boost gauge install

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ras42tbss

New member


well just got an auto meter boost gauge and did the install this morning. somewhat of a pain in the arse, and i still don't have the light hooked up. i ran out of time, so that'll be another days project.

i'm enjoying it so far; having one more thing to look at besides the road while driving... ;)



got the lighting hooked up today, it was pretty simple. just ran the ground down to a nearby nut on the metal framework under the dash and ran the power to the 10A headlamp fuse under the dash.

i took this pic to show pretty much the same view i see while driving; guage is in plain sight for me ;)
 
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Maddmatts

Maddmatts

Member
20 in.hg is normal. It means that all the piston rings and gaskets are sealing well and that the pcm tuning is good.
 
BoostedSnail

BoostedSnail

New member
ras42tbss said:


well just got an auto meter boost gauge and did the install this morning. somewhat of a pain in the arse, and i still don't have the light hooked up. i ran out of time, so that'll be another days project.

this is my first turbo car, so some of you may be able to answer this: when the car is running at idle it's showing a vacuum reading of around 20. while driving boost slowly increases and i've seen a max so far of around 15, so i'm figuring it's operating correctly. just wasn't sure if there should be such high vacuum reading while idle/cruising.

anyways, i'm enjoying it so far; having one more thing to look at besides the road while driving... ;)
Click to expand...

how did you cut the hole and how did you secure it?
 
Eric Smit

Eric Smit

Enforcer
Looks good. All values seem within normal range. I question the visibility from the driver's seat though. Is the steering wheel in the way?


-Eric Smit
 
BoostedSnail

BoostedSnail

New member
Eric.Smit said:
Looks good. All values seem within normal range. I question the visibility from the driver's seat though. Is the steering wheel in the way?


-Eric Smit
Click to expand...

ill have mine in soon. im going to take advantage of the upper cubby mount on tope of dash 8):banana:
 
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ras42tbss

New member
BoostedSnail said:
how did you cut the hole and how did you secure it?
Click to expand...

I cut the hole with a 2" hole saw, then slowly made it bigger with sand paper to fit the gauge. there's 2 layers to the dash at that spot. the top is the lighter gray and beneath it there's a thicker black layer. I cut the black portion of the dash to a larger diameter so I could clamp the gauge down to the lighter portion of the dash, it had stregthening ribs that needed cut down; hence the major pain it was to install... it probly wouldn't be so bad with the dash pulled, but I wouldn't recommend it without... I didn't pull it and wouldn't want to go through that again.

I had all intentions of documenting the install but totally forgot until halfway through and felt it wasn't worth it then...
 
rdss

rdss

Junior Member
ras42tbss said:
I cut the hole with a 2" hole saw, then slowly made it bigger with sand paper to fit the gauge. there's 2 layers to the dash at that spot. the top is the lighter gray and beneath it there's a thicker black layer. I cut the black portion of the dash to a larger diameter so I could clamp the gauge down to the lighter portion of the dash, it had stregthening ribs that needed cut down; hence the major pain it was to install... it probly wouldn't be so bad with the dash pulled, but I wouldn't recommend it without... I didn't pull it and wouldn't want to go through that again.

I had all intentions of documenting the install but totally forgot until halfway through and felt it wasn't worth it then...
Click to expand...

Some pic's would have been better than none. Looks good, like Eric was questioning, how's the view from the drivers seat.
 
R

ras42tbss

New member
Eric.Smit said:
Looks good. All values seem within normal range. I question the visibility from the driver's seat though. Is the steering wheel in the way?


-Eric Smit
Click to expand...

it actually works perfect for me. I'm short and have the steering wheel at its lowest point and all the way in so I dunno if that helps.
as I see it, the gauge sits right below the upper arch of the wheel.
 
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CoHPhasor

CoHPhasor

Active member
Wow, lotta work.
I'd make a replacement upper steering column cover.
There's a mold-able plastic you can buy at hobby shops.

It would be more visible and not hurt resale.
 
R

ras42tbss

New member
CoHPhasor said:
Wow, lotta work.
I'd make a replacement upper steering column cover.
There's a mold-able plastic you can buy at hobby shops.

It would be more visible and not hurt resale.
Click to expand...

It was a decent amount of work but i like that because then it's more unique... if it was easy everyone on this site would have it done. but i still think molding a plastic mount and sticking it to the steering column would be more work and look worse.. this looks factory, is visible, and i don't worry about resale value :D
 
R

ras42tbss

New member
dvn said:
Where are people tapping in to the vacuum?
Click to expand...

there's a vacuum line coming off the turbo and running up over the left side of the motor. it's about 1/8" plastic and runs under some black wire loom. tapping in takes a little imagination since the line is plastic and doesn't fit over the T fitting auto meter gives you. i just cut the plastic line and slipped some rubber hose over it and matched it up to the T fitting for now and threw on some clamps. it doesn't leak, but I'm going to probably replace the whole plastic line at some point with some reinforced rubber line of some sort so it doesn't look like a hack job.
 
S

severous01

New member
rubber vacuum hose with a stainless mesh around it would look awesome. like a braided stainless brake line but it would be a braided stainless vacuum line....awesome.
 
U

ukwildcats

New member
#s of boost

Thanks for the reply.I plan to do some mods. just not real soon.I thought i would put 5 or 10k on it 1st.This forum seems like the place to find out whats working good for people and what is not.I am sure you will see more ?s from me as the mods.happen with everyone.
 
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