I bought a used Stewart Warner mechanical oil pressure gauge to install in my truck. This is a step by step photo essay of the install.

The gauge:



Connecting the oil line to the gauge:




Had to fab a mounting bracket:



Gauge mounted in single pillar pod, plumbed and wired for lights:



Oil line connected to top port on oil filter housing:


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Flex line connected to copper tubing:




Cutoff valve and transition to plastic tubing near firewall for entrance to passenger compartment:



Hole marked and cut for tubing and wires in pillar cover:



Be sure to not cut supports on back side of cover:



Route of copper tube in engine campartment:



Gauge installed showing pressure with engine idling:



Wide view of install:



While I had the pillar cover off I fabricated some supports to beef up the plastic mounting posts. I did both sides of the front. While not as classy as the ones you can buy they do the job of making the grab handles MUCH sturdier:

 

Just curious - why did you put a different one on then what's already in the truck?

 

Because the oil pressure gauge in the instrument cluster is not a real gauge. It is just a program in the ecm that is programed with engine temperature and rpms to read what dodge thinks people want to see. The "sensor" is nothing more than a 5psi pressure switch. As long as there is at least 5# pressure the gauge will read about 40 psi.I can tell you that is totally bogus! The mechanical gauge reads 60 psi at cold idle, 25psi at warm idle and between 40-85 when running down the road!

 

Great pics and write up

 

Hmmm good idea, I did not know that the gauge on the dash was programmed like that......I know sometimes I am rather skeptical about what it's reading, especially when cold.

What would you recommend for a trans temp gauge? Would you just use a normal water temp gauge?

 

BTW, why did you install the shutoff valve in the line?

 

I needed a transition form copper to plastic, I had the valve in my tool box for years so I used that instead of a coupling. I used plastic in the passenger compartment so it would be easier to run the line under the dash and snake it up to the gauge.