Question about engine bay oil pressure gauge

Howdy 'stang gang.

I searched around for an answer to this but struggled to see an actual example: is it possible / advisable to run a secondary oil pressure gauge inside the engine bay itself? I feel like I've seen other cars that had this, but haven't seen it on a mach 1 yet. Have any of y'all done this, and if so did you split it off from the sender at the back or attach it by the fuel pump?

I'm running (what I assume is a stock) 351C using 20w-50, and I'm getting troublingly low readings on the after-market Bosch gauge someone installed inside the car. Very low numbers once the car is at temp. Not sure if the gauge is reading low, or the pressure is actually that low. It's got me nervous to take the car for an extended drive.

I do plan to replace the oil pump and check the bearings down there etc soon, but I don't have the ability to get the car up on jacks for another week or two. I also have a new gauge built into a Dakota digital cluster I plan to install over the winter. For now I'm just worried about running with such low pressure, so that's why I'm asking about a secondary gauge.

Also, any advice on replacing the oil pump, and the bearings while i have it off etc, would be appreaciated. Not sure exactly what I need to buy. Is a new pan recommended? I know people say replace the bolt nuts down there with ARP nuts and replace any chewed up bearings. Not sure the best place to look for info on that. Is one of the ford motor rebuild books the place to look?

Thanks for any advice!

I wouldn't go through the trouble to install a second one permanently. I did hook up a second gauge to make sure my main one was reading correctly. I removed the sending unit in the top, rear of the block, installed a tee, and installed the sending unit. Then in the other side of the tee, a tube for a mechanical gauge.

I ran the mechanical gauge over the cowl from under the hood, then in the window, and let the gauge flop around on the dash board. You can see the reading while you drive. Compare it to your electronic gauge. Once you see how the electronic one correlates to the mechanical one, there's not really much use for the second one anymore.

Whenever I drop in an an engine, I have an old mechanical gauge installed for the first hour or so of run time.

Hemikiller said:

Whenever I drop in an an engine, I have an old mechanical gauge installed for the first hour or so of run time.

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I hook up the mechanical oil and temp gauges before I prime the oil system and leave them connected while I break in the cam.

I have one under the hood. T'd it off of the stock location behind the manifold.

Check your pressure with a good mechanical gauge to verify actual pressure.

If your oil pressure is indeed low, then you should really question the overall condition of the engine, mileage, compression and leak down tests, spark plug condition, oil consumption, valvetrain noise, etc.

I connected a "cross" with four ports to have the OEM gauge, a second SPA gauge and an oil light low pressure sensor.

Hemikiller said:

Whenever I drop in an an engine, I have an old mechanical gauge installed for the first hour or so of run time.

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Click to expand...

Thanks! I reckoned it was something people would do. I'm going to be trying to improve the oiling system over the next few weeks and want an easier way to see what is going on while im futzing with the motor.