I've searched and found tons of info on the subject of gauges. Opinions of who's are best etc etc.
What i would like to know is what is pyro? The guys with the pillor mounts do yall have visualbity problems? Is the after market trans temp gauge any better than the factory? Does the gauges plug into the pcm or where do they get their input?
I'm thinking about installing gauges. I'm thinking a three pod on the pillar with oil pressure, boost, and pyro?, or fuel pressure. i think the fuel pressure will be my hardest. If i read right it is linked to the fuel rail.

 

I'm thinking about doing the same thing to mine (as I generally tow a 5th wheel camper with me to work). The recommendations I've had so far are tranny temp, egr temp (which I belive equates to a pyro guage), and a boost guage..................

But I'm kinda curious to see myself what other folks have to say on the subject.

Gunner15a

 

EGR=pyrometer. There's a fuel pressure port in the secondary fuel filter housing ("connected" to the oil filter on top of the motor) for that purpose, but electric fuel pressure gauge is a little pricey--about $200 and the manual gauge requires running a fuel line inside the cab if you want to monitor it all the time. I'd definitely do the oil pressure gauge if you're not gonna do the boost--or water temp as the factory gauges are junk.

 

npccpartsman, thanks for your input. By saying that the factory gauges is junk. Do you mean they are'nt right? I was'nt looking to install watertemp or transtemp cause the already has them. Unless i'm totauly lost i figured that would give me 2 watertemps and 2 transtemp gauges that would be working at the same time. I think i would be spending alot of time compairing reading and if they differ i'd spend to much time tryung to figure out why and which was wrong. That would make driving my truck way to complicated. I know the factory oil pressure gauge is very vague, or at least thats the case in the 1/2 ton trucks. All it needs is any pressure reading and it shows normal. Well i think it has to be at least 18lbs. I wont a boost gauge that might be rather taxing to install. Does it need to be calibrated to my truck or is good to go right out of the box.
An EGR gauge might be in order. Is there some chart on the temps and what they mean, or is it like every thing else if it gets to hot shut it down. And last whats too hot? "Redline"?

 

My '04 doesn't have a factory boost gauge but it does have the "idiot" trans temp gauge. The factory gauge starts to move after the engine is running a few minutes while my Isspro hasn't started to move. The factory gauge soon reads normal, the Isspro hasn't moved from 100*. I've read that when the factory gauge reads HOT you've already cooked the fluid. I've had the trans temp up to 210(my normal is 160) and the factory gauge didn't budge.

 

Question: Would you guys recommend a four pod cluster with fuel pressure, oil pressure, pyro and tranny temp, or just a three guage cluster with tranny temp, pyro and fuel pressure?

I ask this because I've heard that the four guage pods are hard to read and somewhat awkward.

Gunner15a

 

on my 2006 ps, i will be going with a 4 pod a-pillar with autometer ultralite2's , with pyro, boost, trans temp, and oil psi, and later i will install a water temp guage on the dash panel by the headlight switch like lonewolftx did in his gallery pictures., if anyone out here has some, i would like to see some pics of a 4 pod setup, before i buy mine.

 

Thanks for that insight. What is ford thinking in putting in a gauge like a tranny temp that does'nt work? Is it that they really dont work or we just need to learn to use it? I would think that a 50 deg rise would move the factory gauge some unless thats normal. So what does it take to move the needle?

 

I would like to know the answer to that one myself. I'm sure they realize that people use these vehicles to haul things(I know I do) and if you have auto tranny, it's nice to have a gauge that tells you if your doing some damage so you can stop before it's too late. The last truck I had only had a light that said it was overheating, didn't have a gauge on it and I know I fried the servos because the oil got too hot and that bulb never came on, even though I never ran a tuner in that truck, I wish I would have gotten a good aftermarket gauge for that truck. I do have one for this one and I've almost hit 195 on that gauge and the factory one didn't move one bit since I had started that truck. That really is not good on Ford's part to have a gauge like that. However, I do know that Chevy isn't any better, a friend of mine had a factory trans gauge(wasn't a diesel though, just a 3/4 ton gasser) and he fried his transmission, but the gauge was in the yellow, however, if it's like the ford one then his tranny was fried long before it got up there in the yellow. He never did get it fixed(out of plan, so it would have been 5k to fix). For what we pay on this trucks, stock gauges should be good for stock trucks(both my old truck and my friends truck were stock, no performance mods at all)

 

I use a Bully dog monitor. There are others. You can set it to see 4 things. It does a lot of things I don't care about but could be useful if needed. It can be mounted on the post or on a single unit on the shifter/steering pod. I like it for the voltage guage which was removed. I can also see trouble codes and can reset them on the fly if needed...Good Luck

 

Stock Trans Temp gauge is garbage... if you ever notice.. when you let you truck warm up before you have to drive it somewhere.. espically when its cold... the tansmission temperature will rise.. and you haven't driven anywhere... by the time that things reads that there is something wrong... your a day late and a dollar short.. aftermarket trans temp is key. i have 3 gauge A pillar, boost, pyro (pre-turbo), trans temp

 

That's what I use as well, I also like the voltage gauge. I have to wonder though if the factory one was any good in the first place(voltmeter), since most of their other gauges were/are not worth squat, would that one be any better.

 

If you've got the boost gauge already in your dash then don't waste the money to put another one on the pillar. From experience, my 2006 F250's Isspro boost gauge and my factory boost were right on the money every time. Now, of course, if you want to get a boost gauge for looks - then, by all means, put one in the pillar, but I would go the Pyro, Trans temp, voltage route if I had to get three. On my 2007, I only run a single gauge (pyro) via an Auto Meter single pillar pod.

 

It only takes like 7.5 lbs of oil pressure to move the oil gauge. The tranny gauge has been discussed. Actually the gauges are nothing more than glorified idiot lights and by the time they register HOT then it's probably too late. One set of gauges is much cheaper than overhauling anything on your truck that a gauge reads. Which ever type of gauge or monitor you go with--GET SOMETHING REAL.

 

Is Auto Meter one of the best? They look real nice!


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