I'm trying to order up a three guage pod including trans temp, pyrometer, and boost from Autometer. Do i need electrical guages or mechanical? I'd hate to order the wrong style and not beable to hook it up right.

 

The pyro and tranny gauges are electric, and the turbo boost gauge is a mechanical gauge. Mine are Autometer Ultra-Lite series gauges at 2 1/6" diameters installed into a 2 gauge pod which I painted myself. I ordered a turbo boost gauge install kit from Diesel Injection Service in TX. The gauges come with the necessary parts, but I found that the kit from DIS already had the brass fittings attached at the ends which were tighter that what came with the boost gauge. There is a good install instruction sheet at Western Diesel's website. I ran my turbo boost and pyro wires up along the wire rail at the back of the hood (inside the engine compartment), and then through the steering column boot, up the driver's side of the dash, to the gauges. I did not install a tranny temp gauge because my tranny is a stick (manuals don't have the same heat issues as autos). I'm sure there will be other folks chiming in about their experiences, so you came to the right site. Good luck !

 

I was also going to purchase the Ultra-Lite series, they have the look i'm after. Are you happy with them? How much should i expect to spend for the three guages and pod? Did the boost guage come with a bung to weld onto the intake side of the turbo? Thanks for for info i realy appreciate it!

 

Oops!! i meant did the PYROMETER come with a bung to weld on to the turbo pipe?

 

I purchased the Banks Monster exhaust near the time I got the gauges, and installed the exhaust on Saturday and the gauges on Sunday. That exhaust system already has a hole to place the pyro probe into, and is post turbo. There will be many others that will say it should really be pre-turbo, which seems to be what you're going for. I didn't want to drill into the manifold and do any welding because I wanted to do everything myself, and also didn't have the money to have someone do it. I was also a little concerned about getting metal shavings into the manifold that would then blow into the turbo or elsewhere. That could be alleviated by placing oil on the bit you drill with, using a small slim magnet into the hole after you drill, etc. There will be folks that might chime into this post about how they did it pre-turbo with no problems. I am by no means a good mechanic, and wanted to do it myself to learn and have some fun (man-truck bonding is VERY important you know), and also learn from the other posts in FTE. There are others like Quadzilla, cookie88, Ken Payne and others that are much smarter than me and can probably give you more advice on pre-turbo installs. Personally, pre-turbo is probably more accurate from what I've read. I can't remember if there was a bung part within the pyro parts or not, but I think there was. I had to purchase a brass fitting at another shop nearby to place into the Banks hole because the probe threads were too small for the Banks threads attached to the downpipe. I also had to tap the bushing out a bit for the probe to fit flush with the fittings, otherwise the probe, with the Banks port and bushing, would have not allowed the probe to go into the downpipe far enough to get any type of acccurate readings (beyond having to compensate for the post-turbo temp differences).

As far as the gauges go, I love them. I went on a trip pulling a 3,000 lb. boat in late July from the SF bay area, down through LA, and out I-10 to Phoenix. I averaged around 600-700 degs. on the pyro, and got up to 1,000 going up the Grapevine (the pass between the CA central valley and LA) and up past Palm Springs (Coachella Pass). I set my temp limit to around 1,000 since I installed it post-turbo, and when it got over 1,000 degs., I just let off the gas a bit. At 1,275 degs. or thereabouts (which I'm sure you know), the turbo blades will get too hot and flatten, melt, etc. BIG no no. During the install of the exhaust and gauges, I also installed a Microtuner, and set it at the tow-safe setting of + 70 hp. Pulling the boat across on that trip was a snap. It was like it wasn't even there. I had my cruise control set, and the 350 didn't even break a sweat. My turbo boost averaged around 5-7 psi the whole trip, unless I needed to punch it to get by someone, and then it jumped up to 15 or so psi. The average temp outside during the trip was probably around 98-107 degs. Had the air conditioning running the whole time with no problemo.

As far as costs, that could vary. My turbo boost gauge was around $43, the pyro was around $117, and a tranny temp gauge will probably be around $45. The 3-gauge pod itself I think is around $50, and my 2-gauge was around $30. I do not know if someone makes an a-pillar with the 3-gauge holes molded as part of the arm itself, and I attached the 2-gauge pod on the outside of the pillar very similar to what Western Diesel shows in it's install instructions. I know of a company that will send you a 3 gauge pod already painted to match your interior and the 3 gauges for around $375, but the gauges were not Autometer. So far, my gauges are doing great and they look really cool with the silver faces. There will be some people that say reading these gauges is more important for gas mileage than other things. I think around 600-650 on the pyro is the sweet spot to get the best mileage. These PSD's are great, yes ? (and a money pit). I think Quadzilla (?) has a propane system hooked up to his. Imagine that !

 

The purpose of the EGT gauge is to measure the Exhaust Gas Temperature. The most accurate loacation would obviously be top dead center in the cylinder. But with injectors, glow plugs and valves occupying all the best real estate in that neighborhood, the exhuast manifold is a real good second choice. The purpose of knowing this temperature is so that you can keep your engine from experiencing melt-down. Our pistons are made of aluminum (in one of its various alloys). Aluminum is a great conductor or heat which means that the entire piston will be very near the same temperature. But at a temperature of about 1400+ degrees, aluminum becomes a liquid - not a good thing for pistons to be doing. At 1300 degrees, all it takes is one little bit of unburned carbon to create a hot-spot and melt a hole through the piston- also not a good thing. Thus you want to know just what temperature your engine is experiencing so that you can stay away from all these calamities. You can't do that with any real accuracy by measuring what is happening back past the turbo and then adding a fudge factor for the heat that the turbo is extracting by doing its work. Yeah, you can come close, but how close to meltdown are you willing to go? Some may argue these temperatures with me, and I have heard of Diesel drivers who run at 1250 for extended pulls on a regular basis. Fine, but not in my truck. The point is, know what you are measuring, why you are measuring it, and then learn to use the information that the gauge gives you.

I have run my truck to 1150 degrees on a short uphill entrance ramp to a busy interstate, but more than anything, I use my EGT's to keep the engine under 600 degrees, where Clessie Cummins discovered over 70 years ago, that you achieve your best economy.

 

I just completed the installation of my Autometer Lunar gauges with the three gauge "A" pillar mount last weekend.

I also recommend you download the installation information from Western Diesel. It is helpful and offers some good tips.

I chose the "T" fitting kit for the boost installation instead of drilling, tapping or welding the intake horn. (T Kit #63033 Banks?) Simpler, accurate and less risk of screwing things up.

I did tap the exhaust manifold to install the pyro sensor pre turbo instead of the clamp method.
The trannie sensor was simple.
I routed the sensor wires and tubing through the knockout that is in the firewall (F250) and just and fished the lines up through the corner of the dash to the "A" pillar mount.

Everything went without a hitch, nice gauges and installation.

I purchased the gauges and pillar mount through Innovative Truck Products. They seemed to have reasonable prices for the Lunar gauges.