I'm thinking before the real summer heat hits, I would like to throw an aux temp gauge in the truck. Will also help me determine if I will be towing with this rig a bit or not. Been searching around, and see a few different things, but just wondering on the following:

• Best kit to purchase?
• Best location for the temp sensor for accuracy
• Any interior locations that work nice (least important to me as I could figure that out or even hide it).
• Same 1st two questions as above for both oil pressure and oil temp

Thanks... my head was spinning searching around on this and looking to hear from those who have it how it went. FWIW, before I got the truck it had a new radiator, water pump and t-stat...and I flushed it when I got it, plus put 3 new hoses on different areas. Just being cautious with the old girl is all.

 

You've probably seen me raving about these glow shift gauges before. I have GlowShift Performance Gauges & Gauge Pods - 60mm Elite 10 Color Gauge Series for both oil pressure and coolant temp. I have them mounted in front of the transfer case shift **** in the void area on the dash. Now to shift into CDL you must remove the plastic **** because it won't clear the bottom of the gauge but I don't use the CDL on either of my rigs very often so its not an issue. My favorite feature of these gauges is that they have an audible alarm you can set at any temp.

You can take the easy route and purchase an adapter that you must cut into a hose to install inline. Or you can Tee into the upper manifold port that has the factory Temp sensor.

 

$24 Cheap *** elm327 bluetooth obd2 dongle and the Torque app for your android phone ($4.99). You get a full set of gauges, fault code reader, and you can set a temp alarm on your gauge so you get an audio alert when you are hot. It's pretty awesome.


Oh, and just FYI, you can configure the many screens any way you want. I have one whole screen dedicated to a digital coolant temp gauge. You have just about every thing the computer manages available. You could set up 8 mini gauges all watching fuel trim on each cylinder. Get realtime feedback on how your engine is running.

 

scanguageII it might be a few bucks more but it gives you a whole lot more. i.e. code read and clear.. MAF. Ignition, MPG, GPH,etc.. etc... plus there is no extra anything to add just plug her in under the dash next to your right knee(OBDB Plug)and run the cable to the head unit. I put mine on the center dash and ran the cable around the bottom of the fuse panel up the side of the door jam then douwn in the space below windscreen line to the back of the head unit..

 

Scangauge II used to be the ticket, but an UltraGauge is now a much less expensive alternative that works great (www.ultragauge.com).

 

What do you view it on while driving?

 

Wow... super cheap. BTW>.. it is http://www.ultra-gauge.com
This looks like it might be the best alternative here. Does it really accurately show all the information I would want by just plugging in? Exact temps for oil, water, etc? Looks like a no-brainer

 

I view it on the main screen of the scanguage.

 

Ultraguage or scanguage...

 

The only bad thing about relying on the scan gauge or the ultra gauge is they are dependant on the factory sensors working correctly.

If your factory oil pressure or coolant temp sensor fails you are in the dark and don't really know what the status is and should shut down.

With using a seperate system you have the redundancy of separate transducers.

Lets say your oil pressure light comes on (This would never happen) and you look at your aftermarket guage and see that all is well, you now know your oil pressure switch is bad and you could continue driving. Otherwise your dead on the side of the road wondering if you really have pressure.