Oil Pressure

[CDACamper]

The oil pressure light came on and didn’t go off when I went to move the SMB recently. I will not drive it until I diagnose the issue so I don’t cause a bigger problem. I hope it’s just a bad oil pressure sending unit, so I’ll replace that first.

Since this came up (and assuming I don’t have a much bigger problem than a bad pressure sensor), I am looking to add an oil pressure gauge in addition to the stock idiot light/pressure sensor that my 2001 6.8 v10 has. I already have a ScanGauge 2, but Ford doesn’t send oil pressure via the OBD2 port.

To add a gauge and retain the stock idiot light, I think I need a “T” fitting to thread into the stock oil pressure sensor port and then attach the oil sensor for the “proper gauge” to one side of the “T” and attach the stock oil sending unit to the other side. I searched the forum and Google and didn’t find any specific info on this.

Has anyone added an oil pressure gauge to a 6.8 (or 5.4) while keeping the stock idiot light/sensor setup (or is this a terrible idea)? I am looking for the fittings needed to make this work. I’m also interested in how you mounted your gauge. I am thinking of mounting it to the panel under and to the right of the steering wheel, as seen in other posts on the forum for gauges.

[Orv]

A T fitting should be correct, along with a nipple to fit it to the port on the engine. If no one chimes in with the correct size you can take the old sensor off and take it to a hardware store or auto parts store and look for threaded fittings that mate with it. When I did this on VWs they used a tapered pipe thread, but Ford might be different.

I liked to rotate the gauge so the needle pointed straight up when I was cruising at highway speed with the engine fully warmed up -- then I could just take a quick glance at it during my gauge scan instead of having to read it every time.

[mikracer]

Have you checked your oil level? Almost every V10 burns some oil. Mine does and it tripped my oil pressure light once because the oil level was low.

[CDACamper]

Originally Posted by mikracer

Have you checked your oil level? Almost every V10 burns some oil. Mine does and it tripped my oil pressure light once because the oil level was low.

Yes, I did a fresh oil change in the fall and I park it in my shop for the winter. I double checked the dipstick and it's full of fresh oil. I did read that low oil is a common cause in doing research for adding a pressure gauge particularly with the v10's tendency for burning oil.

I will post up the final result with adding a gauge. It appears that I need a T that has one 1/4" npt male to thread into the engine, a 1/4" npt female for the stock sending unit and a 1/8" npt female for the aux oil pressure gauge sending unit. I am going with an electric gauge so I don't have to run an oil line into the cab.

[Orv]

That sounds about right. Most tees I've seen have been all female with all ports the same size, so you'll probably end up with a 1/4" tee, 1/4" close nipple, and a 1/4 to 1/8 reducing adapter. Some gauges even come with a little baggie of adapters in different sizes.

Be careful threading the NPT fittings into the block and don't overtighten. NPT is a tapered thread (that's how it seals) and I've heard of blocks cracked by the wedge effect when someone cranked down a bit too hard.

[doublevan2]

Just for comparison - I just returned from UP of Michigan (late Oct) roughly 3,000 RT from north GA -- and my oil dip stick still read "full" -- guess I'm lucky !? 2002 V10 with 25,000 actual miles ! Running 5W-20 full synthetic.

[deserteagle56]

Originally Posted by doublevan2

Just for comparison - I just returned from UP of Michigan (late Oct) roughly 3,000 RT from north GA -- and my oil dip stick still read "full" -- guess I'm lucky !? 2002 V10 with 25,000 actual miles ! Running 5W-20 full synthetic.

My 2007 has something over 70,000 miles on it. I change the oil every 3000 miles using the Motorcraft semi-synthetic 5W30 oil. It uses no oil between changes.

[kbeefy]

You could get something like this to save on connections. I think they call them a 'street tee'.


There are various configurations available, with multiple thread sizes on one tee. You might want something a little taller (tee and close nipple as suggested). I don't know what access to a v10 oil pressure switch/sender looks like...

[CDACamper]

Originally Posted by deserteagle56

My 2007 has something over 70,000 miles on it. I change the oil every 3000 miles using the Motorcraft semi-synthetic 5W30 oil. It uses no oil between changes.

The new oil sensor fixed my issue. I am going to table adding the gauge for now, but still plan to add one in the spring. I want to plan out an elegant solution for mounting the gauge before jumping into adding the gauge.

As for burning oil, I have 106k on the V10. I run the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w20. I have regeared to 4.56 (from 3.73) with 305 70r16 tires. The engine runs at around 2200 RPM at my cruising speed of 65 MPH. I will burn about half a quart between 3000 mi oil change interval driving mostly highway. I suspect I wouldn't burn much if any if I was running a semi-synthetic or 5w30 oil (or both).

[CDACamper]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

You could get something like this to save on connections. I think they call them a 'street tee'.


There are various configurations available, with multiple thread sizes on one tee. You might want something a little taller (tee and close nipple as suggested). I don't know what access to a v10 oil pressure switch/sender looks like...

Thanks, Kbeefy. Access is pretty good. I have a Quigley and you can get clear access from under the van behind the cross member.