Oil pressure gauge hose connections

[97tiger885]

I have decided to mount an oil pressure gauge to replace the oil pressure light.  I have ordered a 1 1/2" 160 psi mechanical back-connected gauge with 1/8"NPT from Grainger for US$15.   Advance Auto has an adapter from 1/8" to BPT to replace the sensor.

This is for a '97.  I believe there is a difference in sensor location beginning with the '98s.

What kind of hose do I use and how do I connect it?  Can I use plain hose with plumber's clamps or do I need to go with stainless braided hose with threaded ends?  Any advice on routing the line to the gauge?  

Can the sensor be removed without oil draining from the sensor hole or should I drain the oil first to avoid a large mess?

[Mustang]

most pressure gauges come with brass ferrule fittings and a pc of nylon line
if yours don't the auto parts guy can hook you up

[John Stenhouse]

Have you read Mustangs post about the guage needing to be 140psi minimum? I would think 20 psi wasn't a big enough safety margin.

[Mustang]

he should be ok with a 160
I built in a safety margin at 140  
probably in reality won't see over a 100psi cold
mine is average at around 90 psi ice cold at idle , but when you whack the throttle it goes up beyond a 100 and higher
hot not so much ....Jon don't freak out when the gauge shows nothing at hot idle in traffic even though the gauge is reading really low the oil light never comes on

I suspect on mine at 75k the oil pump is a little tired

[97tiger885]

most pressure gauges come with brass ferrule fittings and a pc of nylon line
if yours don't the auto parts guy can hook you up

I was surprised by how little the guys at Advance knew about doing a oil line.  It seems most folks buy a kit which only requires installation or they go to a shop to have it done.  I even stopped by a place that does 4 wheel drive customs and they told they didn't do much business in oil pressure gauges anymore.

The BPT/NPT adapter at Advance is a male/female.  So, do I put on a male on one end of the hose for the oil feed and a female on the other for the gauge?  Or do I need a male/male insert into the adapter and two females for the hose?

I probably will stop by a high performance shop today. I hope to have better luck there.

[97tiger885]

I have the initial installation of the oil pressure gauge done.  I did a 15 second test.  It was successful...no oil spurting from connections and the gauge needle moved.  I rate this job an 8 on the frustration meter or as "MOTHERF*****" (said repeatedly).

The oil sensor is located on the lower right side of the oil pan in a recess above the exhaust crossover and in front of part of the linkage for the rear shock.  The sensor can be removed only with a 22mm box wrench.  Getting the hose into the sump was a three stage process.  First is the NVT/BPT adapter.  I did this blind mostly one-handed.  Next the part of the connector the hose is screwed into is placed into the NPT/BPT connector.  Again this was done blind mostly one handed. Last the hose (female) is screwed on.  This is complicated by the linkage for the rear shock.  There is not much space between the end the hose needs to be screwed onto and that linkage.  That means the hose is forced up very close to the connector it is being screwed onto.  That means it is very difficult to get the hose connector lined up squarely in order to start it with one hand.  It can be done but it requires patience, luck and care not to kink the line.

It took many, many tries to get these connectors started.  

That translates as  try,...M***********, try again,...M***********, try again,... M***********, try again,...M***********,....................

If I had to do it again I would remove the sump guard, the exhaust and the oil pan.  Not much, if any, time would be lost and the frustration would be much less (given no complications with the exhaust or the sump...yeah right...like that isn't going to happen).   The reason I didn't do this is because it meant waiting 3 weeks for an oil pan gasket to arrive from BikeBandit and another 3 weeks for anything I didn't know I needed.