For peace of mind, I want to install an oil pressure guage. Is an electrical or mechanical recommended? Anyone have tips or how-to's for installing it? Thanks.

 

Electrical, 0-100 psi is what I have.

I had a shop install it, didnt feel like ****** wit dat ****!

 

an electronic guage has a sending unit in the engine bay somewhere and you have to run wires through the firewall to it. you may even be able to tap off the stock ECU, not too sure though.

a mechanical guage is directly linked to an oil line. if you want to read it inside the car that means you either have to mount it on the hood like some of the muscle car people do or actually run an oil line into the cockpit - bad idea if you ever spring a leak, and illegal in most race sanctioning bodies I believe.

 

I personally prefer mechanical gauges BUT like mentioned above if the line inside the car breaks you've got a mess. I have never had that happen but it can. I would recommend putting a tee in the block and running a gauge AND the idiot light as a backup in case someone else drives the car that isn't conditioned to watching gauges.

 

Good Idea. At this point, I think I"m going to get an electrical one.

 

sounds like something i want to do. i have a 91 accord ex with f22a4. now, since it has an oil light in the dash, i'm sure there has to be something coming off the ecu or a wire somewhere that you could read the oil pressure with. if anyone has a wiring diagram or a shop manual that would help.

 

Do something wrong and things will get messy!

 

Installation is relatively simple. I know with the mechanical guage, and I'm pretty sure for the electrical guage as well, you need to install a T-brass fitting in between the motor and stock sensor. The stock sensor is located directly above the oil filter on the back of the motor (round looking w/single wire going to it; connector is covered by a black rubber cap). Then, if it's mechanical, run the oil line in through a hole in the firewall and to where ever your guage is. Just be careful not to route in anywhere near something where it can get burnt if it touches something, and don't kink it. Route the wires the same way if you get an electrical guage. Oh, and, if you get a mechanical guage, for example Auto Meter, they will include a small diameter nylon line, but you can also buy the same diameter line but in brass (maybe better than the nylon).

 

Yeh, what he said. I can tell you from personal experience though it takes a lot to break one of those nylon lines. In fact it is more susceptible to being cut than breaking. If you were to run it inside a piece of vacuum hose with a braided steel or nylon "decorative" cover over the vacuum hose it would be damn near bullet proof.

 

Just happen to have a pic

 

Or you can run a nice braided steel line like this one........ Nice. Come with the gauge or did you have it made?

And shouldn't you be leaving for work ? I just got here at my place of internment. You don't have to cross the I-74 bridge do you ? I used to have to call on Komatsu and while I didn't have to cross the bridge on those occasions that stretch coming in from the QC and Galesburg is like running a gauntlet !


[Modified by Hippie, 5:48 AM 12/2/2002]

 

i never imagined 1/4 NPT would fit

 

Never given it much thought before but I've never seen Metric pipe thread............ Is there such a thing ?

 

Thats not for a gauge its for the oil feed to the turbo.

The block is 1/8 bspt, I retapped it to 1/8 npt. The "t" is male 1/8 npt to 2 female 1/8 npt. The adaptor out of the "t" is a 1/8 npt to -3 AN male.

No 1/4 npt here.

 

I have the oil pressure gauge but i bought a copper wire from auto meter so it would be more accurate. Anyone know why it makes a clikcing noise and how to stop it?