Help me spend some money

[BrianX128]

So I finally ordered my real oil pressure gauge. Got a Bosch electrical gauge with sender and adapting pieces on clearance. Still not sure where I'm gonna decide to mount the sender for sure but we'll see once I get it Friday.

I'm trying to stay away from nylon hoses and any liquids in the cab but I also want a water temp gauge for the coolant. Finding any electrical gauges for this that also have the sending unit with them has proved to be a little harder. Anyone get one of these recently and know what they had gotten? Or is it less of an ordeal to have mechanical for water temp the oil pressure? I'd still kinda like to have it be all electrical but I'm all ears to some thoughts.

 

[jwalterus]

I have a mechanical oil and electric temp, as long as it's sold as the "kit" it'll come with the sender
I had a mech water temp on an old truck, won't put one in again, that stinking thermocouple length kind of limits where you can mount the gauge

 

[79jasper]

Yeah, the temp gauges don't work like that. Lol
Look at one and you'll see.

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[BrianX128]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Speedway-Mech...ge-2-1-16-Inch-Black-/131572148139?nav=SEARCH

Haha I realized right after I posted this when looking at this on eBay that the probe sits in the coolant and just sends the temp through the wire to the gauge. Well that's at least one less thing to worry about. I think I'll get this one as it will fit in my 4 gauge cluster under the ash tray box so I can get oil pressure, water temp, pyro, and volts. That probe looks big, hopefully that fits wherever I choose to put this on a coolant port..

 

[IDIoit]

i just bought a complete set of ISSPRO's
electrical senders, with little brains.

im not too keen on electrical oil senders.
i have an electrical oil press, and im pretty sure its wrong.
new mechanical oil pressure gauge coming soon.

 

[BrianX128]

So oil pressure sending unit is in 1/4" port. I got a electric sender that is 1/8" but has 1/4" adapter, so I just need to get a 1/4" tee and I can hook everything up there from what I've searched and I'll be good to go there.

The water temp I'm a little more confused about. I've read a good 10 threads on here about installing one, and I know there's two ports on the drivers side where two senders exist. One makes the factory temp gauge work which I want to leave. The other, if I understand correctly throws the cel on or pegs the gauge or maybe both which I don't mind losing, but if I remove it entirely will that keep my cel on at all times? I would think if I remove it that if it doesn't ground out it wouldn't do anything if it's just an open close switch for the circuit. I also am curious what size this is to see if my gauge sender came with an adapter for that location, I just have saw it referred to as the "bigger one" of the two senders if I'm remembering my searching today correctly. I know there are other locations on the bottom of the engine too but I want to stay away from those as all the fluids are fresh and good.

 

[TahoeTom]

The overtemp sender at the front of the head is 1/2 npt. That is the location I used and my factory dash gauge still works. There are some other ports in the heads that are plugged that can be used if you want to try and remove the plug that has been in place for 25+ years. I got a set of Isspro electric gauges from Mel and am happy with them. The oil pressure sender is 1/8 and I used a 90* fitting in the oil galley port at the drivers side rear of the block just in front of the trans adapter. It is pretty close to the exhaust but haven't had any issues.

 

[crash-harris]

Have you looked through the thread in my signature? You can get Stewart Warner mechanical coolant temp gauges with multiple length capillary tubes. I think I got a 72" and it was a bit long. I hit one of the plugs on the driver's side head (just between the valve cover and exhaust manifold) with an impact and put the sender there. I've only ever once had a problem with a mechanical oil pressure gauge that feeds oil to the gauge and it was my fault (first time using a compression fitting years ago on Bruiser). If you get the tube in there all the way and crank the fitting down you won't have an issue and have an accurate reading. Summit, SunPro and many others sell copper tubes for oil pressure gauges if you don't trust the nylon ones.

 

[BrianX128]

Well I got all the stuff in the mail today and already had the oil sender off, darkness and tiredness kept me from doing anything tonight outside of the volt meter and splicing into the ash tray light for the gauge lights so they can dim with the factory dimmer, but the oil pressure gauge should be an easy install as long as I can find a 1/8" T and a male to male 1/8 thread piece to put the T into the spot back there at a store tomorrow but the gauge came with everything else even wire (as if I don't have enough of that haha) for some reason I thought my aftermarket was 1/4" but it's 1/8" which makes things easier to remember and deal with there.

The water temp gauge probe just looks big to me. I didn't take the overtemp sender out yet, stupid ac is in the way of everything near it still for me and being left handed does me no favors in this work space. Might complete the oil first tomorrow and by then right handed people will be off work for the weekend to literally lend a hand. Might be good that I'm gonna need to run a 1/2" adapter for the 1/4" probe or 1/8" or whatever the thing even was. Hopefully this goes smoothly haha.. Eh I know better than that by now.

 

[riotwarrior]

I could be wrong on this but....IIRC

voltage to the dash lights does not increase or decrease for brightness.....it is a ground potential that changes

But as I said dont quote me I could be incorrect.

Like I always say....

I was wrong once ....but don't quote me on that cause I could be wrong

Just sayin Eh!

 

[BrianX128]

Maybe I got dumb luck, but I wired mine in and they do dim with the dash dimmer. Just spliced into the ash tray and ran everything from the lights to a bolt down there to ground them. Just have to work until noon today and then it's finally real play time with all of this. Did some reading last night trying to learn how all sorts of different senders and gauges work and just trying to learn in general with this stuff. Found it interesting that the water temp gauge has ether and a copper line in it to measure the temp from the probe. I then got curious and ran it under hot water but the gauge never responded. Gauge starts at 100 though so I'm hoping our water just wasn't quite enough to get a reading and it isn't broke or anything. Seems kinda sketchy that the directions say not to kink the hose and yet it gets sent in a 5"x5" box basically pre-kinked...

 

[crash-harris]

Boil some water and drop the probe in that to test it.

 

[BrianX128]

Sounds like a good idea. Should I only have the probe dip in the water? Don't want to ruin the line. Seems pretty robust but still.

 

[79jasper]

Correct. Just the probe.

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[BrianX128]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qK8i_YHhqGY

I do find the video of this guy testing his with a match pretty funny. Think I'll just try boiling water instead since there's gas in there.