HELP! Oil Pressure Gauge Install

B

batmang

Dunna dunna dunna....
:
2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
I know this has been asked/posted many times, but I still cannot find a CLEAR answer to this question.

How do I go about installing an Electical Oil Pressure Gauge?

I have the Autometer Ultra Lite O/P Gauge. The only thing I know so far, is that I need a 1/8th T to connect the gauge and stock sensor to, but thats all I really understand from searching. Some people said a female bspt T was needed, some said male, some said male and female ones are needed. I basically dont know what to buy cause theres been too many mixed replies. I have a protege5 and im N/A. I dont know if that matters, but I thought I'd add that in. I need to know where this T can be bought, if it can be bought locally at say; Home Depot or Lowe's. What size's are needed, materials, tools, etc.

I know a lot of people must have installed them, but I really think a How To should be done on this specific install. It is a little unusual compared to a lot of other mods, so special attention should be given to it in the How To area.

Can someone please help me on this one, I really could use the help. I dont want to go about doing the install and realize I made a big no no. Thanks in advance.
 
Murda said:
You need to buy a t fitting. The stock "hole" to plug the unit in is 1/8" BSPT. The only T fitting I could find was 1/8" NPT. It is critical to realize that BSPT will thread INTO NPT but not vice versa as the NPT holes are larger than BSPT holes.

That being said, you need to find a T fitting that has 3 female ends 1/8" NPT. (Mcmaster has it on the web - mcmaster-carr.com I think).

You need a "nipple" to connect the T fitting to the engine block hole. A nipple is two male ends. The nipple needs to be an adapter from 1/8" NPT (goes into T fitting) and 1/8" BSPT (goes into engine block). (Mcmaster also has this online).

Your stock sending unit is size 1/8" BSPT male and will thread into one of the 1/8" NPT female ends on your T fitting.

Your aftermarket sending unit is size 1/8" BSPT with a 1/8" NPT adapter (most likely). That will thread into the other 1/8" NPT female ends on your T fitting as well.

At this point, if this is still unclear, I'd be happy to answer your questions, But, please do read the threads that have covered this. Rewriting what has already been discussed isn't really helping.
Click to expand...
So..... is this what you mean? ( please excuse my really ghetto drawing, i just wanna make sure i get a good idea of what murda means. im sure it looks nothing like this, but this is a good way for people to see how its supposed to connect. )

ghetto-t-drawing.jpg
 
Dude, the stock sensor is just a DUMMY LIGHT save yourself ALOT of trouble and just install the Autometer sender into the block hole like I did, and pull the LED in your cluster. If you got the gauge, you should be monitoring it for a pressure drop. The stock sender does nothing but turn on a dummy light to tell you "hey dumbfuck, the pressure is so low, your engine is already ******!" But at least with a gauge you can see HOW low it is.
 
agreed. keep the light. .. autometer also sells the bspt adaptor, available at SummitRacing (part ATM-2269). www.summitracing.com. You can get a Tee at any specialty plumbing supply place - I could never find this stuff at Home Depot here. Be warned though, it is TIGHT in there by the oil filter, and you may want to consider running a steel flexible line (for example NOS-15060-1 at SummitRacing) to somewhere else to put your tee and 2 pressure senders, it will save you a lot of headache to do this and will really decrease your installation time.

To do the install, if you dont' have a hoist, I'd also suggest taking off the intake manifold support (4x14mm bolts I believe - they might be 15mm) and possibly the cross member (6x17mm? bolts) tying the subframe together. It will give you a lot more space to work under there.

Edit: doesn't unplugging the stock sender trigger a CEL? I haven't done it, I just thought it did.
 
Last edited:
tiwing said:
Edit: doesn't unplugging the stock sender trigger a CEL? I haven't done it, I just thought it did.
Click to expand...
No. It turns on the oil pressure red dummy light in the cluster.
 
yeah, it doesnt throw a cel, maxx is right, its just a dummy light. id just rather keep the light.
 
don't keep the light, what a big waste, if you wish to convert it back to stock later when you sell it, you can always just ZIP tie the stock sender to the wiring harness near by (the one it came out of) then just leave the light in your dash, its not going to hurt anything. then install the big ass autometer sender in the block with some teflon tape and hook things up. like maxx says when the lights on, your engine is ALREADY fuct, i usually keep and eye on my gauge because it looks so damn cool, but if you are accelerating and you notice your pressure is not increasing, there is a problem
 
Yeah, i think the light is kinda pointless, especially with a gauge like the greddy electronic warning series...
 
its that pointless eh? hrmm... i just wanna get it installed and get it done as fast as i can without screwing anything up. i know its gonna be a pain putting the adapter and the T in. did you guys put some teflon tape on and just hand tighten the gauge sender? id rather do whats easiest instead of dicking around with 2 small ass parts in a tight area.
 
 
do not use Teflon tape....the senders are usually grounded through their threads....buy a thread SEALANT not thread lock
 
it says to use teflon tape on the gauge sender in the autometer directions. the tee i got has sealent on the male threads already.
 
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