AutoZone.com | Multiple Gauge Set | 2 in. White Face Triple Gauge Kit with Mechanical Oil/Water Temperature, Electrical Voltmeter and Mechanical Oil Pressure

Is that worth getting? A friend is selling me his new one for $25. What else would I need to make it work?

 

Well, as long as all the parts are there, it not a bad buy. but with those gauges, you have to run a live oil feed inside the cab for the oil pressure gauge to work. The Water temp one, if the liquid filled probe wire is cut, it will not register the correct temps., The electrical one, it's fine, but i would run it to the battery and alt to get a good reading.

 

I've got that exact same gauge set in my 86 F150. I mounted it in the area right over the radio, actually fits there quite well.

Like Fishin76 said you'll need to run an oil line to the oil pressure gauge, the kit comes with a 4 or 5 foot section of plastic tube for the oil line, I'd highly recommend replacing the plastic tube with copper tube, the plastic tubing can become brittle over time and split, and hot oil leaking into the cab is not fun. The copper line will set ya back 5 or 6 bucks, autozone should have it sitting right there by the gauges on the self, do yourself a favor and use the copper stuff.

For the Voltmeter gauge I ran mine off of an extra circuit at the fuse box. Where ever you choose to run yours just make sure your power to the gauge is from a source that only has power when the key is on.

As for the oil pressure line there is a sending unit for the stock oil pressure gauge. On V8s the sending unit is located behind the power steering pump. Its either screwed right into the engine block, or it could be screwed into a fitting that is screwed into the engine block. I just removed the stock sending unit on mine and ran the line straight into the engine block. If you wish to keep your stock oil pressure gauge functional then you'll need to get a tee and section the aftermarket line in between the block and stock sending unit.

Same goes for the water temp gauge. You'll have a stock sending unit located on the intake manifold, should be right in front somewhere, not exactly sure on EFI applications from this era. The sending unit simply screws into the intake. Once again if you'd like to keep your stock gauge working, along with the aftermarket one, then you'll need to do a little creative plumbing and section in a tee to hook your aftermarket line in. Although I'm not sure on EFI I know on my carbed intake there was a emissions vacuum tee thingy that was screwed into the intake, I simply popped that out and moved the stock sending unit to that hole.

If you choose to not reconnect your stock gauges then the kit should come with all the fittings needed to make your new gauges work. But if you choose to hookup the new gauges and still have the stock ones functional too then you'll need to visit a hardware store and pick up a couple copper tee fittings.

Oh and before I forget thread tape is your friend. Use thread tape on all your oil and coolant fittings to insure that you don't have any leaks.

 

I've heard that you shouldn't use tape on the temp sender. Supposedly the wire needs to ground through the threads.

 

So it comes with what I need minus the copper tubing that I should upgrade with? I just run the oil line from the pressure sending unit?

In other words, I shouldn't have to buy anything else?

"I just removed the stock sending unit on mine and ran the line straight into the engine block."

How did it just go into the engine block? I haven't bought this set up yet, and don't have anything to look at.

 

yep, minus the copper tube you should be set with everything the kit comes with. If the kit is complete and your buddy hasn't lost any of the pieces then you should be good to go.

Basically the stock sending unit screws into the block. If you remove the sending unit then you can screw the new oil line right into the same hole.

The kit will come with a couple small compression type fittings for the ends of the plastic tube, these are the same exact fittings the copper tube uses. The kit will also come with several different sized threaded fittings. The fittings that get used to seal up the ends of the oil tube are rather small, maybe 1/8 inch. One end of the oil tube will screw right into the equally small fitting on the back of the oil pressure gauge. On the other end of the oil tube, where it mates up with the engine, that's where you'll have to do a little trial and error plumbing work. Like I said the kit will come with a variety of different sized copper fittings, its basically a "universal" setup, you just have to screw fittings together until you come up with something that will allow you to connect the copper tube to the engine.

 

Thanks for telling me this. I didn't notice any fittings in this stuff he had. By friend, I mean a guy I know through a friend of mine, lol.

I'm wary of him, and looks like I can get the same kit online for $25, even though they are $38 at autozone.

Thanks for the tips, I'm just going to buy one new so I know everything is there.

BTW, do you have any pros/cons of the one you have? Is the gauge fast? Any malfunctions? For the price, it's all I need as long as everything is accurate.

And where did you run your lines through? Got any pics? I didn't make my tach very nice. It's taped around the column, and I couldn't get the wires to go through the column to the engine bay.

 

It'll be as accurate as any other $25 gauge set.... I wouldn't tune jet engines by them if thats your idea of accurate.

For your truck, they'll be fine. and because they are mechanical. they will be responsive. the oil pressure will even bounce to the tune of the pump. ( see the pump pulsing on guage) some people like it, others let there be some air in the line to act as a buffer. This steadies the needle and it reads easier. The Temp guage, if located in the right place, you can see when the thermastat opens. (temp drops rapidly).

 

Hey no problem. If its missing the fittings and what not then it would be a headache to get it all plumbed up right, can't exactly take the truck into the hardware store and start screwing random fittings in the side of the engine.

They're fairly accurate.

I have a 195 degree thermostat, actually tested the t-stat in a pan of boiling water with a cooking thermometer to confirm that it opens at 195 degrees. Once the truck is warmed up the temp gauge goes right up to 195, t stat opens, and the temp gauge drops to about 180-185 and crawls back up to 195 and the process begins again. I'm assuming that means the temp gauge is accurate.

The volt meter gauge reads 14.5 once the truck is warm and idling smoothly, it drops a little bit if I turn the stereo on or something and put a draw on the system. I checked out the electrical system with a handheld voltmeter/multimeter that I know is accurate. The sunpro gauge showed the same readings but it was about an 1/8 second behind in responding to electrical draws. Like Fishin76 said I wouldn't tune a jet with it but for an old truck its just fine.

The oil pressure I actually compared to a 95 dollar autometer gauge a friend of mine bought for his truck. My sunpro gauge shows about 70psi cold, 40 psi at around 2000 rpms warm, and 60psi cruising at 3500rpms. I popped the line out of the back of my gauge and screwed it into the autometer and went for a cruise with the fancy gauge sitting on the dash, the autometer showed about 5psi higher then what I was use to at cruising speeds, didnt get a chance to test it cold. Once again not jet tuning material but pretty damn accurate for the price and good enough for an old truck. My oil pressure numbers will probably seem a little high, but consider that is with a fresh rebuilt engine and a high volume pump, hence why I wanted to test the accuracy of my gauge.

I ran my lines through the plug that covers the hole where the clutch slave cylinder would be if my truck was a manual. According to your signature your's is a manual so thats not an option for you. Your best bet would be to drill a hole through the firewall to the left of your clutch assembly (by left I mean if you're looking straight down from over the engine while under the hood) Make sure you're not gonna drill into anything under the dash of course. A hole right there will give your oil line a nice straight shot to the pressure hole, should also give you plenty of places to tie the line back so it doesnt interfere with anything.

As for the tach I just used a big hose clamp to hold the tach's base to my steering coloum. As for pics I'll see what I can do, the truck is currently sitting in the back of my garage under a tarp buried in boxes, being utilized as a shelf.

 

Thanks a ton. Rep for you. I can't wait to get me one in the next few days and dig in. The only thing that holds me back is drilling the hole, lol.

 

Harbor Freight carries a similar kit for $19.99.

 

Well thankyou sir.

I wouldn't worry much about the hole, measure twice cut once and you'll be fine. If you make the hole slightly larger then needed and add a rubber grommets then you can use the same hole any time you chose to add accessories that require a wire from the cab through the firewall.

If you're a purist a grommet and some wire loom could make the addition look near stock under the hood.

 

I just noticed, you have two trucks with the 302. How does the one with the GT40 heads and e303 with intake/exhaust run? Still good torque down low? Better than stock?

 

Do NOT use teflon tape on your oil pressure sending unit. Use thread sealant (liquid stuff). Make sure you clean the threads of oil before isntalling. Last thing you want is bits of tape going though your bearings.

Also fo install location I suggest right next to the factory gauges. I installed mine right to the left where the vent would be on an AC truck. Could also install on right side. It's a clean install looks like they belong. Pic...