Oil & Fuel Adding mechanical oil pressure gauge

[Cjm005]

Tractor is 1997 New Holland 1715. I'm not impressed with there being an idiot light as opposed to an actual oil pressure gauge. I was considering adding a mechanical oil pressure gauge to my dash. Any reason why the below or similar would not work if I installed the fitting & tube to gauge.

JEGS Performance Products 41200, JEGS 2-5/8'' Gauges | JEGS Performance Products

 

[geneP]

Check the threads where you want to install the tube to be compatible with the npt fittings included. Also, I would be concerned about a nylon tube exposed in a tractor environment. It would have to be well protected, and they do get more brittle with age.

 

[Cjm005]

Absolutely.. I was thinking the same thing. I suppose one could upgrade the nylon line to a stainless steel line, but I'm not sure if that would affect the calibration of the mechanical gauge? I could sheath the nylon line in a larger fuel line that is heat proof..

 

[RickB]

What's unimpressive about a light? Will a gauge needle sitting on zero grab your attention better?

The OEM OP sender is BSPT thread.

 

[skyhook]

What's unimpressive about a light? Will a gauge needle sitting on zero grab your attention better?

The OEM OP sender is BSPT thread.

Just curious, why would you say he has BSPT thread on his Ford.

 

[varmint]

Other than the price, the JEGS gauge looks fine. I spent about $18 total on the three gauges I added to my first tractor, and never had any issues with them. The oil gauge came with a variety of fittings, and I just added a brass tee where the sender unit was screwed into the back of the engine block, keeping the sending unit. Voltmeter is easy, and usually there's a place on the cooling system, maybe at the thermostat houseing, for plumbing in a temp. sensor. Certainly, enclosing the nylon oil tube in another line would protect it from heat to some degree. Knowing pressure, temp. and voltage can warn you of many potential problems, and the idiot lights will still be there.

 

[RickB]

Just curious, why would you say he has BSPT thread on his Ford.

Because his Ford was built by Shibaura in Japan to metric standards which often include BSPT and BSPP fittings. It is what it is.

 

[Coyote machine]

What's unimpressive about a light? Will a gauge needle sitting on zero grab your attention better?

The OEM OP sender is BSPT thread.

What's UNimpressive about a light is it tells the OP basically nothing, until it's too late to do anything. Gauge needles reflect the actual pressures, temps, voltages, rather than a blown engine light. And if one pays attention to fluctuations, increases or decreases one can catch potential problems before they become failures.
Think race cars, airplanes, etc. rely on IDIOT lights? Not so much. You like lights - go for it...

 

[KYKub]

I installed a mechanical temp gauge on a Kubota diesel garden tractor. Worked very well. Although it had a traditional gauge (not just a warning light), the gauge didn't work. I agree that a gauge is better than a warning light; not so much for getting "exact" temps, but as Coyote said, to notice any fluctuation before it reached the point that it would trigger the warning light.

The mechanical gauge I installed had a very small copper tube going between sender and gauge.

 

[RickB]

What's UNimpressive about a light is it tells the OP basically nothing, until it's too late to do anything. Gauge needles reflect the actual pressures, temps, voltages, rather than a blown engine light. And if one pays attention to fluctuations, increases or decreases one can catch potential problems before they become failures.
Think race cars, airplanes, etc. rely on IDIOT lights? Not so much. You like lights - go for it...

Race cars absolutely use lights, often in conjunction with gauges. The lights are there to alert the driver to a critical system problem better than a gauge.

I like lights just fine and keep them working. 58 years old, owned a few dozen tractors, trucks and cars with them. Never lost an engine to low oil pressure or high temperature. All the fuss about gauges is overrated. If they make you feel better, go for it. Opinions vary, mine has merit despite your unwillingness to consider it.

 

[Qapla]

It all depends on what the gauge and/or light is set to read.

If the gauge reads oil pressure, a mechanical gauge will require that hot oil be pumped to the location of the gauge. Should that like spring a leak, that hot oil may land in your lap. That may sound a bit obvious and you may think it not likely - after all, you may have a mechanical in you car or truck and it has been there for years. But, keep in ind that tractors shake, vibrate, bounce and are "abused" much more than that car or truck. Enclosing the plastic line in another hose may protect it from engine heat but it will not protect it from the wiggles and jiggles of regular use - it can still snap off at one end or the other.

It will work just fine with copper or stainless line - it will not change the calibration.

Have you considered an electric gauge? No line to worry about bursting.

I know, some people call them "calibrated idiot lights" - but isn't it funny that even the people who think that way trust an amp or volt gauge? After all, aren't they electric?

 

[Coyote machine]

Race cars absolutely use lights, often in conjunction with gauges. The lights are there to alert the driver to a critical system problem better than a gauge.

I like lights just fine and keep them working. 58 years old, owned a few dozen tractors, trucks and cars with them. Never lost an engine to low oil pressure or high temperature. All the fuss about gauges is overrated. If they make you feel better, go for it. Opinions vary, mine has merit despite your unwillingness to consider it.

I'm not unwilling to consider it, that's YOUR take on my statement. Lights are used in conjunction with gauges on race cars, and other applications to create redundancy, so if one is faulty the other is backup.
You consider the 'fuss' as you describe it to be overrated. That's your opinion, not a fact. Gauges give the operator additional useful information a light can't give them. And they usually look good and function well, an additional reason to add them. You don't want them- then don't buy any....

 

[RickB]

I'm not unwilling to consider it, that's YOUR take on my statement. Lights are used in conjunction with gauges on race cars, and other applications to create redundancy, so if one is faulty the other is backup.
You consider the 'fuss' as you describe it to be overrated. That's your opinion, not a fact. Gauges give the operator additional useful information a light can't give them. And they usually look good and function well, an additional reason to add them. You don't want them- then don't buy any....

So now we go from no lights to lights that exist.

You win. Feel Better?

 

[Cjm005]

Received in the mall yesterday, I will go about installing and encapsulating the nylon line inside of a high-temp rubber fuel line. To each his own, but I prefer to see actual oil pressure levels indicated on a gauge. Considering the idiot lights or indicators are 18 years old, I have no faith in their ability to predict a failure - as simple as they might be. Water temp I can handle.. there are usually indicators an engine is overheating and the results would normally not be as catastrophic as oil failure. Alternator failure... well, that's an inconvenience at worst.

 

[skyhook]

Because his Ford was built by Shibaura in Japan to metric standards which often include BSPT and BSPP fittings. It is what it is.

I suppose that's something he would have to verify, putting NPT on BSPT would cause a leak of some kind giving an erroneous reading. Personally, I don't see these type (BSPT) fittings in his situation, I mean...Kubota are made in Japan and I haven't seen a Kubota with these type of fittings. Saying he has BSPT fittings that are "often included" in your second post doesn't do justice to your input. Your first input stated he "had " BSPT" fittings,...It is what it is.

 

[DK35vince]

I added an oil pressure gauge and volt meter.
When the dash gets dusty or the sun is glaring on my dash I can't see the warning lights, so I wanted gauges.

 

[RickB]

I suppose that's something he would have to verify, putting NPT on BSPT would cause a leak of some kind giving an erroneous reading. Personally, I don't see these type (BSPT) fittings in his situation, I mean...Kubota are made in Japan and I haven't seen a Kubota with these type of fittings. Saying he has BSPT fittings that are "often included" in your second post doesn't do justice to your input. Your first input stated he "had " BSPT" fittings,...It is what it is.

The oil pressure sender port of a Ford 1715 is 1/8" BSPT. Whether or not you (or anyone else that happens to read this) take that at face value is no concern of mine. I have 20 years in as a New Holland service tech and parts dept manager.
There's a lot of venom in this thread and I'm done here.

 

[stevem5215]

I put one on my Ford 1900 as reason to find out if my idiot light was flashing on and off for no reason or a real reason like the pressure was low. Turns out the idiot light was wrong. The gauge showed good oil pressure hot and when cold. A non issue in my case.

I do like the poster with the gauge console. I'm going to look for one of those too. Someone already added the temp gauge to mine so voltage reading would be good too for when you first turn on the tractor and are blasting the glow plugs to warm it up. Will be a good test for the battery actually.

Steve

 

[pap71]

I added an oil pressure gauge and volt meter.
When the dash gets dusty or the sun is glaring on my dash I can't see the warning lights, so I wanted gauges.View attachment 455962

I like your guage set up. Where did you get your mounting housing?

 

[DK35vince]

I like your guage set up. Where did you get your mounting housing?

Ebay
This is for 2" gauges.
52mm 2 inch Black Universal Dual Plastic Heavy Duty Gauge Dash Mount Pod Holder | eBay