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.