installing gauges on 04 silverado

[camaroracer1992]

i need to install an oil temp gauge and an air fuel ratio gauge on my 04 silverado 3500 for my a-pillar gauge pod. i have 2 questions:

1. for my a/f gauge the 02 sensor has 4 wires; 2 black, a white and a blue. what one do i tap into for the correct reading?

2. for my oil temp gauge i would like to put the sender in an oil pressure fitting so that i do not need to drill into the oil pan or tap into any lines (i want to do the least amount of hacking). where are they located on the new big blocks? theres a fitting above the oil filter like the small blocks but its a weird ass size square plug that i cannot get out. any ideas?

thanks

joe

[Injuneer]

GM has pretty much standardized the harness wiring for the heated O2 sensors, and it is the harness wiring you want to splice into, not the sensor wires themselves. The black wires are the heater +12V and ground, the white or tan wire is the PCM ground to the O2 sensing element, and the purple or purple/white wire is the signal wire you want to splice into. If you want to be able to choose either the left or right bank O2 sensor, run the signal wires from both sides to a single-pole/double-throw switch, then wire from the center pin of the switch to the guage. The A/F ratio gauges are really not much more than a psychadelic light show, unfortunately.

On the oil temp sensor, I've never really looked that close at my '01 Silverado, but on my LT1 I drilled a hole in the oil drain plug, and tapped it to match the correct sensor for the oil temperature. Simply unplug the sensor and the drain plug can be removed.

What engine do you have in the 3500?

[camaroracer1992]

i have the 8.1 Vortec engine. i was thinking hte same thing like getting an extra oil drain plug and swapping them out. i wonder what size they are 1/2-20? i suppose theyd be different now though anyways since all that stuff is metric anymore

[foff667]

i ended up using a hex on the square plug but wouldnt recommend it...i got it out without stripping it though so i dunno...fwiw those a/f gauges are dummy gauges really and i wouldnt recommend it...Personally i would go ahead and spend the few extra bucks for the dynojet wideband commander it comes with a gauge for ya and everything you need to hook it up including the sensor and at least youd have a wideband to actually keep track of whats going on instead of the stock narrowbands but thats me. Also fwiw hptuners offers a license for your perticular vehicle so tuning is available if you want to toy with that :twisted:

[camaroracer1992]

how much is that hp tuners stuff? because i have a jet stage 2 chip in it now and for a big block i seriously cant even sin the tires really for the size motor/torque. itll pull a house down but wont spin tires, i bought it to be up on the diesel guys inperformance but im thinking otherwise though now.

[foff667]

500 for std. 650 for the enhanced version but youd have to do the tuning yourself similar to a dfi setup or the like...pretty easy to navigate if you know what your doing its what i use when tuning.

[camaroracer1992]

hmmm i wonder how much more power i could yank out of the truck. i dont need to be emissions worried since its a 1 ton and in PA we're expempt on 1 ton and duallies :D

[Injuneer]

An interesting alternative to the Dynojet A/F unit is the LM-1 from Innovate Motorsports. I've seen only positive comments on this one, and it starts at $349:

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/lm1.php?PHPSESSID=81c4fb7b432e907359e163921a117990

[foff667]

An interesting alternative to the Dynojet A/F unit is the LM-1 from Innovate Motorsports. Â*I've seen only positive comments on this one, and it starts at $349:

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/lm1.php?PHPSESSID=81c4fb7b432e907359e163921a117990


the only reason i mentioned the dynojet one was because it already comes with a gauge...the lm1 is a handheld unit.

[Injuneer]

There is an analog gauge for the LM-1 available from Innovate for $59 - not a very good looking one though. They are also about to release a newer gauge with a ring of LED's around the outside, and digital reading in the center. Cost is supposed to be around $189, making the total price similar to the Dynojet.