I have a 93 F-150 and have the infimous bad temp and oil gauges. Both the oil and temp never get to the N in normal. I was wondering if anyone has run accross a set of manual gauges for the pillar? Or has anyone ever installed a set on the piller in there truck? And if so was it hard to install?

Thanks

 

the pilar guages are available, but by the time youi buy the pilar mount and the individual guages, it can get costly...

I bought one of thios Sunpro triple guage sets that already come mounted on a bezel and mounted it under the ashtray of my '88 F-150.

It has a volt guage, Mechanical oil pressure, and Mechanical Temperature.

I kept the temp guage on the dash for the Engine, and plummed the Sunpro temp guage into the tranny, so now I have engine temp, and tranny temp (usefull since I do alot of towing).

 

Thanks for the info David. How do you hook the temp gauge for the water and oil? Was it hard? Does the gauge have backlights for night driving?

Thanks again

 

The guages do have backlighting.

the temp sensor has a thin long coiled thin pipe with a "bullet like" sensor at the end that threads into the engine/tranny/etc.

 

Which tranny do you have David and how did you tap into it with the gauge?

 

I have a C6. It has the "inspection port" or whatever it is called on the side which is already threaded and everything. however, since the sensor for this guage is so deep, I had to use a T fitting to install it. Picture a T laying on its side. Basically, I have a little piece of pipe coming out of the inspection port on the side ot the tranny. then the "t" fitting on the end of that. the Sensor is threaded into one side of the T, and a plug to close off the other side of the T so basically, the sensor sits inside the "T".

Does that make any sense?????

it works ok, but the only drawback is that even though the sensor is sitting in fluid, the fluid is not flowing past it, so changes in temp aren't detected by the guage as fast as if the hot fluid was flowing past the sensor.

but either way. It is very informative. You see the tranny temp climb in Stop and go traffic, and then drop on the highway.

My tranny gets much hotter in Stop and Go traffic with just the truck alone, then dragging a 24Foot Grady White down the freeway.

Do a search on the internet for C6 inspecion port

you can also go with something like this which is a much better method:

http://www.mrtruck.net/covers.htm

If you decide to try the way I did it, let me know and I'll snap a pic of it so you can see where it is.

It's a little metal cap on the drivers side of the tranny right next to the shift linkage.

also : Rkesh

the oil guage is oil pressure, not oil temp... I used a T fitting and just threaded it into the existing hole for the stock oil pressure switch. This way, I have the good guage that tells me the exact pressure, but I still retain the BIG RED Idiot light in the dash.

The way I see it, if I ever have an oil pressure failure, I'm going to notince the BIG RED LIGHT faster than I'll notice the needle in the guage drop to Zero.


One note however... the little tube that comes with the guage kit for the oil pressure is made of plastic. I originally used it, but then had nightmares of the little plastic pipe melting or dry-rotting and snapping and oil going everywhere, so I bought the metal tube instead (available for pretty cheap at the same autoparts where I picked up the guages.

 

Your setup sounds like the same I have only I have a amp gauge instead of the volt gauge. I even have it mounted in the same location.
As time and cash allows it I want to install fuel gauges for each tank. Your change to the trans temp is really a interesting thought. I did not do that, nor have I hooked the amp gauge up yet either. I am no electriction by anymeans and really dont know what wire to tap into for the amp gauge, in another post I was told and have it wrote down and it is in the "to-do" list. It would be nice to see it working though. I hope the paper I wrote it on is still in the door panel.

 

Well I have an E4OD and have no idea how to install a gauge. From what I've heard from other people, it is simple but I'm not sure how to tackle this one...

 

On your E4OD tranny, the plug is just above the oil pan, on the tranny case, drivers side, right near the front. Piece of cake to remove and then just screw in your sender for the trans temp guage. Run the one wire up the front of the firewall, through the firewall at your location of choice and then hook up the rest of your guage (lights, grnd). I bought a two cluster pod for the "A" pillar. I like it a lot and have had compliments about the overall look of the package. The tranny temp is a must know for me as we tow a 3500lb trailer and I like to know what the tranny is doing temperature wise. I also installed a vacum guage in the pod just so I can keep an eye on general engine health. I also like the way the fellows above have mounted their guages, I just preferred the look of the pillar mounted pod. I wish I had bought the three pod set up though.


Cheers!

Mike