Yes, I agree, Walmart these days is evil.

When Sam Walton was alive, he was big on American-made stuff in his stores but that time has passed.

If you wanna see a pretty neat short video on the Model T & Henry Ford, check out:
http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=S4KrIMZpwCY

Sorry for the off-topic chatter.

 

They used to toute "buy American" at Walmart, no more....

Neat video, I was just wondering the other day what top speed was on a Model T, its actually a little faster than what I was guessing.

 

So for those of you who have oil pressure... Did you use electrical or mechanical for it?

 

I use both actually. I "T-ed" into the fitting that the oil psi sender screws into to run a mechanical guage, I left the electric sender in place.

 

Clever. I might end up doing that too

 

I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge, and that's what I recommend. That runs the oil right up to the gauge and is the fastest and most accurate reading possible. With an electric gauge, a sending unit converts the pressure to resistance, and the gauge reads the resistance. It adds a middle man. If you decide to go with a mechanical gauge, don't use the nylon line that comes with it; purchase the separate copper line. The nylon line will slip out of the ferrule.

 

The only thing I was worried about, was the line in a mechanical breaking/puncturing, and then having oil leaking into my cab

 

As long as you loop the line before it goes into the cab as recommended (for slack/vibration), use the copper line, and install the compression fittings correctly, no need to worry.

 

Agree with fmc400, use a mechanical guage with the copper line. I tried the nylon line the first time and had that exact problem. No problems with the copper.

 

Rigid copper line?

 

I have an electric gauge in my truck and I like it. No hot oil in the cab and the gauge is as accurate as a mechanical. what's not to like about the electric gauge?

 

Mine is mechanical with the nylon line, but I will be changing it to the copper line.

 

I have used both mechanical & electric over the years, and all of my AutoMeter gauges in my truck today except the vacuum gauge are electric.

For the oil pressure, I was running both electric & mechanical gauges (in conjunction with the OEM one) at one time for a while, and it turned out the AutoMeter electric gauge was actually faster to respond to changes than the mechanical variant when the weather and engine were cold.

I've also used both nylon & flexible copper tubing over the years, and my preference is, "it depends."

Nylon tubing that's located near high-heat areas in the engine compartment will become brittle over time (a long time - like, 20 years) and easily snaps in old age.

But it is more flexible and is great for installations away from high-heat sources (exhaust manifolds, for example) and that are frequently disassembled and/or moved (and, here, I'm referring to the vehicle interior at the dash - my dash has been disassembled and in a state of flux for the past 5 years).

It is also transparent, and one can easily see any fluids (and air bubbles) inside of it.

The copper tubing withstands heat better but is more easily crimped when bent and isn't as flexible in being moved around.

I've also had more problems with leaking connections with the copper lines than the nylon ones.

I have never had a problem with either tubing slipping out of any ferrules.

But, both are fairly fragile and don't react well to manhandling or sharp bends; I have easily (and accidentally) snapped the gauges off of both types of lines, and this can be a problem when it happens out on the road somewhere away from home.

Concerning water temperature gauges, my experience with the mechanical, Chinese-made knock-offs has been they last approximately one year only.

So, in summary, I went with the electric variants of the AM gauges when possible and am quite happy with them... they're faster to react in cold temperatures, there cannot be any fluid leaks in the passenger compartment, and wire is a lot more flexible and can be more easily moved around without fear of damage being done.

Here is my installation on my 400 as it stands today, I think maybe I had put two Tees together to have 3 oil pressure gauges running at once (including the OEM sender which is pretty worthless but I just like everything in my truck to work as it should):

 

Great comparison. It makes sense that the electrical oil pressure gauge would be quicker to respond in cold temperatures, since the pressure sensor is right on the engine, and the oil doesn't have to push up through a long tube.

 

Concerning mechanical oil pressure gauges. Move away from the 1/8" line and step up to a 1/4" line whether copper or a custom hydraulic line. Makes a world of difference concerning response time.

In regards to a custom line, if you have a hydraulic shop in town (and most places do, Parker is a national chain for example) it would be under $20 for a custom length hydraulic hose with fittings.

Josh

Josh