i'm new to the forum . i have a 2003 F150 4x4 lariat supercrew . i purchased a sunpro oil pressure and water temp gage (both electric) and wanted to know if anyone had info on places to screw the sending units in on the engine . it's a 5.4 L . i would like to keep the factory gages working if possible ..

 

I am not sure about the 04 but the 97-03 has the water circulating all the time through the heater core. If the 04 is the same you can tap into the input side of the heater hose. A mechanical guage would be better as you also need to provide a ground to the outside of the sensor on an electrical guage.

I don't know about the oil pressure sensor on the 04.

Good luck,
T

 

2003 F150..


does the input side have a place to tap into or will i have to make something to fit .. :help

 

My 2000 had a plug just behind and to the right of the altenator that was unused, same size as the sender. Oil pressure was a little harder. I remove the stock sender (next to oil filter) and installed a fitting in place of it and ran a tube from there up to a tee to use both senders. The on board computer has to have a feed from oil pressure for the truck to run. Good luck! Where did you or going to mount your guages? Used a "A" post pod for mine, sure like it!


T-man

 

thanks t-man

i'll check those places on my 03 . i didn't even think of moving the original oil sender and replaceing with hose , tee it off and use both ..good idea!!!!!that's what i like about this board , some have aready "been there done that" ..i fabricated. a console between the dash and orig console . have 8" dvd monitior , dvd located on bottom passenger side , air/fuel ratio gage , oil pressure , water temp gage , covered console to match interior ...

 

That sounds sweet! Got any pictures you could post.



T-man

 

no pictures at this time , but will get some to post.....thumbsup

 

guys , my 03 , 5.4L has a water line (1/8"ID) on the intake behind the alternator that goes to the bottom back of the throttle body . does anyone know what it does ? can i put a water temp gauge inline here or just replace the whole hose with the sending unit in this spot ? help

 

jp1130,
Sorry I can't help you from here on that one. Maybe someone will jump in that knows
Mine didn't have that, like I said, it was a unused plug right in the water passage between the heads, had a hex wrench opening in the top and when I removed it there was antifreeze. Couldn't have been better.

Like Tsquared said, the heater core has water moving in it at all times and that is an option to cut one of those lines (input to core) and install a tee for your sender.

T-man

 

thanks t-man

this is the same location on my intake except it has the hose running from it ((guess ford thought they should put a hose there to keep us aftermarket addoners from using it )) anyway i removed it , stuck the sending unit in the intake hole plugged the other fitting . seems ok , i've drove it for two days now ....thumbsup

 

Hey for what it's worth, I can't believe Ford did the expense of adding a hose from there to the throttle body for no good reason. Maybe hooking that hose back up with a tee at that point for your sender and making that line factory operational again may be a good idea. I think there is enough room for that?

Just my $.02 worth!

Good luck and keep on truckin!

 

i tried that first , it made a good , neat install , but gauge didn't work , no reading .....i think the gauge may have to be screwed into engine block , head or some metal part for proper grounding ...i'm just not sure but it worked fine when i scewed it into the manifold....it is an electrical gauge .... ; beers

 

10-4 on the electric one's needing a ground! That means you must have installed a "tee" with rubber tubing barbs on both ends for the rubber hoses. I bet screwing the "tee" into the block with a nipple then going on the output side with a barb for the hose should work, then the sender would have metal contact with the block for a good ground. Or you could have grounded the "tee" with a wire and clamp, but screwing it into something that is grounded is the best.
The ploy's of doing aftermarket stuff for the first time is a pain, but the feeling of a job well done is swelling.



T-man