Question : Oil pan question on a 3.1

[glanngfor]

Anyone know if I can use an oil pan without the oil level sensor on my 96 Grand Am. The old one was cracked on one corner and I ordered a replacement off of Ebay with the same casting number, but it has no holes for the sensor to re-install. Will it cause a problem with the check engine light. Thanks...

[robertisaar]

it would cause the low oil level light to stay on, but i don't think the SES would light up... then again, OBD2 is foreign to me.

[pmaniac69]

why not just drill and tap a hole and put the sensor in?

[glanngfor]

Great Idea. Past drill and tap fixes has had mixed results with me, but I'll shoot it over to the machine shop. Thanks for the tip...

[pocket-rocket]

I would think there would need to be a momentary normally open style switch on the end of the plug for the low oil light to come on. On way to test, go under the car, unplug it and turn the key on and see if the light comes on. If not, why take the risk of ruining a new pan with a drill? I drove a van without the oil pressure sending unit plugged in because I had a gauge plugged in the pressure sensor port and the oil pressure light and the SES light never came on because of it.

[glanngfor]

Well the engine is on the stand and almost complete, so I really can't test that theory. My machine shop guy did right by me and drilled it out and tapped the bolt. These computers seem somewhat temperamental IMHO when there's something different on the sensors..but that might just my frustration working with a worn out engine. This one had 186K when the cam broke, so it now has a solid cam. The piston walls and crank were still in spec, and so far it has been a fairly easy re-build. I guess I'll know by this weekend after wrestling it back into the engine compartment. Its a trip pulling these motors out from the top.

[glanngfor]

Here is what she looks like so far