "self aligning" due to it's larger body.
The earlier model had just a plunger with a spring much smaller than the bore in the block so it could move around quite a bit and get stuck off center.
I used an alignment tool when I did the OPRV on my '87. Dunno if it was really all that necessary, but it's a bit of extra peace of mind. I actually found a fairly low-cost plastic one, it was machined out of a high-density Delrin-type plastic to the same measurements as the factory tool. Either it worked fine or it wasn't necessary, but in either case the car's been running fine with normal oil pressure for a few years now since then.
O.K. Everything started right up and she purrs like a kitten, so we did the timing belt & balance belt correctly. Saw a problem on the ride home. The oil pressure gauge is pegged above 5 (won't budge) and the exclamation light along with the low oil light is coming on... The exclamation light and the low oil pressure light go out when you reach 2K rpms. There's no major leaks and no lifters tapping so the engine is getting oil.
Kinda worried here so I need some advice since we were talking about the OPRV... We used the alignment tool and everything seemed to fit like a glove - no issues. But we also replaced the oil pressure sensor. Could the exclamation & low oil pressure light be caused by switching the leads on the oil pressure sensor terminals? Basically wiring it up backwards? I haven't been able to get under the car to test my theory (switch the leads yet). Or am I looking at an over pressurized oil situation? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Reversed the solid green with the green/white striped wire (should have been my first clue) on the oil pressure sending unit and the gauge works correctly with no exclamation point scaring the B-Jesus out of me... So there are pos + / neg - terminals on the oil sending unit... who-da-thunk-it?!?!
The downside is while under the car I discovered fresh oil dripping from the bottom three engine cover bolts. Removed them and got a nice big drop of oil on the garage floor. Somewhere behind the engine covers... not a bad leak, but UHG!! We were just in there... Oh well, life goes on and I'll have to get back in and see what's causing the oil drips.
Damn oil leak is coming from the cam tower cover gasket onto the #1 piston exhaust manifold and smoking like my Uncle Joe's pipe! We thought it was coming from the seals / gaskets behind the distributor but I'm guessing that was just PART of the problem. That's we I get for not doing it all "while your in there" or "while your at it"... Pelican parts order arrived today with all gaskets / seals for the entire cam tower - might as well make sure they're all GOOD and installed correctly. All of about $25 in parts so what the hell... Here we go again.
09-07-2017, 07:47 PM
Oil Pressure Valve Alignment Tool
