I am a little confused about gauges. i have a stock 2006 6.0. All I have done so far is the coolant filter. From what it looks like on here the most important things to monitor on this engine as it is would be the EOT , ECT then I assume fuel pressure along with all the rest of the standard things to monitor. Is it correct a OOBD11 type gauge will cover everything except fuel pressure? I do kind of like the pillar type conventional mechanical gauge setup, however you can only get 3 or 4 gauges in it , Should I stick with the oem gauges an just add to those ? Are they adequate for what they do?
There is many options with either setup. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I really need this truck to be bullitproof and I can only do a little at a time. Thanks in advance.

 

The dash gauges, except for boost, are really nothing but idiot lights with needles. You can get everything from the OBDII port but engine lubricating oil pressure, fuel pressure, and exhaust gas temperature. A scangauge II is a great economical option for monitoring almost everything your PCM does and you can add those I listed in a pillar pod.

 

My suggestion would be to start with a Scan Gauge II. It has the most options for the lowest price. I thought about going with conventional aftermarket gauges, but the price and flexibility of the SGII was unbeatable.

I didn't want to lose the grab handle on the A pillar and the only other realistic location for regular gauges is above the rear view mirror. The SGII can be mounted in many more locations in minutes. Using Velcro I tried three different locations before deciding on which I liked best.

One of the most important reasons for using a SGII instead of conventional aftermarket gauges is the use of factory senders. OBDII style gauges use factory senders in factory locations and read the same information that is fed to your engine computer. The same info fed to the diagnostic equipment used by Ford dealers

An aftermarket oil temperature gauge comes with its own sender. The temperature it reads will depend on where you mount the sender. That goes for coolant, transmission temperature, etc. As an example, most people install their transmission temperature senders in a threaded port on the right side of the transmission case. This location reads 10 to 15F cooler than the factory sender mounted on one of the solenoids. What's your transmission temperature, 180F or 165F?

Just about everyone here knows about the 15F maximum delta between EOT and ECT that Ford uses as an indicator of oil cooler problems. That's 15F as reported by factory senders, and who knows what measured by aftermarket senders mounted who knows where.
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What XB said on the scangauge , couldn't have said it better

 

I CAN get both EOT and ECT from the scan gauge 11 ?

 

yes it will get both ECT and EOT

plus you can get FICM and HPO volt Boost and a bunch of other stuff pretty handy unit IMO