Mechanical oil pressure gauge installation [Merged 1-8]

[DSM_23]

ok i have a mechanical oil pressure guage for my 91 tsi awd and i know the general area to tap into just not the exact place, all i know is, is that its near the oil filter, other than that i cant figure out what to tap into, so if somebody could help me out here it'd be nice, thanks

 

[BUCK]

That Plug is LOCTITED into the OFH - without heat to break down the Loctite you can rip the OFH right off the Block trying to remove those Plugs - At the least you'll have a leak at the OFH to Block Gasket from TRYING to rip the OFH off the Block - Is you Gauge 150 PSI by chance? - Because THAT"S the range you need~! - & BTW... the inexpensive Autometer is a P.O.S. & you will regret ever doing this intall.

 

[rich3389]

That Plug is LOCTITED into the OFH - without heat to break down the Loctite you can rip the OFH right off the Block trying to remove those Plugs - At the least you'll have a leak at the OFH to Block Gasket from TRYING to rip the OFH off the Block - Is you Gauge 150 PSI by chance? - Because THAT"S the range you need~! - & BTW... Autometer is a P.O.S. & you will regret ever doing this intall.

I got my plugs off of my oil filter housing off no problem.
I used the plug on the back of the filter housing which is larger than the plug adapter the autometer comes with, so I went to ACE and picked up an adapter for around 2 dollars.

Why do you say autometer gauges are POS's?

 

[talonalex92]

I got my plugs off of my oil filter housing off no problem.
I used the plug on the back of the filter housing which is larger than the plug adapter the autometer comes with, so I went to ACE and picked up an adapter for around 2 dollars.

Why do you say autometer gauges are POS's?

Same here, easy as pie. I loved my autometer gauge, it worked great. You wont need 150 psi, 100 will be fine.

 

[BUCK]

Why do you say autometer gauges are POS's?

Let's just say that YOU will come to the "understanding" that ANY Interior Mechanical Oil Pressure gauge is a POS very soon.... - & again, what RANGE is that Gauge ? - IF it's a 150PSI Range put it ON THE MOTOR somewhere, but NOT in your Interior - If it's less than 150PSI Range you will ruin the Gauge almost immediately anyway.

 

[tsiboosted]

I am going to have to disagree as well saying all AutoMeters are POS. I have all AutoMeter Phantom Series gauges in the car now for 2 years and nothing is wrong with them. I have 5 AutoMeter gauges to be exact and like I said, have never experienced any issues with them in 2 years in the car. Maybe just some personal issues people have experienced, but that does not classify all their gauges as bad.

 

[BUCK]

& I concur there too - There is an upper level series that is better - I'm editting my Post to reflect that - thanx, buck

 

[tsiboosted]

& I concur there too - There is an upper level series that is better - I'm editting my Post to reflect that - thanx, buck

No big deal Buck. I wasn't calling you out or anything like that. Just making a point about their Phantom series gauges I use now.

 

[BUCK]

You wont need 150 psi, 100 will be fine.

It's well documented that we see Oil Pressures well in excess of 100PSI at Cold Starts & several other "scenarios" - It's also accepted practice that "pegging" a Gauge will kill it - But maybe YOUR Oil Pressure just sucks...

 

[Midnightride]

It goes to 200.

I had the car running and the turned it off. The plug came right off with a little elbow grease. Right now i put it back in cause I didnt have the right fitting.

is the fitting that is needed 3/8 to 1/8? The guage fitting just slid right in so I deff. need to go bigger.

As for gauges, I have used autometer for a long time now, never had any issues.

I'm using the copper lines, so I'm hoping not to have any issues.


I went mechanical cause the electrical sending unit was replaced already and still seem like the guage is reading lower than it did before the swap went in. I just want to make sure I'm getting plenty of oil, so mechanical was my way.

 

[Darknight968]

Why? You had one fail on you and leak? Ive never heard anything about these making a mess. Are they really that prone to leaking?

no my has never leaked, and it runs into my car. i thought it would have been crazy but works. do it right the first time and it shouldnt leak

 

[timloomis]

My autometer mechanical gauge has been in the car for well over 2 years with zero leaks and pegged out many times on cold starts, all on the stock nylon line that comes with it. You didnt install it right if it leaks, plain and simple. I get tired of people saying mechanical gauges suck and are dangerous, never an issue with any of my 3 mechanical gauges in-car. If you dont use thread sealant, dont tighten it down enough, or pinch/kink the line, it will leak. I feel that mechanical gauges are more accurate, since its pressure right to the needle. Instead of pressure, electrical sender that converts the signal, then gauge. The stock temp sensor was at halfway before when the autometer said 210 or so.

 

[talonalex92]

It's well documented that we see Oil Pressures well in excess of 100PSI at Cold Starts & several other "scenarios" - It's also accepted practice that "pegging" a Gauge will kill it - But maybe YOUR Oil Pressure just sucks...

I know this is old but I never got to reply. Heres a thought, dont run the piss out of your car when you first start it. You shouldnt be revving that high to provoke those pressures untill its warm anyways. Now im done.

 

[UnderPrssureDSM]

I recently purchased a Prosport 110psi electrical oil pressure gauge and have been going through all the search results to make sure I install it right and have noted that one question isn't addressed: Isn't the point of the oil pressure gauge to make sure it doesn't go too low as opposed to too high? So what if it goes over 120psi. Shouldn't you be more concerned when readings drop through the floor?

 

[tsunari]

I would argue that both high and low oil pressure readings are equally important, however we probably would spend most of our time looking at the lower-end of the oil pressure range for a daily driven car (sitting at idle, etc . . . )

So yes, if the oil pressure drops down too low (Idiot Light is activated @ ~6psi) then you really need to look into that

-Low oil
-Stuck Bypass Valve
-Dying oil pump
-Problem with pickup tube

etc . . .

There are only a handfull of things that will cause low oil pressure, and none are good for the life of the engine.


Were I only given the choice of closely monitoring a finite range of pressures with decent precision, I would port out the bypass valve, never run the motor hard until fully warm and then keep an eye on the idle pressures.

I recently purchased a Prosport 110psi electrical oil pressure gauge and have been going through all the search results to make sure I install it right and have noted that one question isn't addressed: Isn't the point of the oil pressure gauge to make sure it doesn't go too low as opposed to too high? So what if it goes over 120psi. Shouldn't you be more concerned when readings drop through the floor?

 

[thatboyjose]

If you bought a mechanical gauge you are in for the mess of your life - & inside your car to boot - do NOT put that POS in your car.

I agree. Just started small mods on my DSM and installed an Autometer Manual Oil Pressure Gauge. After 30 minutes of driving the gauge face filled with oil. It looked like a chocolate covered POS. I'm returning it and trying the electronic version. Manual =

I should also add that the adapter fitting - 1/8 NPT female x 1/8-28BSP male did not come with the kit to fit on my 2g. I did find the part (locally) at House of Hose Supplier of hydraulic and industrial hose, fittings, adapters and other related items for a variety of industries including agriculture, construction, food processing, logging, lumber, manufacturing, milling, mining, and transportation. for about $7. The part number is MB3269-2-2.

 

[thatboyjose]

I received the electronic version of the Autometer Oil Pressure gauge and it worked just fine. The kit didn't come with wiring so I had to use my own. Otherwise, it was a CLEAN install. I don't have to WORRY about getting oil in the interior (where it doesn't belong).

 

[SnowBird]

I hate this thread. I have had a cheap ass $15 MECHANICAL gauge for over a year now without one slight leak.

 

[kristmen]

Holy crap this thread has made more come backs then any thread I've ever seen.

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, its been merged with others even .

Anyway I found this looking for part numbers for the Autometer SS line kit parts for a DSM and I thought I would make an update.

I posted back in this thread in early 2005, I've been running an Autometer Phantom since early 2005, in cabin, using the Autometer copper tube kit with ZERO leakage or failure. The only reason I'm even looking for the stainless lines now is that my copper lines are totally corroded and green looking now.

On a side note, the ONLY oil pressure gauge I've ever had any issues with was an Autometer electrical unit and yes, I even tried the isolator kit.

That being said, does anyone know the part numbers and parts needed to run stainless lines from filter housing to gauge?

 

[Defiant]

Stainless won't want to take a curve, and will work-harden worse than copper. Stay with copper.

 

[99gst_racer]

Stainless won't want to take a curve, and will work-harden worse than copper. Stay with copper.

He was referring to stainless braided teflon hose.
It doesn't really get much safer and easier to install than that.

 

[kristmen]

I had really good luck with the copper lines they just look like crap now. My stainless turbo feed line is COVERED in road salt and it looks as clean and secure as the day I put it on back in 2002. The copper line on the oil gauge hasn't held up as well externally speaking. No leaks though. I still want to upgrade to the stainless braided line kit though.

I actually just noticed a few pages back in this thread that Autometer is now selling there own stainless kit with all the fittings.

I'll have to swing down to LANE Automotive and pick one up when the roads are clear.

 

[live4my4g63]

i just got an after market oil pressure gauge and dont know how to hook up the copper fittings at the end. please help

 

[deank1]

I also just got the mechanical oil pressure gauge the picture should help you. That is how it hooks up to the block. As for the back of the gauge, your nylon tube will need to go through the brass fitting that has a tiny hole in it. (this will be a very tight fit.) After that you will need to put the cylindrical prism looking fitting onto the hose. (this piece is very small.) After that you will need to screw the 1/4 inch fitting on. Make sure you use plenty of tephlon tape to make sure of leaks. You then screw that onto the back of the gauge. The other side of the hose is the same way.


Hope this helped.

 

[99gst_racer]

^^ Not bad, but it could have been done with 2 less fittings.

Also, 'AN' doesn't use fractions like pipe thread does. That's either a -3 AN or a -4 AN.

And for reference, you did this for a 420a engine, right?

 

[Defiant]

Another note of caution: do not use brass plumbing fittings for this application. Engine vibration tends to cause them to fail at the root of the threads, letting the sender and your oil pressure fall to the pavement.