The TP I just bought has a slight oil leak at the oil pressure sender. The factory service manual recommends using a deep, 12 sided socket to install or remove the sender but they don't specify a size.

I searched the forum and someone posting in the 2nd gen forum said that, from memory, the size was one and 1/16th inch. Twelve sided deep sockets are not easy to find but eventually I found and bought a Kinchrome one at Bunnings for $15.

It is difficult to get even a deep socket onto the sender. I removed the manifold heat shield and disconnected the engine roll damper and still couldn't get to it. Eventually I bent away the mounting brackets of the roll damper slightly and managed to get the socket on. You guessed it. It didn't fit. Too big! I said a few magic words and put everything back together as is.

Now I've bought a new sender to take with me when I try again to find the right sized socket. An offset ring spanner might also work. There's no way you can get at it with a shifter or vice grips etc.

I measure the new one as 1.05" or 26.7mm (with digital calipers). As said, one and 1/16th (1.0625") socket is too big. The nearest size socket I otherwise have is 25mm and that is too small. I could be wrong but I think 1" (25.4mm) may also be too small so it is more than likely 26 or 27mm but I don't have those sizes. Does anyone here know the size for sure?

If it looks anything like the tridon part TPS006 Oil Pressure Switch http://www.tridon.com.au/partfinder/default.aspx) Spanner: 22mm . But I can't see how a conventional socket could work. The profile has flats but no peaks. So an open end spanner may do it but ring or socket I don't think so. Is it 6 sided? maybe a 6 sided socket? Last time I touched an oil sender was on a KE20 corolla in 1984

Thanks for your response. It is in fact the TPS006 but is bigger than 22mm. Even 25mm socket is too small. It is six sided but as you said, the corners are cut off or scalloped - silly arrangement in my opinion. There's not enough space to get an open end spanner on it but even if possible, that would probably just round off the corners completely. The same might happen with a six sided socket. I assume Mitsubishi recommend a twelve sided one for a reason.

The hard part is getting off the existing one. The reason for asking here is because the nearest town where I can buy such things is 150kms round trip. I guess I will take the part with me, show it to the Bunnings door person as I go in and try to find something that will fit it. Supercheap and Autobarn didn't have long sockets big enough or with twelve sides.

I can't see a std 12 point working . It may be a Mitsubishi specialised tool.

Toledo make specific sockets for the job.

Toledo 25/27mm (http://www.tridon.com.au/Products/Product.aspx?SG=5&S=18&G=561&P=64229)

oil pressure and stop light switches (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Switch-Remover-Socket-/251364360515?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a867bc143)

T & E Tools DUAL SIZED OIL PRESSURE SENDER UNIT SOCKET 1" & 1-1/16" (25.4mm & 27mm) (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DUAL-SIZED-SOCKET-1-1-1-16-to-reach-DEEP-OIL-PRESSURE-SWITCH-FOR-OIL-LIGHT-/261309131797?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cd73cec15)

And from what I can see from the small glimpses of the sockets on Ebay they look nothing like a std socket and some may even be for specific Makes.

Maybe wait and see if anybody with trade knowledge can clear this up before you do a 150K trip in case what you need does not exist or maybe puchase online

Supercheap can make special purchase from there distributors for parts they don't normally stock. They did for me when I needed to rebuild an alternator.

Maybe you have a friendly garage / mechanic nearby you could pay a deposit and loan the tool?

Thanks for that info and especially the link to the special Toledo tool. I think you are right that a normal 12 point socket will probably not work. The special tool is expensive with postage added but I think I'll get one anyway. This town has only a general store/post office and a truck stop. The guy who does my rego. checks might lend me one but even that is a 40km trip that I'd have to do twice, so buying one will be cheaper.

I hope this sort of helps,I just tried a socket on my pressure sender on a TP,its bigger than 1" AF..... I had an old 5/8" BS socket,12 point standard depth that fits nicely. A 27 mm socket was too big,I measured across the face of a 5/8 BS spanner I had to convert to metric for you,it came out just a tad under 26 mm,so my guess is that's the size you need. Cheers

Thanks for that. Your info, together with the posts by TW2005 confirm that the inch and 1/16th socket I bought was just about the right size but not the right shape. I'm going to try to make use of it. It won't matter if I mess it up as I'd never need that size for anything else.

I will protect the plastic end of the new sender with a spark plug boot or similar, then wrap it tightly in glad wrap. Then I will mix up a small batch of body filler, spread it generously inside the socket, press the sender into it and wait for the filler to dry. I should then be able to remove the sender and peel away the glad wrap, leaving a socket perfectly shaped to fit. Well, that''s the theory. I will let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: The process went more or less to plan. I've just removed the sender and peeled away the glad wrap. The body filler molded to shape quite well but seems a bit soft. I will leave it overnight before trying it. It is probably strong enough to install the new sender but may not be strong enough to remove the old one. If necessary, I'l chip off the body filler and repeat the process using epoxy instead.

CONCLUSION: It worked. Today I used it to remove the old sender and fit the new one. If anyone tries my method of making a custom socket, use epoxy instead of body filler. The body filler is not quite strong enough and broke away as I tightened up the new sender. By that time, it was tight enough, so the job was done. I used sealant on the thread, so no more leaks. Incidentally, epoxy melts plastic, so you'd have to use something other than glad wrap to prevent it sticking to the sender that you use to mold the shape. Alfoil might work.