Wiring up gauges...

[bluevenom867]

i don't know how you guys feel about the plastic line that comes with mechanical oil pressure gauges but i didnt like it so i got copper tubing and ran that into my car with some nice flairs on it for the fittings. haven't had any oil leaks at the gauge and i have no worry's about heat in the engine bay and plastic lines.

We got the plastic oil line for the gauge,and there fine.They just use a compression fitting.

Don't get a mechanical phantom fuel pressure gauge, fyi.

Why?

We got a Phantom mechanical fuel pressure gauge,only ours is for carbed pressure (0-15psi).

 

[86bluecobra]

i wish ford racing gauges would come out with a nitrous pressure gauge and a fuel pressure gauge. i want to keep all ford racing gauges like my coolant and oil gauges.

 

[srothfuss]

Sroth, as an FYI which you may or may not experience: A tee fitting for two temp gauge senders is not a good idea..

I have since swapped out both tee's since reading this. I'll have two dead gauges in the cluster, but I am after more accurate readings. Thanks for the tip!

 

[HISSIN50]

The Tee is fine for pressure gauges. Temp gauges are the only ones that are finicky and need to have their probe immersed in the flow of the fluid.

I am sure you can find another home somewhere for the stock temp guage sender (the rear port on stock heads, t-stat housing, etc). And OP was actually fine the way it was.

Sorry for the confusion - I guess I was not clear enough in the above-post.

Good luck bud.

 

[Dbeck002]

I really want to use the Tstat housing drilled/tapped for the autometer gauge because that would be the most accurate reading for water temp. Water right after it leaves the tstat is actual engine temp since it hasnt been altered by going through the rad first, straight out the engine is what i want.

Anyway I think ill need to find some NPT taps, this will be kinda weird lol

 

[HISSIN50]

I really want to use the Tstat housing drilled/tapped for the autometer gauge because that would be the most accurate reading for water temp. Water right after it leaves the tstat is actual engine temp since it hasnt been altered by going through the rad first, straight out the engine is what i want.

Anyway I think ill need to find some NPT taps, this will be kinda weird lol

It really does not matter too much where you have the gauge - the absolute value is not that important as opposed to the trend you see day in and day out. I would caution one thing - if you use the stat housing for your good gauge and your stat sticks closed, your gauge wont really reflect the temps at the motor [as well as the stock sender location can].

Good luck.

 

[Dbeck002]

It really does not matter too much where you have the gauge - the absolute value is not that important as opposed to the trend you see day in and day out. I would caution one thing - if you use the stat housing for your good gauge and your stat sticks closed, your gauge wont really reflect the temps at the motor [as well as the stock sender location can].

Good luck.

I have a Mr. Gasket thermostat in there now, its only a year old.

Thanks though.

 

[Dbeck002]

I bought a new cast housing (crappy) from autozone and drilled and tapped it.
I used a 45/64ths bit and a 1/2" NPT tap.

Spent around 50 bucks on all this sh1t but at least it will look clean and still have a functioning stock sender. I will keep you all posted.

 

[HISSIN50]

Did you paint the housing? Good luck and hope it works well.

 

[Dbeck002]

I did not paint the housing, will it rust?

Should I paint the inside too?

 

[HISSIN50]

Yeah, it very well will get rusty. I dont know the best way to treat the inside of it though (being that it is kind of a rough casting doesnt help).

 

[Dbeck002]

Ok i took her for a spin.

The gauge is awesome, it is very accurate. The stock gauge still works too, and now i can compare. Whats funny is that even though the autometer gauge will move up and down as temp fluctuates, the stock gauge stays in the same spot.

Its great to know what my engine temp is!

 

[HISSIN50]

Nice to hear that it all works well.

The stock gauges are pretty hysteretic.

Enjoy!

 

[86bluecobra]

always nice to have a thumb on the pulse of the engine. you can almost never have 2 many gauges measuring vitals of the engine.

 

[Dbeck002]

I agree, if you guys want pics of the thermostat and tools i used maybe it can help those with mech gauges.