I've just about finished what has been possibly the biggest pain in the *** mod that I've done yet...second only to removing a JDM 'removable' pulley. I've just added an Autometer 3-gauge pod in which I have installed mechanical boost, oil pressure and water temperature gauges. I went with all mechanical gauges (and call me crazy for running an oil pressure gauge inside the truck but it's got the Autometer -3 stainless braided line which I doubt is going to spring a leak anytime soon) as I like the look of the 270-degree sweeps that the mechanical gauges have. Wiring these things was easy as there was only the light and the ground wires but running the lines for the gauges was a huge pain. I had to Dremel the crap out of the stock gauge pillar in order to run the lines through and behind it...



The above picture doesn't show all of the holes that I had to add. There was one additional hole that I had to add to allow the back of the water temp gauge to clear and I had to enlarge the oblong holes (two holes on the right) to allow clearance for the oil pressure and water temp lines. The round hole in the middle was for the boost gauge tubing to pass through and the three rubber grommets are for passage of the lighting and ground wires. I ran all of the wires along the back side of the stock a-pillar and used 1/4" split loom for all of the wires. I tied all three of the lighting wires together and then ran one common wire to the appropriate wire on the back of the headlight switch. I did the same with the ground wires and used a ring terminal and grounded it to one of the 'o shyte' handle holes.

The Auto Meter pillar was painted using Ford's medium graphite gray paint and DupliColor plastic primer. I used all six 'push pins' and painted them with the Ford paint also. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the back of the stock a-pillar once I had put the two pillar covers together and run all of the lines and wires...and I'm sure as hell not going to yank it off to take a picture now!

I then passed the split loom with the lighting wires, the boost/vacuum tube, the -3 stainless oil pressure and the water temp lines down the back of the stock a-pillar and between the steel portion of the a-pillar and the edge of the dash. All of the lines fit and you cannot see them once the pillar cover has been put on. I had to wrestle with the pillar covers and juggle the wires and lines behind it before I managed to get it to snap into place.

I then routed the boost/vacuum line to the junction under the dash and connected it using a tee (lots more info here found using the 'search' feature). Next I routed the oil pressure and water temp lines out through the grommet that the boost line passes through...





I put the holes in the grommet using a regular paper hole punch and cleaned them up with a grinding bit on a Dremel tool. The lines fit perfectly and I routed them so they wouldn't interfere with the steering shaft or the brakes. I zip-tied the lines together and covered a section of the oil pressure line using split loom also, since it comes close to rubbing on the edge of one of the firewall braces. I am also going to put a piece of body edge trim on the firewall brace because I'm **** like that...

 

WOW sounds like quite a job AZ
Nice one, you got patience my friend, I would have had them
clustered around the steering collar with a huge S/S clamp

One question though
Where's the dam finished pic's

 

nice job, doenst seem like worst mod ever, should be the most rewarding considering the work you put into it. Where's the pics of the pillar now?

Oh and im dumb like this. . . the oil pressure gauge actually has oil running to it to meter pressure?

 

After I ran the lines from the inside of the cab to the outside I worked on routing the oil pressure line. I ran it down past the ABS block and covered a small section in split loom and zip-tied it to one of the hard brake lines. This will keep it from moving and it doesn't rub on the brake booster and there is plenty of clearance around the exhaust manifold and the steering shaft. I haven't taken a picture of the brass fittings that I used to tee into where the stock oil presure sensor goes but I will next time the front end is up.





I also covered about 18" of the oil line at the tee in split loom just in case it did rub against the steering shaft at some point...better safe than sorry. I did use a 6 ft. oil pressure line and it gave me just enough length to have some play to work with once the gauge pod was on.

I have routed the water temperature line along the back of the blower and then along the passenger side of the blower case as I plan on tapping into the manifold where the small stamping mark is at the front (more info about that can be found using the 'search' feature). I haven't gotten it connected yet as I am waiting on a 3/8" NPT fitting from Autometer that will go into the manifold. I did cover the entire water temperature line in 1/4" split loom in the engine compartment. I will post pictures of that once I get it finished also.

Just a few quick notes...you could also tap into the heater hose for the water temp sender as a number of people have done that (use 'search' again). I also used teflon tape on all of the fittings as opposed to liquid teflon sealant. Call it a personal preference but if you don't use too much teflon tape and keep it away from the threads at the end of the fittings you won't have to worry about it being cut while tightening and plugging any lines and/or passages.

I'm in no hurry to do this again and I certainly won't be doing it for anyone else. Feel free to ask all of the questions that you may have but be prepared for lots of contorting (which is much better if there is a woman invloved as opposed to a truck), cussing and beer drinking before you finish this!

And the final result (crappy pic and all...I'll have a new one taken in the next day or two)...

 

And yes...the oil pressure gauge actually has oil run it through a braided stainless line.

And a close-up of the steering shaft/oil pressure line clearance...

 

I did a similar install with the Autometer triple pod and three Autometer (Ford Racing) gauges, altho the only mech gauge was the boost. I still had to carve several holes in the stock pillar cover, but yours are much neater than mine. I figure, who's gonna see it? (I usually don't do that!)

I took the screw cover from the grab handle down to my local automotive paint store and matched the color with vinyl spray. Probably cheaper than a Ford mix.

Good install job!

 

I wouldn't call it the worst mod. Maybe the most time consuming or something like that. Looks like a real clean and professional install. What gauges are those (Phantoms, Lunars, etc..,) and how well do they match the dash back lighting?

 

2001,

They are Lunars...they match the dash gauges alright. They are brighter and their color has more 'blue' in it than the dash gauges. I've heard you can use a rheostat on the wire to the gauges for the lighting to turn them down to better match the dash gauges but I didn't try it. The only bad thing about them is when you dim the dash lights the gauges will flicker some...a common issue with the Lunars. I looked at the Phantoms also and they are more 'white' than the dash gauges (even doing the blue 'X' on the rubber trick) and the light on them comes in from around the edges while the Lunars are true electroluminescents similar to the dash. I'm pretty picky about things matching and I would say the Lunars are probably the lesser of two evils...neither are going to be a 100% exact match for the stock gauges.