BrandonMag
Dana 50 rebuilder
Pardon the ignorant question and thread hi-jack, but what does an isolator do?
Important gauges
- Thread starter FordGuy100
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Pardon the ignorant question and thread hi-jack, but what does an isolator do?
gatorman21218
Registered User
An isolator allows you to replace half of the fuel in your tubing with coolant so fuel wont dump in the cab just antifreeze if there is a leak.
Hell i dont run any isolator. If you do it right nothing should leak and if you have ball valves you can shut it off and still drive. I have a vinyl floor mat so its not like your hurting anything if you spill a little oil in the cab. This aint a Mercedes its a work truck. And by the way I would rather be covered in diesel fuel then coolant. Coolant makes me sick
Hell i dont run any isolator. If you do it right nothing should leak and if you have ball valves you can shut it off and still drive. I have a vinyl floor mat so its not like your hurting anything if you spill a little oil in the cab. This aint a Mercedes its a work truck. And by the way I would rather be covered in diesel fuel then coolant. Coolant makes me sick
my truck is a work truck to but i dont want fuel or 220 deg oil spraying in my truck if something should fail. i know a proper installation will cut down those chances but it is still there.
not to mention it IS ILLEGAL to run a mechanical fuel pressure gage in the cabin without an isolator.
i am sure a competant minded person would be able to shut off the flow with a ball valve set up but i cant count on my wife being able to do that with a truck load of kids in a vehicle she drives infrequently.
here is an isolator for ref
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mallory/650/29806/10002/-1
not to mention it IS ILLEGAL to run a mechanical fuel pressure gage in the cabin without an isolator.
i am sure a competant minded person would be able to shut off the flow with a ball valve set up but i cant count on my wife being able to do that with a truck load of kids in a vehicle she drives infrequently.
here is an isolator for ref
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mallory/650/29806/10002/-1
gatorman21218
Registered User
Hey that is just fine with me. If it bothers you to have oil and fuel plumbed into your cab then by all means run an isolator. I personally dont care, so I dont have an isolator. But i'm 20 years old (aka young and stupid), And I'm the only person who drives my truck. If I had a wife or daughter who drove it I would probably do things alot differently. Heck I might put isolators in in the future. But I had already dropped around 400 bucks for my gauges, and I was not about to spend another 2-300 just to be "safe". Please take this comment as sincere. I aint trying to be funny, I'm just telling it from my point of view.
i always mounted mechanical pressure gauges outside. i had my oil pressure gauge mounted in one of the cups to the cowl in the middle. could see it nice with wipers off.
can see it in this pic
can see it in this pic
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Worstenemy453
Full Access Member
It would be a lot better if you actually used your truck instead of making it a highway queen.
DieselCrawler,
So what did you have to do after that little, detour?
Drain and fill diffs, an transmission and t-case. How much mud did you get out instead of oil? You guys that like to play with your trucks must have to do "routine maintenance" after every trip? Not trying to be a smart a$$, just wondering, mine is a "pavement queen" as it is the family car. The "worst" I do is drive down a gravel/dirt road once in a while, or drive down the street that turns into a stream when we get a good rainstorm.......
So what did you have to do after that little, detour?
Drain and fill diffs, an transmission and t-case. How much mud did you get out instead of oil? You guys that like to play with your trucks must have to do "routine maintenance" after every trip? Not trying to be a smart a$$, just wondering, mine is a "pavement queen" as it is the family car. The "worst" I do is drive down a gravel/dirt road once in a while, or drive down the street that turns into a stream when we get a good rainstorm.......
Worstenemy453
Full Access Member
I doubt half the people here that go mudding like that actually drain and maintain the way they should.
Thats why i like trails with no water. No maitnence until something breaks.
Electrical gauges have always been fine in my book. I stopped using mechanical ones in my 70' Maverick. One accident with a oil or fuel line, and it would undo all the good having it work fine for years in my book.
matters on the trip. if i hit alot of mud and water, rears get drained and flushed. blow out radiator, and push some grease into every joint on the truck.
as long as your vents are high enough( all mine run up firewall or core support) no water should get into trans, tcase or rears.
also front wheel bearings repacked if in sandy or lots of mud/water.
took 3 jeeps to get me outa that hole. i dug deep.
MIDNIGHT RIDER
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If an isolater makes one feel better, then have at it.
It has been my understanding that isolaters give false readings.
Also, ethelyne-glycol is more flammable than fuel.
I thought isolaters were filled with hydraulic fluid.
Properly set up with a gauge-snubber, and plumbed with quality line, there is very slim chance than anything will ever leak into the cab more than maybe a slow seep.
In fact, regardless of set-up, a snubber is required equipment on a fuel-pressure gauge line to absorb the pulses of the fuel-pump.
Without it, the needle will constantly flinch with the pump-stroke and soon wear out the gauge.
Snubbers are available from McMaster-CARR; you want the one that says "for air and other gases"; the one that says it is "for fuel and light oils" still permits a bit of needle flinch.
I have ran un-isolated mechanical pressure gauges in the cab of numerous trucks for many years without any issues so far.
I might hesitate to do so with gasoline, but diesel is a horse of an entirely different color.
It has been my understanding that isolaters give false readings.
Also, ethelyne-glycol is more flammable than fuel.
I thought isolaters were filled with hydraulic fluid.
Properly set up with a gauge-snubber, and plumbed with quality line, there is very slim chance than anything will ever leak into the cab more than maybe a slow seep.
In fact, regardless of set-up, a snubber is required equipment on a fuel-pressure gauge line to absorb the pulses of the fuel-pump.
Without it, the needle will constantly flinch with the pump-stroke and soon wear out the gauge.
Snubbers are available from McMaster-CARR; you want the one that says "for air and other gases"; the one that says it is "for fuel and light oils" still permits a bit of needle flinch.
I have ran un-isolated mechanical pressure gauges in the cab of numerous trucks for many years without any issues so far.
I might hesitate to do so with gasoline, but diesel is a horse of an entirely different color.
