Hello all. Today I installed an oil pressure gauge and volt gauge on my LT155. I've owned this tractor since new (bought in 2001) and it now has 363 hours on the clock.
Daman gave me the inspiration and encouragement to tackle this job.
Here goes:
I decided to go with Sunpro's 1.5" triple gauge set (temp/oil pres/volts) All I really wanted was the oil & volts--the mechanical sender on the temp gauge is too big to try and adapt for an oil temp gauge, so I just gave the temp gauge to the kid to play with.
Here's where I originally thought I would mount the 2 gauges:
However, once I actually had the gauges in hand, I found there wasn't going to be nearly enough room.....after lots of agonizing and fiddling, I decided to put them here: (holes already cut)
I used a 1.5" hole saw and opened the hole up a bit more with a dremel.
Here are the gauges during a test-fit:
Okay, that should work. Wiring up the voltmeter was pretty easy--I had installed an hourmeter when I bought the tractor, so I had a good source for a key-on hot and ground.
My sweaty-pits dilemma was the oil pressure gauge. It seems like most full-pressure Briggs motors have a nice 1/8NPT port ready to go for a job like this. My Kohler CV-15 wasn't drilled and tapped for a pressure port. In this pic I've already punched my target for drilling:
For me, intestinal fortitude is taking a drill to a perfectly healthy Kohler engine and putting a hole in the oil filter housing. But, no guts, no glory, so here we go:
Too late to turn back now, grab that 1/8NPT tap and have at it:
A test with the fitting was a go. Fitting and hose installed:
Finally, all buttoned up...test fire...and it worked!!! No leaks, decent pressure. Yay!
It's interesting, cold start up shows 40 psi. Once hot, full throttle is just a hair under 40 psi. Then, hot idle shows 30psi. This was after 1 hour of mowing, 85 degrees outside. Never saw the gauge dip below 30psi. (Running Convoy 10w30 parasynthetic (thanks Johnny!) and a Napa Gold 1348 filter.)
Another interesting tidbit--when mowing on an incline--if the mower is leaning away from the oil filter side of the motor, pressure drops 5 psi. Mower leaning towards the filter side, no change. Interesting, but I don't know what it means....
A few other shots....here are the gauges with the backlights on (wired in with the headlights):
And a gratuitous shot of the hourmeter installed in the frame:
All in all, this was a really fun project. The gauge set is $30 at your local Autozone. I had to buy an assortment of electrical connectors, a 11/32 drill, the tap.
Once you're done, you have something that even the GT and X series Deeres don't have-actual gauges!
Greg
Daman gave me the inspiration and encouragement to tackle this job.
Here goes:
I decided to go with Sunpro's 1.5" triple gauge set (temp/oil pres/volts) All I really wanted was the oil & volts--the mechanical sender on the temp gauge is too big to try and adapt for an oil temp gauge, so I just gave the temp gauge to the kid to play with.
Here's where I originally thought I would mount the 2 gauges:
However, once I actually had the gauges in hand, I found there wasn't going to be nearly enough room.....after lots of agonizing and fiddling, I decided to put them here: (holes already cut)
I used a 1.5" hole saw and opened the hole up a bit more with a dremel.
Here are the gauges during a test-fit:
Okay, that should work. Wiring up the voltmeter was pretty easy--I had installed an hourmeter when I bought the tractor, so I had a good source for a key-on hot and ground.
My sweaty-pits dilemma was the oil pressure gauge. It seems like most full-pressure Briggs motors have a nice 1/8NPT port ready to go for a job like this. My Kohler CV-15 wasn't drilled and tapped for a pressure port. In this pic I've already punched my target for drilling:
For me, intestinal fortitude is taking a drill to a perfectly healthy Kohler engine and putting a hole in the oil filter housing. But, no guts, no glory, so here we go:
Too late to turn back now, grab that 1/8NPT tap and have at it:
A test with the fitting was a go. Fitting and hose installed:
Finally, all buttoned up...test fire...and it worked!!! No leaks, decent pressure. Yay!
It's interesting, cold start up shows 40 psi. Once hot, full throttle is just a hair under 40 psi. Then, hot idle shows 30psi. This was after 1 hour of mowing, 85 degrees outside. Never saw the gauge dip below 30psi. (Running Convoy 10w30 parasynthetic (thanks Johnny!) and a Napa Gold 1348 filter.)
Another interesting tidbit--when mowing on an incline--if the mower is leaning away from the oil filter side of the motor, pressure drops 5 psi. Mower leaning towards the filter side, no change. Interesting, but I don't know what it means....
A few other shots....here are the gauges with the backlights on (wired in with the headlights):
And a gratuitous shot of the hourmeter installed in the frame:
All in all, this was a really fun project. The gauge set is $30 at your local Autozone. I had to buy an assortment of electrical connectors, a 11/32 drill, the tap.
Once you're done, you have something that even the GT and X series Deeres don't have-actual gauges!
Greg
