'00 F350 SuperDuty

Western Diesel Gauges

One of the most important performance modifications you can make doesn't do the slightest thing for performace. But without them you can end up in big trouble. One of the most important things to watch on a turbo diesel is the exhaust temps (EGTs). The more fuel the hotter you get, but too hot and you can get in trouble. So before you begin playing with chips, get some gauges. I went with the Western Diesel gauge set because (like all their products) they are quality deals with the support and service behind them. I prefer the look of them over any of the other ones available, the faces match the factory dash very well as does the lighting. A lot of gauges you find are simply black faced gauges with white lights, they really look out of place. I went with pyrometer (EGT) and boost gauges. Automatic trucks tend to like a tranny temp gauge as well, but not real useful with a manual. For the mounting pod I used an AutoMeter A-pillar "add-on" mount. It was for 2" gauges (WD gauges are 2-1/16") but it was all I could find on short notice. It had to be painted which was no big deal, works fine but I think it will get replaced with a full pillar replacement instead of the little screw-on pod.

Decided to do the "worst" part first, install the pyro sender. Decided to go pre-turbo for the simple reason that it is the most accurate way to monitor readings. Some people pull off the pipe from the manifold to the turbo and weld it in there, I decided just to screw it right into the manifold. This turned out to be real easy, I was amazed. You can see in the above pictures where I put it, in the driver's side manifold bout 1-1/2" before the flange. It's a straight clear shot up from below with the drill. Get some sharp drill bits, start with about a 1/8" and work up from there as the instructions say. I coated the bits in bearing grease to help catch any shavings that might get up into the pipe, just work slowly to keep em small. Do the same thing with the tap and keep cleaning it off each time you back it out. Screw in the adapter, screw in the sensor and run the wires up under the dash.

Next one was for the boost gauge, just drilled and tapped into the pipe from turbo to intercooler. Nice and easy, right on top of the motor. Same as the exhaust manifold (but this is aluminum!), step up your bits until you get to the right size. I pulled off the tube that connects it down to the intercooler so that I could catch the shavings and clean it out after drilling, in my opinion much more crucial on this one than the EGT sensor (this one feeds your engine, you don't want the slightest bits to get in here). Screw in the fittings and attach the line. This gauge uses nylon tubing with a compression fitting, so make sure you get it snug but don't overdo it. Run the tubing up under the dash. One more thing left to do under the hood...

My chip came with a "boost tube" (not all do). This is basically a piece of tubing with a precise hole in it that connects inline to the wastegate. It fools the wastegate by bleeding off boost, to allow more pressure in the manifold before opening. Instead of the wastegate being opened at 18PSI, it will be more like 28. This was as easy as pulling the tube off the wastegate actuator, putting the "boost tube" on it and reconnecting the line. About 15 seconds if you're slow.

After all that, it's time to hood up the gauges. Pull off the a-pillar first, it's just stuck on with 3 clips. With the add-on pods like I have, you'll have to drill some holes in your a-pillar cover for the wires to go thru. I found it easiest to figure out the location for the pod, mark about where the center of the gauges will be and drill there. Don't drill for the pod mounting screws yet as it's easier to get everything in place and just "put it where it goes." You'll need to run two wires from the gauges down; one for a ground and one for the lights. The lights are simple as the headlight switch is just below the pillar in the dash. Just tap into the dimmer wire for this (color varies between years, black/blue tracer? I'll check this later). Then feed the boost gauge tube and the two EGT wires up under the dash to the pillar. A few connections and you're about done. Position the pod on the pillar (re-attach the pillar to the cab) and screw it in place with some nice clean self-tappers underneath the weatherstripping.

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