Photos: Kevin Wilson
Keeping an eye on engine vitals is as simple as installing a quality set of gauges. For anyone who tows with their diesel, both boost and pyrometer gauges are a must.
Project Box Puller
Keeping Track of Vitals
For our regular readers, Project Box Hauler needs no introduction. For those who have just joined us, here’s the Cliff Notes version of the series. We got our hands on an ’01 Ford F-350 dually that spent its previous life as a Castrol Racing show car hauler for John Force Racing. The truck, fitted with a well-worn 7.3L Power Stroke, was showing 200,000-plus miles on the odometer and was in serious need of attention. The buyer got the fifth-wheel trailer with the deal, hence the name Project Box Hauler.
Since the truck is based in Arizona, we took it to the Ford diesel experts at Strictly Diesel in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the once-over and a plan of attack to get the truck back to more than working order. The premise of the project was to show how to buy a used diesel, what to expect when you get into it, especially if it has a lot of miles on it, and how to upgrade your newfound friend to be the truck you’ve always wanted.
So far, we’ve added the usual to the Ford: intake system, intake manifold, turbo-back exhaust system, etc. With two dead cylinders from bad fuel injectors, we replaced the injectors with 50-to-70 horse units from Dynomite Diesel, and added one of ITP Diesel’s trick regulated return kits. The truck now runs smoothly and quietly. But with all the added fuel, keeping track of engine vitals is now a must, especially since the owner still tows the box with it.
One of the most vital things to keep track of on a diesel, especially if you have a tow rig, is exhaust gas temperature. Under full load and with larger-than-stock injectors, it’s easy to get the EGTs into the nuclear zone above 1,400 degrees. Without any kind of visual reference, having a meltdown is easy. The fix is to install a quality set of gauges to keep track of engine vitals. In fact, even on a stock truck, having some quality gauges to rely on is the solid basis for adding aftermarket goodies.
For this project, since the truck is a six-speed manual, and transmission temps are not an issue, the owner selected a two-gauge pod from the folks at Auto Meter, which has been a household name in the performance aftermarket for decades. Its products are standard fare in NASCAR and NHRA, along with several other pro racing series. Its reputation for accuracy and durability is second to none, so if they are good enough for NASCAR, they are certainly good enough for Project Box Puller.
The folks at Auto Meter sent the owner both a pyrometer and a boost gauge for the big Ford from the Ultra-Lite II Series, along with a two-gauge, A-pillar mounting pod. For diesel owners who tow and have an automatic transmission, a trans temp gauge is highly recommended. Auto Meter has them, along with a three-gauge A-pillar pod setup to make the installation compete.
The first step of the install is to remove the factory A-pillar from the truck. It will be reused later after the Auto Meter pillar is installed over it.
When dealing with anything electrical, installation is more than just a bolt-on deal. In fact, mounting the gauges is the easy part, with the exception of drilling and tapping for the pyrometer probe. The rest is wiring and neatly tucking away that wiring. We let the guys at Strictly Diesel hook up the Auto Meter gauge set, and in less than 4 hours, the truck was up and running and monitoring vitals.
The following photos highlight the install. Nate at Strictly Diesel took a few shortcuts since he’s done hundreds of these installs. One of his install tricks was to use quick-connect boost couplers from ITP Diesel on the boost gauge, with much more flexible tubing than comes with the kit.
If you own a diesel truck, and are intent on towing with it, you must have a good set of gauges to keep an eye on EGTs and boost levels. Auto Meter offers a full line of gauges to do the job, along with the A-pillar mounting pods.
SOURCES:
Auto Meter
(815) 899-0800
www.autometer.com
ITP Diesel
(623) 582-4404
www.itpdiesel.com
sales@itpdiesel.com
Strictly Diesel
(480) 922-8768
www.strictlydiesel.com
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- Keeping an eye on engine vitals is as simple as installing a quality set of gauges. For anyone who tows with their diesel, both boost and pyrometer gauges are a must.
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- The first step of the install is to remove the factory A-pillar from the truck. It will be reused later after the Auto Meter pillar is installed over it.
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- 3) The Auto Meter A-pillar pod comes ready to match paint. The first order of business is to lightly scuff it with a Scotchbrite and clean it thoroughly with paint prep solution so the primer can stick to it.
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- 4) Nate applies a solid coat of primer to the A-pillar pod, letting it dry thoroughly.
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- 5) Once the primer has dried, the pod can be painted to match the interior color of the truck. It will take several coats before the coverage is complete. Let each coat dry before applying the next.
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- 6) To get an accurate EGT reading, Nate utilizes the driver-side exhaust manifold on the 7.3L Power Stroke. This location also provides added room for the pyrometer.
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- 7) Once the hole is drilled for the pyrometer fitting, Nate uses a small magnet to remove any metal shavings left behind.
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- 8) The next step is to tap the hole, as per the instructions, for the pyrometer fitting.
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- 9) The Auto Meter pyrometer fitting has a cool Allen-head set screw, which holds the probe in place. Apply a little anti-seize on the threads before installing the fitting in the exhaust manifold.
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- 10) The fitting is installed in the manifold. Luckily, the Allen-head screw ended up facing us to make it easier to adjust the probe.
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- 11) On most Super Duties with an automatic transmission, Nate runs the pyro wiring into the cab via the clutch slave cylinder hole in the dash. Since this truck is a manual, and that hole is occupied, he had to drill a new hold for the pyro wiring toward the front of the foot well, behind the dash.
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- 12) The hole allowed us to feed the wiring and pyrometer probe cable into the cab with little effort.
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- 13) A rubber grommet keeps the wiring in place and keeps water and debris out of the cab.
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- To install the pyrometer probe, the probe is slid all the way into the exhaust manifold until it bottoms out, and then is pulled halfway back to center the tip in the pipe. The set screw can then be snugged. Do not overtighten, as it can damage the probe.
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- Instead of using the supplied boost tubing and connector, Nate opted to use a quick-connect setup from ITP Diesel.
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- The black tubing is the ITP Diesel flex line, while the clear tubing comes with the kit. Nate finds it easier and quicker to install the boost gauge with the ITP connections and tubing.
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- Since Project Box Hauler is equipped with a CFM Plus intake manifold, which has a heater delete plug that is already drilled and tapped for a boost line. All that was needed to access a boost signal was to remove the center of the heater delete plug.
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- Since Project Box Hauler is equipped with a CFM Plus intake manifold, which has a heater delete plug that is already drilled and tapped for a boost line. All that was needed to access a boost signal was to remove the center of the heater delete plug.
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- 18) Wiring is up next. Strictly Diesel recommends the use of shrink-wrap on all connections.
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- 19) Here’s what the connections will look like for the boost gauge. The pyrometer next to it has its own harness, which makes installation a plug and play deal.
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- One of the more difficult tasks of the install is to snake the wiring harness up to the A-pillar.
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- Nate uses a bit of stiff wire to fish the harness from under the dash to the top.
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- 21) As we mentioned earlier, the Auto Meter gauge pillar pod simply mounts over the factory unit.
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- 22) The 2 1/16-inch gauges are a simple slip-fit inside the pod. The boost gauge is installed in the pod first.
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- The stock A-pillar needs to be modified to accept the gauge wiring. A unibit makes quick work of the job.
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- 24) The Auto Meter pod can now be attached to the stock A-pillar by drilling attachment holes, as per the instructions.
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- 25) The pod attaches to the stock unit with these snap fasteners that come with the kit. Keep in mind they too need to be painted body color to match. The easiest way to paint them is to push them into some cardboard and spray them when you paint the gauge pod.
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- With the boost gauge and wiring in place, and the wiring for the pyrometer up inside the A-pillar, attach the A-pillar back in place.
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- Wiring the pyrometer is as simple as plugging in the wiring harness.
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- With the wiring plugged in, you can slide the gauge inside the pillar pod.
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- Now comes the fun part — wiring up the gauges. Have a few of these snap connections makes the job easier.
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- Nate utilizes a bolt on the dash as the ground connection.
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- He also tapped into the headlight switch to provide illumination for the gauges at night, which will also dim like the factory gauges with the turn of the dimming knob.
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- The boost line is fun from the gauge to the engine compartment.
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- One of ITP’s quick connect fittings is installed in the CFM manifold and the line simply slips inside.
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- 34) The final step is to “clock” the gauges and make sure they are all the way in the pod. Fire up the truck, and it’s test-drive time.
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- The finished install looks great and gives the driver all the information he needs at a glance.
Tags: 7.3l, auto meter, Ford Power Stroke, gauges, project box hauler, super duty
