[¡Oracle!]

I'm interested in popping in a pair of oil pressure and tranny temp gauges on my '99 Passport. I know this isn't a big deal, but I was wondering if anyone has happened to write up their experience with doing this somewhere.

I fear idiot lamps and know that if I ever see one of those come on, my car is toast. I think such a cheap upgrade is worth it for some piece of mind.

 

[Tad]

I guess I should write up my transmission temperature gauge then. I installed it for exactly the same reasons that you listed. It *may* have helped me prevent transmission damage once, and has certainly helped me "sleep easier" especially when the transmission heated up that one time. I have since then installed a transmission cooler.

I'll work on a real writeup, but the hardest part of the install is mounting the gauge.



Mine was installed by hacking a Mustang II pod to fit the Trooper A-Pillar. They may make a pre-formed pod for your truck. I plumbed the sensor into the pressure line from the transmission. It is 1/8" npt, so a t-fitting and 2 appropriately sized barbed fittings and hose clamps finished off the plumbing. You can locate the host from the transmission by tracing the hard metal line that exist closest to the front of the transmission. The return line connects to the transmission further back in the vehicle.

While installing this, be VERY careful of leaks when doing this. A dry transmission will last far fewer miles than a hot transmission. This is also a good time to install a transmission cooler if you so desire. This would be plumbed into the return line for optimal performance. Also be sure to check and refill the transmission fluid after you are done with either of these procedures.

-Tad

 

[SubscriptionSupport]

I installed coolant temp and trans temp gauges on my '01 Trooper. Doing the trans temp at the same time that you do the trans cooler is handy as you can use the rubber hoses as hosts for a trans filter as well as the temp sensor. For the water temp, I just put the aftermarket sensor in the hole where the OEM sensor was.

Tad's right, the routing of the wires through the firewall and to the guages is the hardest park but very doable.

Mule

 

[iamsparc]

:?:

Anyone have a writeup of this good stuff yet?

 

[cooper30]

Just a heads up to anyone putting an aftermarket gauge in their truck. I went to put an aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge in my 95 Rodeo 4x4 today and hit a snag. In hindsight, I should have thought of it ahead of time.

I bought a regular old mech gauge and when I went to put it in, the fitting wouldn't screw in when the old sender was because.......the truck is metric. Most el-cheapo aftermarket gauges come with a 1/8 NPT fitting to screw in the truck. I had to order an adapter from NAPA.

I will post the part # of the adapter and try to take some pics when I actually install it.

Ted

 

[¡Oracle!]

Good to know, thanks!

 

[cbr929pilot]

Pics is possible I'm interested on this.

 

[Tad]

I'm still interested. The place where I had planned on mounting gauges isn't idea. It only has about 3/4" of clearance behind it, so I'd have to find some low profile gauges. The other option is to remove the cubby hole in the lower DIN sized radio slot and put 3 gauges there.

If I could fabricate things out of plastic that didn't look like old dog toys, I'd make a panel to put where the ash tray is and put two gauges there.

-Tad

 

[cbr929pilot]

How about digital gauges? I've seen some from Radio Shack that are very slim.
or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about and you need special gauges for these mods.

 

[Wes in NC]

I have an 87 trooper II 2.3 carb'd.
I found that the radio (for me at least) is not in the best place. Gear shift is in the way.
SO.... I switched the gauges from the top of the dash area to where the radio is. a lil bit of fabrication and walla... worked fine and can see the gauges fine.
The radio is now mounted where the gauges were.
I made a custom box to be able to hold the radio. The first generation of this had cup holders on top.
I am now in the process of making the second generation of the Radio compartment.
I have purchased some new aftermarket gauges(oil pressure and water temp and volmeter), I plan on installing these and the fuel gauge back tp the top area of the dash and the radio above them.
The area where the radio was initialy will become a drink holder area and an ashtray(Solid steel from OLD chevy).
The radio will be on top in its own slot and the gauges will be mounted below the radio at a slight angle and offset to be able to get the four gauges mounted in the space.
There are two screws that hold this "box" in place. they are the same screw holes that held the original gauges in place.
Will update with some pictures and any problems when the second generation radio/gauge box is done.

Wes in NC

 

[Tad]

I just installed my gauges in the VX too.

Oil pressure, volt meter and boost.

The oil pressure sender threaded in where the old idiot light sender was, and the idiot light sender is now where the 5mm plug was from the factory. Very easy install.

-Tad

 

[Zuicidal Tendencies]

Any word on the part# for the adapter to metric from 1/8" npt or at least the metric size I'd be looking for? This would be on a 98 3.2 V6.

 

[Tad]

If you can keep a secret, I'll tell you that I didn't use an adaptor. 1/8" BSP and 1/8" NPT are close enough that it threaded right in. I even tried a 1/8" NPT tap in the threads first, and it didn't cut a single thread before it bottomed out. So I wrapped the sender in teflon tape, threaded it in and was good to go.

As mentioned, I did have to move the factory sender to the top hole, and install the new sender in the bottom hole.

-Tad

 

[Zuicidal Tendencies]

Your secret's safe with me!! :lol: Thanx.

 

[Johnthegoon]

Talk about resurrecting a dead thread, I'm going to ask for clarification on a post that's seven years old, HA!

Being a control and information freak, I really want to get just about every gauge known to man installed on this Trooper, but will definitely do:

Transmission temp, oil pressure, voltage, and coolant temp (current gauge works but I want numbers)

Coolant temp will probably just be a direct replacement for the stock sender since I don't really need two, voltage is easy also. My question to Tad is, back in 2003 when you were talking about splicing a barbed tee into a rubber transmission "Pressure line," were you talking about the flexible lines running up to the trans cooler?

As for the oil pressure gauge - I prefer an electric vs mechanical - I see references to using a tap on the oil filter mount(?) can someone drop some knowledge on me about where/how to accomplish this?

 

[Tad]

Yes, I was referring to the transmission cooler line.

As I recall, the oil filter housing is 1/8" BSPT, not 1/8" NPT. Honestly on my VX I just threaded in the 1/8" NPT sender with teflon tape on it. Yes there is a difference in threads, but at 1/8" it was close enough that I couldn't tell the difference. It seems that there's enough variation in the precision of NPT from different companies that at that size it's a wash, but if you're a purist there are adapters available.

You should add a few more for that airplane effect:
http://www.egauges.com/eg_typeI.asp?Typ ... l&Manf=All

http://flashoffroad.com/Accessories/Gau ... eGauge.htm

-Tad