Aftermarket Gauges

Have done a search of the site and found reference to a few fitting aftermarket guages.
Curious to see what type of guages have been fitted, what brand, how they were mounted and why they were deemed necessary?

A guage that monitors clutch wear would be handy, at the moment the only indication is the burning smell.

i istalled one of these.......best guage i reckon i could put on an engine...very happy wiht it,cheers.Low Water Alarm Sensor

nav04 said:

i istalled one of these.......best guage i reckon i could put on an engine...very happy wiht it,cheers.Low Water Alarm Sensor

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food for thought - cheers
Which did you get? in line or under hose? Easy to fit? have you tested to see if it actually works with a low level of coolant?

Aido

i bought the $300 one.........it goes inside your top radiator hose,sensor is inside there, and the LED light,alarm and digital guage (all inside one neat little box) goes on your dash somewhere.to test it you simply slip off the spade connector on the sensor on your radiator hose and about 5 seconds later it starts screaming at you thinking that the water is low(to stop it just replace the connector again ). very simple instalation,took me about 1 hour, and all instructions come with it.

low water alarm

i did try to post some pics but i couldnt get them to appear here,bugga

Aido said:

Have done a search of the site and found reference to a few fitting aftermarket guages.
Curious to see what type of guages have been fitted, what brand, how they were mounted and why they were deemed necessary?

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EGT + Boost.
Apexi EL2 (electronic)
Mounted on A pillar
Monitor diesel engine





Digital Volts gauge for Aux Battery so I know when its getting low.

Where did you get your dual "A" pillar mount from, expensive?
How hard to get wiring down behind it..........to under dash.

a couple of cheap EGT and boost guages.

Why do you need a boost and EGT guages?

From what I can gather EGT (Exhuast Gas Temp) is a good investment for any serious 4WD'er or for a vehcile with mods to give you a clear idea on what temps you are running.......boost a simular type of thing ?? Correct me if im wrong.

If your EGT is high when you stop, you should idle for a while until the EGT drops under 200C (or 180C even better). When the temp drops to these levels, the oil in the bearings of the turbo won't boil away and varnish the bearings quickly.

Old.Tony said:

If your EGT is high when you stop, you should idle for a while until the EGT drops under 200C (or 180C even better). When the temp drops to these levels, the oil in the bearings of the turbo won't boil away and varnish the bearings quickly.

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Is that applicable on these modern water cooled turbo's?

I'd say so, once the engine stops, all cooling and lubrication stop.

The more modern turbos spool down faster, so that's a bonus, but the physics hasn't changed - if it's too hot, it cooks itself regardless.

I had a discussion about this with the service manager (who races in the Variety Bash every year). I was asking about a turbo timer, and he said in general I didn't have to worry, because as you near your destination, you tend to slow down (entering suburbia) and therefore aren't using a lot of boost.

He did warn me, however, that if I was hauling my van up a hill and decided to stop at the top, I should let the engine idle for a minute just so the turbo spools down at least, and the new technology will drop the temp in there enough to prevent the oil cooking in the bearings.

I'm no expert but it sounds fair and reasonable.

08KINGCAB said:

Is that applicable on these modern water cooled turbo's?

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Water cooled turbos aren't that modern, but not really because the water continues to cycle (slower) once the pump has stopped as the hot water from the turbo moves to the top of the cooling system (top of radiator), is cooled and enters the cycle again.

Matt - VNET Pro said:

Where did you get your dual "A" pillar mount from, expensive?

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Ebay UK - 12 Pounds (was also free post)
pod 60mm, Vehicle Parts Accessories, Photography, Dials Gauges items at low prices on eBay.co.uk



With some slight mods...

Matt - VNET Pro said:

How hard to get wiring down behind it..........to under dash.

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Piece of Piss. Just remove the door trim and slide it through. Goes through a hole above the brake pedal.

08KINGCAB said:

Is that applicable on these modern water cooled turbo's?

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egt guage is primarly there to give you an idea on how hot the pistons are getting. to hot they crack or blow holes in them.

but also gives you rough idea of what turbo temp is. tho you can use a basic $10 temp guage for that.

water cooled turbo's still need to cool down if running really hot.
the water is simply there to soak up some of the heat when the engine stops to stop the oil left in the turbo from frying. the water flows slowly through due to convection cycle(?) which helps a lot. however that only works well if vehicle is parked on the flat and level.

what i think makes matters worse with these vehicles is the big heavy and HOT cat bolted to the turbo. it holds a lot of heat which continues to heat the turbo.

Are there any temp sensors on the factory dump pipe/cat, that are used by the ecu, but not shown on the dash?

There was no sensors on anything south of the turbo when I took my stock system off.

Hi Guys
I have Speco boost gauge and thermoguard digital egt guagefitted to my nav

Shane