Howdy folks! I've been thinking for a long time about adding some instrumentation to the ol 150 and I have decided to go with a trans temp and oil pressure gauge. I am trying to decide on another. I can't decide whether to go with a volt gauge or a water temp. gauge. The water temp gauge in the stock dash I think works but from what I have read it is not real sensitive. I have no idea if the volt gauge is just another idiot light with a needle or if it actually functions. If it functions I'm inclined to go the water temp route. If not then I'm inclined to go the voltmeter route. Is there another gauge I should consider for an unmodded 01 4.6 L auto?

By the way this is a two part question....

Part two, if I go water temp where would I put sender?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

I've got the same question. I've got a '00. I'm going with oil press, volt, and water temp. Volt is a dummy guage. As long as you've got enough volts to switch it, it will always stay in the middle

 

When my alternator went south a couple of years ago, the only indication I had that it was not working was because the actual 'idiot' light came on next to the volt gauge. When I took an actual volt reading with my volt meter, it showed about 11 volts. Couldn't tell it from the gauge however.... Even after getting the new alt installed and it was pumping out 14 volts, the gauge looked exactly the same as it did with only 11 volts......

As far as the water temp sensor goes, I tapped into the heater core inlet hose. I used a brass T that I got from Home Depot along with other hose fittings and just cut the hose and put the T in. The sensor fit with the use of the 5/8 adapter and it's been going strong for almost three years now. I did have to run a separate ground wire to the T because of the electric gauge...

Along with my trans temp gauge, it tells me all I really need to know while towing my trailer.... Had no idea how hot the trans fluid gets at times!! Now that I can see it rising, I can adjust my driving to get it to cool down....

Mitch

 

I'm beginning to think that a trans temp guage might be worth the investment. How do you go about installing one?

 

Well, I asked myself the vary same question today. So I began looking for an answer. It would apear that there are a couple different options. Some guys have been putting them in a line port on the drivers side of the tranny (4R70W's I think not sure about others) and some are splicing them into the tranny lines on the way to the the cooler and radiator. That is the option I am looking at, however, I am not thrilled with the idea of just cutting the line and clamping in a T to add the sender. I would much rather plumb it in hard but I have not been able to find the info on how to do that. I have heard about some kind of manifold from summit but have had a hard time finding the info on it and what size and so forth I need. Hopefully someone will read this post and maybe help me out on this or let me know what other options there are for mounting it.

By the way, I think I am going to go with oil pres, trans temp, and volt after reading the above. I think since I am going to have to custom make the gauge cluster anyway (don't really like the a pilar pods), that I will try to make it large enough that if I want to later I can just make a new face plate with an extra hole in it.

 

The easy way to hook up a voltmeter is just plug into the lighter socket.
A regular meter or an LED light indicator. Then it can be used in other cars and trucks for monitoring or trouble shooting.
I have a panel installed with oil and trans temp as well as a Prodigy controller mounted on the panel.
The gauges are electric.
You need to provide power taps from the right fuses on the inside fuse panel and a way to mount a panel to the dash.
Pre-wire up a cable with connectors so it all goes togather with min fuss and can be serviced in the future.
There is a rubber plug above the throttle assembly that is used to get wire through to the sensors.
The oil sensor has to be assembled with fittings and include the original oil pressure switch.
The trans temp sender, if electric or standard, is installed in a tee manifold that passes fluid through it. The output cooler line close to the trans will sample the hottest fluid temps, may scare you but at first but knowing the end pan temp in not the best place to go nor is a pressure port.
Actually a good cooler will cool the fluid below the pan temp most of the time so when it gets back to the pan, it's temp is rasied back up anyways.
The only good way to cool the pan temps is to use a deep alum finned pan to change that. You can't do much about how hot the fluid gets coming out because it is a function of how much load and fluid shearing occurrs during non-lockup operation. If you see the temp go higher than an established norm for the driving then the gauge has done it's job.
Back to the pan temps; the fluid and pan is subject to the radiated heat from the internals as well as the outer case. Using a larger alum pan and more fluid volume is the only way to change this.

 

Hey thanks guys. Great info. I was looking at a setup that one of the members used (cliles55 i think but the numbers are probably wrong sorry :o). He used some hose barbs and a t but I was looking at the setup and I was wondering... if the trans line on the radiator takes a 3/8 npt fitting, why not just add the t in line and a union with the sender hanging down from the t? Why add the extra rubber line with the hose barbs? The hose barbs just make me nervous. I know they are supposed to be good and this is not really high pressure but still. Its a hose barb. I would rather just plumb it in with a couple brass fittings. The only thing I could see with this is maybe there would be some heat soak from the rad. but my gut says that would be relatively insignificant. Am I correct about the radiator fittings or are they something special that I need an adapter for?

By the way thanks again guys!

 

Don't think any of the lines are NPT except maybe at the trans case.
I put in a two row radiator and the fitting are so special that I can't get them seperatly, so far except from a dealer at big bucks.
The bigger radiator came with the wrong fittings and had to use the ones out of my original single row radiator. Now I can't sell a perfect original, without those fittings.

 

Thanks for the reply. I just hit the web and there are a few trailer sites that sell the hosebarb stuff but I can't seem to find an adapter to an npt fitting anywhere. Oh well more looking. Who knows what I may be able to turn up.

Thanks!

 

I put my trans temp sensor in the rubber hose section of line up front under the rad. I used a 3/8" brass T and the hose fittings from Home Depot. I used an extra foot of rubber trans line to make a loop to complete the connection. This was so I didn't have to move the existing line or put any pressure on the connection.

I did this at the same time I did the water temp and it's been leak free.....

 

Thanks for the info mitch. I think I am going to get a set of these (probably not from that place but somewhere) so when I do a cooler I will already have them. I am pretty sure I will do a cooler in the future but probably not till after I tow one time with it the way it is and watch the gauges. I tow maybe twice a year right now. I may be moving in a year or so and may need to tow an extra uhaul behind the ford. Funny how stuff multiplies when your gf move in huh. The other reason being that if for some reason it did decide to blow a hose or something along the road I could put it back together normal with a wrench and add some tranny fluid and be on my way unlike if the conection was made in the stock line itself.

Thanks again.