yellowltcoupe22

ok this a lil bit of a twist from all the other how-to's out there for the oil pressure gauge.

NOTE THIS MAY NOT WORK WITH THE FACTORY EXHAUST MANIFOLD IN PLACE.

first off here is a parts list

oil pressure gauge of your choice, i went with the autometer cobalt series full sweep electric
autometer metric adapter 2278
1/8 npt pipe nipple 2" longs
1/8 npt pipe coupling
1/8 npt male to -4an male 90
autometer braided stainless 3' hose -4an
-4an male to 1/8 npt female coupling (comes with the braided stainless hose)

tools needed
6mm allen wrench or the 6mm allen socket
3/8'' drive ratchet
3/4" socket
couple of small cresent wrenches
small pipe wrench
teflon tape

now the few pics i do have arent that great cuz i used my phone but lets get started.

on the back side of the engine (side closest to the firewall) just below the header there will be 3 oil galleys goin from one end of the block to the other. i used the one closest to the front of the block ( closest to the passenger fender). you'll want to start by takin out the the plug thats in that galley with the 6mm allen or allen socket. its in there pretty tight so you'll have to use some force, i used a cheater pipe on the ratchet.

now you can start puttin the autometer metric adapter in the place where the plug was. this is where you will need the 3/4 socket. the adapter has a crush ring that comes with it so the adapter doesnt have to be tightened down extremely tight, you just get it tight enough that the crush ring flattens out. once you have the adapter in you can put the 2" pipe nipple, make sure to put teflon tape on the threads of the nipple to prevent leakage. you'll have to use the pipe wrench to tighten the nipple down. next you'll need to put the pipe coupling on the end of the nipple and use the pipe wrench to tighten it down.

put teflon tape on the 90 then put it in the coupling and use a small cresent wrench to tighten the 90 up. you'll want the 90 to be pointin to the driver side of the car. now you can put the hose on. tight it with a cresent wrench or an end wrench that fits. run the hose around the block and over the transmission but under all the wires that are there. use a zip tie anywhere you are worried bout the hose movin around or rubbin on stuff. use a zip tie to hold the end of the hose to the hard ac line thats just in front of the transmission.

now you will need the 1/8 npt to -4an couplin that came with the hose. use two wrenchs or cresent wrenches to tight these up. now you're ready to install the sendin unit. use teflon tape on the threads to prevent leakage on the sendin unit. from here its time to run the wiring harness for the sendin unit to the guage. this part im not goin into detail on because its the same as wiring up any other gauge and there is many how-to's on doin that.

here is a few pics to give you an idea of what all this will look like when finished.








any questions feel free to ask. i thought this would be good for the guys runnin the 2.4 intake mani or just not wantin to remove the factory oil pressure sendin unit but still wanted the block oil pressure instead of the low pressure from the head.

mike25

looks pretty good. you used the ports on the back of the motor, im assuming with the autometer adapter. i thought there was a reason at one time for not using them. i believe it was because the middle port that you used was going to be for a turbo line or something,and i didnt want to damage the sensor with intense heat.

yellowltcoupe22

i actually used the port to the far left, like when you're standin in front of the car lookin at the engine. and that was the purpose of usin the braided line to get the sensor away from the header so it wouldn't be close to the heat.

mike25

yea at first i thought you had a mechanical gauge. then i considered that maybe thatw as what you did

yellowltcoupe22

lol yea its an electic gauge. you could use this same thin for a mech gauge thou.

mike25

that is smart though. i honestly never thought of doing that. saves from having to disassemble the manifold to get to the front port

yellowltcoupe22

yea i've been thinkin of how i could do it without takin out the stock oil pressure sender and still get block pressure and not the lower pressure from the head. it took me a lil while to figure out just what i needed to do this but i think the out come was pretty good.

TurboTechRacing

iTrader: (24)

Very nice write up, nice that you used an electric gauge setup Some use a mechanical one, running a oil line to the gauge.

Maven

iTrader: (1)

Cool stuff.

Couple coments/criticisms:

Why the 2" section of pipe, just something extra to break off and more joints to loosen or leak. Just put hose into adapater.

Why the hose? just extra money and again something to get damaged, loosen, leak.

You used the nice high dollar full sweep with the samll sending unit, you shoulda just put that right into the galley adapter. If you were worried about heat, surely a $10 heat sheild would have cost less and taken less time/effort to install than the adapter/pipe/adapter/hose setup and you would have had far fewer joints to worry about.

Ziptieing a braided stainless hose to an aluminum tube is a nono, take that off your AC hose or cut a secton of rubber hose to protect the AC tubing from the oil hose.

WTF is with those shitty blue scothlocks man? Come on.......look at the quality parts you use for your gauge setup and then you do that to whatever you wired up?

Yours is one of the only yellow Balts I like.

Whats wrong with a mechanical one? They are cheaper, they never "glitch" or short out, the sensors dont go bad.............. I like mechanical gauges, real man use mechanical gauges

TurboTechRacing

iTrader: (24)

Leaky fitting could cause a mess

Red07SSNA

Yep, I had one spring a small leak in the passenger compartment -- not pretty on the carpet... I won't put one in my Cobalt for that reason...

originaladrian

i ran a mech oil pres gauge in my cobalt with old school vinyl lines for like 2 years lol


IMO if u do it correctly, there is no risk. BUT it is easy for u to accidentally cross thread, rip, or pinch something lol.

Red07SSNA

It was the tube that had a small split in it...developed over years and the leak was a very slow drip even at 60 psi...but the few drops that made it to the carpet before I caught it left a "lasting impression"...

TurboTechRacing

iTrader: (24)

I had the same expeince, not nice to have.

jpunishment

i just used the copper kit autometer offers

originaladrian

like u ran copper line the whole way? thts not a bad idea i guess.

Maven

iTrader: (1)

I ran braided hose the whole way........( Ive had vinyl hose get melted by exhaust heat.)

Take that hose/sender off of the AC line, and pick up a rubber coated hose hold down clamp, and secure the sender to the side of the head or to one of the studs near the trans

yellowltcoupe22

ok first off thanks for the comments on my car maven.
now the reason for the pipe is to get a lil extra height for use of the 90. you're right bout havin to worry bout leaks from extra joints thou. i used the hose to make sure there wasn't a chance of the heat from the header meltin the wires goin to the sendin unit. as for mountin the sender closer to the head, the hose is a lil bit to long to keep it that close. i should have went with a 2' hose instead. i was just makin sure i had enough to get it away from the header. now that you mention it i will be movin the hose from the ac line since i wasnt thinkin but it rubbin a hole in it.

the lil blue connector is for the narrow band i've got. im actually bout to take it out and get a wide band so it has real use. i'll change my how to once i remount the hose so that i dont end up makin someone else put the hose on the ac line and rubbin a hole in it.

maven i take everythin you have to say into consideration since you always seem to have a great knowledge on everythin mechanical bout our cars.

thanks for any comments on this write up weither they be constructive or criticism. any comments are welcome.

Maven

iTrader: (1)

Cool, glad to hear(see?) that you took my comments as concern and not that I was raggin on you. Keep up the good work

yellowltcoupe22

yea i never take your comments as raggin cuz they always seem to make really good sense.

SV513

i gotta bump this topic as im sittin here lookin at an oil pressure gauge.

i dont want to use the plastic line that came with my guage. so ill have to first locate some kinda better line and fittings.

just want to confirm that my 2.4 does have them holes that i can use on the back of the motor.
and also . where do i run my hose thur the firewall to get it to the gauge ?

anything else i need to know?

Red07SSNA

You can buy a brass tube at most parts houses. The 2.4 block has the exact same oil galley plugs -- possible clearance problem with stock manifold (note his has a header).

The place to bring wiring or tube in is just above the steering shaft...there is a large grommet on the fire wall that allows for a small slit to run a wire or tube through it. Just make sure to secure with tie straps to keep it away from your feet, and protect from chaffing by covering it with tape or plastic wire loom.

SV513

thanks,. when i ran wires out the firewall befor i went thur the shift boot and tyed them out the way. didnt want to do that agian.

is there any chance i can get a pic of what this area looks like . (gally plugs and the firewall)

is it better to do from above motor or below? as far as climing under the car or under the hood?

thanks again!

Red07SSNA

There are several oil pressure gauge install threads...take a look in some of them as most of them have pictures to help you.

07blackss13777

were did you get the little adapter piece to put your sending unit into your head and do you know what it is called and sorry to get off topicbut doe any one know what wre to tap into for a narrow band air fuel i know its a waste but its a filler please respond thank you