MjRocket

Friggin Bot...That's word for word my first post that started the thread.

skpyle

Yep...he/she/it/they got in my thread. No way in hell am I clicking whatever the link is.

Seth K. Pyle

ltoolio

It's a link bot. trying to get links back to their crap spam site.

Report the posts and help get 'em out of here.

Jerry Feather

I had previously opened up the hole in the top of my cap so it would fit around the top ring of the replacement sender. Today I recessed the under side of that hole so that the sender would fit a little farther through the cap. Then I turned the top ring of the sender, just above the widest flange, so that the sender would go even further through the top of the cap. I want to have room for a rubber washer/seal that I hope to make to fit around the top of the sender and still have the top all the way through the cap.

I drove around today to a couple of machine shops that I was referred to looking for someone who had a CNC lathe and could make the replacement cap for this conversion. I found one and will be looking into getting him the material to make them out of. I think I will use asetal (delrin) for the cap. Then all I need is to locate some rubber sheet to make some washers out of. I'll make the intermediate washer out of some of the scrap ABS that I have left over from my other formings. I have been saving a lot of that for various washers that I make from time to time.

Next I have to make a couple of dies to cut the washers with. I can do that in my lathe without too much effort. That should go pretty well if I have the material to make them with.

ROG100

Actually the part is made for BMW and has a BMW number. Comes with a cap but I doubt that it will work with our expansion tank. I have one coming and will share the pictures to help the project.

If this works I can sell the basic sensor for $15 and make money 8>)

MjRocket

Great job Jerry...You never cease to Amaze me!

Jerry Feather

It looks like it might go somewhere, so I went out and processed some of my scrap and ABS drop material into washer blanks and turned some of them to the outside diameter. I can make about 20 of them at a time in one turning in the lathe, but I will have to open up the center hole in the lathe one at a time. That will be more time consuming. With the material I processed, it looks like I'll have about three hundred of them or more.

Here's the first batch of the partial washers

P.S. Instead of "washer" I think these are going to be our "sealing ring."

dr bob

Nalgene supplies plastic lab ware including cylindrical bottles. High quality stuff. I'm away from my usual resources for finding this stuff. Rob may have info on sizes and fit.

Rob Edwards

I measure roughly 8 threads per inch (thread pitch is 0.125", or 3.1 mm) with a neck ID of 28.2 mm on a spare coolant reservoir I have here. It's made of polypropylene.

Looking through the Nalgene catalog (http://www.thermoscientific.com/cont...genecontainers)

I don't see anything off hand that matches, but will look around some more.

Jerry Feather

Thanks Bob and Rob for your inputs on this. It would be nice to have an inexpensive source for bottle caps that fit that I could modify for this conversion. I doubt that we are going to be that lucky; and I expect we would have to buy the whole container just to get the caps.

MjRocket

Damn Spam Bot!..These are getting bad lately.

Jerry Feather

I have spent some more time on the material I'm making the sealing rings out of and have some of them finished. Out of the batch of material that I worked up for these I have started about 400 of them and have finished maybe 125 or so. Fortunately I can finish the larger center hole in these two at a time so that is saving me a lot.

I find this process kind of pleasant, but mindless, kind of like folding newspapers before your paper route. Here are some pictures of some of the process.

The first picture is a duplicate, I think.

The second one shows how several of the sealing ring blanks are screwed onto a mandrel in my lathe for turning the outer circumfrence. The third and fourth pictures, that show all the ribbons of black plastic that has been turned off the blanks, I'm showing because when I get clean shavings like that I save it to recycle into ABS glue. I simply stuff one of the empty or near empty glue containers with these shavings then soak it in MEK and create a full container of home made ABS glue.

The Picture with two clear plastic jugs in it kind of shows where I am with this now. The one on the left is the original turned blanks and the one on the right has the finished rings. Across the middle of the front of that picture is kind of the process from sawn and drilled blanks to finished rings. Then, the last two pictures show where these Sealing Rings will go.

Jerry Feather

I'll have the rest of the Sealing Rings opened up shortly--I now have about 300 of them finished.

I have located some Delrin round bar stock in either black or natural color in Denver. I think I'll order the natural since that is probably closer to the originals in the 928. The machinist I have found will make about 200 of these out of two 8 foot bars of it.

Then, I have located a rubber supplier on-line and I will either buy the material from them for the seals or may even have them cut the seals for me. I need to contact them to see what the cost is. They can supply rubber in .032 in thickness and with an adhesive back, which I think will be best. Then I can stick these to the cap and sealing ring myself.

ROG100

I might of missed it but does the level sensor work in the 928 - might be worth trying before doing any more work.

Jerry Feather

Yeh, I guess you missed it. A couple of guys named ROG100 and Sean tested it and found that it works electrically, but that it will show low level of coolant at a slightly different level, which was no show stopper. Check out posts 38 and 40 above.