It has been a great weekend in the progress of taking care of a few loose ends on the Mini. One of these is the oil pressure gauge adapter which to my horror was leaking oil. I have since decommissioned the oil pressure gauge until I have time to investigate, arrives at a satisfactory solution and recommission it.
this was a photo taken in the summer with the engine hot at idle
an old photo of the t-adapter which had very few threads engaged to the aluminum oil filter housing
The reason I decommissioned the oil filter gauge was while there was a small leak from the NPT threads I was reluctant to give it one more turn afraid that I might strip the softer threads on aluminum filter housing. This weekend I decided to get to the bottom of this. To install the t-adapter is easier said than done due to the extreme space constraints of the Mini's engine packaging. A heat shield for the muffler must first be removed before you can even see the stock oil pressure switch.
the stock oil pressure switch removed
in late summer when I decommissioned the oil pressure gauge I taped up the compression fitting and the nylon line with a piece of duct tape to protect it
the orientation of the side port on the t-adapter has to be in an exact angle for the nylon line to access it
With a lot of care I incrementally torque down the t-adapter until the side port is at the exact angle. I didn't want to over rotate the adapter and having to back it out slightly. Once I am happy with the t-adapter angle - checking it a few times, I proceeded to install the oil pressure switch onto the end. This time I was able to orientate the oil pressure switch such that the locking and release mechanism of the connector faces downwards - hence out of the harmful radiant heat of the feeder pipes of the exhaust header.
I cut a strip of fiberglass cloth to wrap around the oil pressure switch connector to protect it from the red hot exhaust pipes
I wanted to secure the fiberglass cloth with a loop of steel wire but it was just to difficult to work in the tight confine with both hands. I ended up just use two cable ties.
this is the photo taken before the heat shield of the exhaust header is re-installed
here you can see why the orientation of the oil pressure pickup port for the oil pressure gauge is so important; only this specific angle works
I have been thinking of a shift light. I don't care for installing equipment into the Mini to make it looks cool. Only things that have utility would get pass the first go/no go. I have to admit that I have at time been distracted on the track only to be saved by the RPM cutout in the DME. Most race shift gauges has more features than I think I need. Additionally the cockpit in the Mini is very constrained for any additional gauges if you want to maintain the elegant interior design.
I actually quite like this very reasonably priced Auto Meter shift light. It is the most reasonably priced product like this. However Mini already has a very legible rev counter at the most prominent location, so another tachometer just does not make sense for well-sorted car. Most race shift lights has gear indicator, which seem like a nice feature. The truth is I don't think anyone driving on the track find the gear indicator of much use.
Auto Meter 233911 Autogage Shift-Lite Tachometer
- The ones that comes to mind are:
- Switch off the ASC traction control when the engine starts
- One touch passenger window autoup
- Oil pressure loss siren and indicator and may be immediate engine shut off
a simple shift indicator light like this mount next to the stock techometer would be ideal
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