Mechanical Oil Pressure Gauge Installation--PHOTOS

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This is my 2001 Ford Ranger 2.3L Duratec 4-banger. Gauge (2" face) mounted on steering column. Notice the nylon pressure line is sheathed in clear plastic tubing. The larger piece of clear tubing behind the gauge was so that I could slide it up over the nut.
Gauge.jpg


Next the point of passage through the firewall. I poked a hole in a big rubber grommet right beside the hood release cable and shoved the nylon line through. The clear plastic hose stops about 3/4 inch short but behind the floor covering. You can see the nylon line inside the sheath.
Underdash.jpg


Here is where it comes out the front of the firewall. You can see how the plastic sheath stops short of the firewall as I did not want it jamming the nylon line where it enters the grommet. It comes out between the intake manifold (top) and brake booster (below) and above the steering shaft.
Firewall.jpg


Finally, the connection to the oil pressure port. At the left you can see the line coming down from above the steering shaft and looping down to the port, right beside the oil filter. I have a short (about 1.5") extension off the port so I could get at the connection for the nylon line more easily. The larger line for the last several inches is not full of oil, just discolored. There is some oil where this hose overlaps the other as I liberally squirted 3-in-1 Oil on it so it would slide back in place once the connection was made. The hose clamp is because the sheath gets pretty hot here and the extra oil I used at this end makes it slide off.
PressurePort.jpg


Notice the green wire which connects the old dummy gauge sender to ground so the Check Gauges lamp will not be lit. The green wire goes to a bold that used to hold the wire harness, which now is zip tied to a metal loop. If I had put the wire harness back on that bolt it would have pushed hard on the oil pressure line.
 
Originally Posted By: cmorr
Any concerns the clear plastic tubing in the engine compartment will melt ?

It is doing fine, the only place it gets a little soft feeling is right where it connects to the extension from the oil port. Good question though. There may have been a better grade of that tubing to use. It's been in for nearly a week and doing fine though.

Originally Posted By: daves66nova
Did you bleed the line at the gauge end to get the air out?

No, I thought about it but have installed several such gauges and run them for years with no problem. I don't recall ever seeing the instructions say to do that either.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Originally Posted By: cmorr
Any concerns the clear plastic tubing in the engine compartment will melt ?

It is doing fine, the only place it gets a little soft feeling is right where it connects to the extension from the oil port. Good question though. There may have been a better grade of that tubing to use. It's been in for nearly a week and doing fine though.


Sounds good, hope it works well for you and thanks for responding to my question
 
For clarification (stole this quote from Vintage Mustang Forum):
Quote:
It doesn't matter if there is even any oil in the line, as long as the line is open to engine oil pressure. For a system which reads a static pressure, as opposed to one doing work with hydraulics, entrained air is not a problem. If the oil pressure at the engine is constant, the column of oil and air in the line will be compressed to a similar constant, indicating the result on the pressure guage.
 
^^^Hahaha, spoken like a true rodder!

I absolutely agree. Once you get a hot oil baptism one day you'll be averse to ever running a real mechanical oil pressure gauge!
 
Ran real copper over 30 years ago with no problems either.

But my 65 TR-4 ruptured the tubing at high speed during a road race and made a real mess. 100+ psi will really spray you well.

It should be noted I have NEVER seen a modern car with a mechanical gauge from the factory. Tells you something...
 
Originally Posted By: morris
nylon tubing is a bad idea. you will find out soon enough.


The oil pressure gauge on Liz's Grand National ran nylon tubing (sheathed in vacuum line, as I recall) for 10+ years, and that engine compartment gets BLAZING hot. (In the summer, the washer fluid actually comes out HOT!) Only replaced it because she went to electric gauges.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Ran real copper over 30 years ago with no problems either.

But my 65 TR-4 ruptured the tubing at high speed during a road race and made a real mess. 100+ psi will really spray you well.

It should be noted I have NEVER seen a modern car with a mechanical gauge from the factory. Tells you something...


Yeah: they might cost three cents more!

I'm not sure I have seen a modern car with a REAL oil pressure gauge from the factory!
 
You will not see a modern car with a mechanical oil pressure gauge. The liability is obvious if the owner messes with it. Besides they can put in an electronic gauge or dummy gauge (as in Ford). Why did I run mechanical? Easier to install, more responsive, not much space for a sender so I'd have to get exact measurements on the sender to see if it will fit, and I don't really want a lot of plumbing to get the sender out where there is space as it would take 5 inches and then the sender is subject to being hit on a tranny R&R.
 
That looks freakin ghetto to say the least.

Unless you are running some super duper tuned hot rod setup where you need to monitor an actual specific oil pressure, the factory gauges or idiot lights are enough.

Just because you "can" do something, does not always make it a good idea to actually do it. This is one of those cases.
 
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
That looks freakin ghetto to say the least.

Unless you are running some super duper tuned hot rod setup where you need to monitor an actual specific oil pressure, the factory gauges or idiot lights are enough.

Just because you "can" do something, does not always make it a good idea to actually do it. This is one of those cases.

Should see my ghetto wheels. Except I have since removed the chrome center caps and painted the hubs and lug nuts silver too. Ghetto exhaust with side pipe. I only wish it had the non-gloss paint of my 1984 F150 and I would get some spray bombs and make the truck flat black. Butt ugly, but fun to drive.
19.gif
Not to worry if someone scratches it.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
That looks freakin ghetto to say the least.

Unless you are running some super duper tuned hot rod setup where you need to monitor an actual specific oil pressure, the factory gauges or idiot lights are enough.

Just because you "can" do something, does not always make it a good idea to actually do it. This is one of those cases.

Should see my ghetto wheels. Except I have since removed the chrome center caps and painted the hubs and lug nuts silver too. Ghetto exhaust with side pipe. I only wish it had the non-gloss paint of my 1984 F150 and I would get some spray bombs and make the truck flat black. Butt ugly, but fun to drive.
19.gif
Not to worry if someone scratches it.



^I love this guy!!!
banana2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Hootbro


Unless you are running some super duper tuned hot rod setup where you need to monitor an actual specific oil pressure, the factory gauges or idiot lights are enough.



Blasphemer!!!

Hand in your Bitog card

laugh.gif


I installed a mechanical OP gauge in what might be classified as the opposite of a hot rod, simply because the factory gauge and idiot light are next to worthless. The mechanical gauge proves that each and every day, as I T'd the line so the factory gauge still works.

One is relevant, the other not, unless a 45 second delay and a general accuracy range of +/- 15 psi is acceptable, and that is a guess, because my factory gauge does not even have numbers
 
I like how you put it front and center like a hot rod tach.

For a bit there I thought the fat nylon tubing was where it was at, and you'd be able to draw off a quart of oil from within the car in a matter of seconds, as a public service to stranded motorists or whatever.
lol.gif
 
The front and center is partly because it is a convenient mounting location, and so I can see it easily. I once had a motorhome where I put the tach and oil pressure gauges on top of the dash, centered on the driver. That was nice.

_______________
Note: In my post above, by side pipe, I don't mean like a Corvette might have but just that the tip exits in front of the rear wheel.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
For a bit there I thought the fat nylon tubing was where it was at, and you'd be able to draw off a quart of oil from within the car in a matter of seconds, as a public service to stranded motorists or whatever.
lol.gif



Bigger is better! Oh, how about a line where I can spray tailgaters? I know a guy had a leaky tranny seal in his Crown Vic and it was leaking a quart of ATF every 100 miles. He was coming home from up north on I-75 and said that every time someone got close behind him, their windshield wipers would go on.
grin.gif
 
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