scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

Hi,

Just fitted 3 gauges for the first time ever and thought i would post about it. This isnt really a guide but what i did when and how to get it all working. Hoping someone will find this useful at some point.

Sorry for the aweful grammer and spelling. Am tired.

Hoping i/we can eventually make this good enough for a sticky.






Subaru Impreza WRX STI v4 98 Gauges Fitting Guide (Boost, Oil Temp & Oil Pressure)


Intro 1
Thanks 1
Quick Tech 1
Quick Tips 2
Parts 2
Tools 3
Removing Center Cubby 3
Hole in bulkhead/firewall 12
Boost Gauge Fitting 14
Oil Pressure Gauge 21
Oil Temperature Gauge 33
Pod& Gauge Fitting 41


Intro
I’ve just bought my first Scooby completely stock and its going to be for some road use and track days. Nothing competitive. I wanted to install some gauges so I can keep an eye on oil pressure (I hear scoobys suffer oil pump failure and chew the big end), and also to keep an eye on oil temp on the track. I have no track experience so I don’t know the safe limits to push the car. Also to make sure the car was making good boost.

Also please note I have virtually no mechanical experience. So the terminology I use could be wrong.

Thanks
I know its traditional to put thanks at the end of the document. However the immense amount of help and support from scoobynet means I would like to thank everyone who offered advice and gave me the confidence to continue. So thanks!

Quick Tech
I had no idea what was what so here is a quick guide to what is required.
A gauge (electrical), will receive a signal from a “sender” unit to display a reading. So you get the gauge, and the sender unit, and whatever adapters are required to fit the sender unit.

Quick Tips
Couple of things which you should do to save swears.

Clean Threads!
Lubricate everything!
Clean Everything!
Keep Uber organised. I use old Chinese food containers.
Tag everything you think you’ll forget.
Measure twice cut once
Triple check everything

Parts
My choice of parts for this was the 52mm Prosport Stepper Premium Series Gauges - £109
XyberAutos

I chose these based on the fact they looked cool. And were ¼ of the price of Defi’s and looks like they would fit well colour/style wise.

I went for a 3 52mm gauge dash pod to fit where the centre cubby-hole sits. I think this was only available from v4 onwards models. £73.39
Gauges & Pods : Impreza Centre Gauge 52mm pod for boost, oil temp and oil pressure gauges

From my research I decided to take the Oil Pressure by using the t-piece rather than the sandwich plate. I chose this as I don’t have to drain the oil, and figured it would be an easier/more reliable choice.
Oil Pressure T-Piece (LMA SUB 095/1/300) 1/8BST(block) to 1/8NPT(OP Sender)
First from scoobyparts. However I destroyed the thread quite quick. Second was from Matt Lewis Racing (ebay) who let me collect with a discount as I didn’t want to wait till 5th of jan to get finished.

For the Oil temp, I researched I could take it off a blanking plate above cylinder 3. Read on for more info.
Oil Temp Gauge Adapter LMA SUB 067 M18*1.5(block?) to 1/8NPT(sender unit)
Also available from Scoobyparts.co.uk deamontweaks, and probably Matt Lewis Racing.

Both can be purchased from here £25.99: Scoobyparts Ltd OIL PRESSURE & OIL TEMPERATURE GAUGE FITTING KIT

Other Parts
Black and Red Wiring. I used cheapo multi core and single core. This was left over from an electronics project when I was in school.

Choc Blocks. I have not soldered connections together for the time being. I have used Choc Blocks Used about 4 or 5 in total. 4 Small and 1 large. I think you buy them in blocks of 8 so im sure one block would do. Again these were lying around in the garage.

Insulation tape
Paper masking tape (for gauge fitting and wire tagging)
Cable Ties.

I did this all in a very small and VERY cold unheated garage.


Tools
I will give a quick summary of the tools I used or you should have.

I’m lucky as I (my dad) has almost every tool under the sun.

You will need/should have. A good socket set (Halfords professional).
Hex Socket
Cable cutters/wire cutters
Pliers
Rags
Spanners (ratcheted angle spanners even)
Oil
Plasters & Swear Tin
Hair Drier
Torch and Spot Lights
Tipex
Various Screw Drivers – Including instrumental screwdriver
Multimeter
Stanley Knife/blades


Removing Centre Cubby
Removing the centre cubby was about the easiest job. It just popped out with some screwdriver and force. Two clips either side of the vents.

Then unscrew the lid from the trey.


Next was to remove the Stereo. Firstly had to remove the plastic surround.

There were two clips to the right of where the heater controls are. And a big lip at the bottom. Screwdriver for the top and force to pop the bottom lip out.







Next was to remove the stereo. Which I worked out was screwed into the case, not clipped in like modern jobbies. Unscrew the 4 screws, There was a clip wire on the right which had to come off too, then pull it all out, then unscrewed the two in the side of the stereo to make it a bit easier to handle.



Now I had access to all the wires, was time to work out what to do.

The gauges had 4 wires. Positive, Negative, White and Orange.

I got my multimeter out and started testing to see which wires would work.

I decided I wanted my gauges on white all the time so ignored the Orange Wire all together (can be connected to illumination wire from stereo to turn them orange when you put your lights on).

I found the positive to the cigarette lights had volts only when the ignition was turned. I wired the white wire to the cigarette lighter so they would only turn on when the car was in use. I also ran the black earth to the earth on the cigarette lighter too.

For the gauge to retain its memory of peak and settings it needed a perm live. I got this from the wiring loom to the radio. The wire was blue & Red http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../radiowire.jpg.

The instructions say I should connect this to Acc. Not sure why. I guess time will tell if I have done the wrong thing here.



Red Circle shows the positive choc blocked so I can connect it to the cigarette lighter and to the positive on the gauge.

Green Circle shows the cut for the earth. This was again choc blocked to lighter and to the gauge.

Now I tested the gauge would turn on correctly and also do the shutdown sequence correctly. Which they did.

I then fed the wires up through the air vents to where the cubby should be.

Time to put it all back.

When I put the stereo back, I screwed it into the wrong hole, making it about 2mm further out than before. This cause major issues when attempting to put the plastic surround back on. One side would go on but not the other.

After lots of swearing I pulled it all back out, screwed the stereo further back, and the plastic then popped into place easy. Takes a bit of effort to get the bottom lip back in. I found twisting it a bit to get a corner in the best technique. Enjoy struggling with this.


Hole in bulkhead/firewall
Next step was to find where I can shuv the wires through from the engine bay into the cab. There seemed to be a few holes. One Behind the Brake pipes at the top left (looking at engine). One below that, near the down pipe, and one on the other side with Air Con pipes going through.

I decided to use the hardest one possible, and went for the one behind the brake pipes. I decided the downpipe may get too hot, and seemed easier to run wires to the left of the engine than the right.

I was surprised when I managed to get the grommet back into place, blind and choc full of wires. Worked though so it is possible!



Red circles shows where the hole is. Green shows the grommet which I removed, and which all wires would eventually go through.


Boost Gauge Fitting
Research on t’internet said I could use any pipe from the inlet manifold (red thing), however I decided to copy from someone else’s who reported good results. I decided to go for the tube shown below. Took some guts to cut the thing!

Once Cut. Plug the Plastic T-Piece in. I found a combination of either a little oil or heat the pipes with the hair drier made them easy to get on well. (The clear pipe goes to the boost sender unit).

This is what you get in the package:






I decided to mount the sender unit near the strut because there was a lug unused. Don’t forget the little spongy filter thing. This should keep the boost more smooth removing peaks and troughs (I assume).



As you can see the wire from the sender is cable tied through the bulkhead. And the pipe itself cable tied up to the t-piece.

I ran the cable between the brake and clutch pedal up into the centre cubby. This seemed the safest place, furthest away from anything which moved. This was done by poking a loop of wire down and pulling the cable up. Really killer for the back this bit.


Test. Working. Cool 


Oil Pressure Gauge
Be careful on this bit! Every thread is tapered and gets destroyed REAL easy.

What you are doing here is removing the original Oil Pressure Plug, with a pipe which you can plug both the old and the new one into. The plug is located beneath the Alternator at the front of the engine.

Before:


After:


First step. Remove the cowling around the belts.


The red ones you can undo and take off. The green one. Loosen it, then you can swing the metal cover round and eventually get it off.

Next we need to remove the Alternator belt. This belt only powers the Alternator and the Power Steering. This needs doing so we can remove the alternator. To release tension from the belt undo the tensioner. First mark with some tipex on the thread of where it was tightened to originally. This will give a guide of how tight it should be when you refit.



First loosen the Red. This is to lock it in place. Then keep undoing the Green bolt until the alternator drops enough to get the belt off. You may find it sticks in place and needs some gentle persuasion to lower.

Now people say just move the alternator out the way. However mine wouldn’t rotate far enough. You can see it was being blocked by the casting. Had to remove the alternator all together:



Simply remove the bolt pictured above. Note there is a little plate round the back of the AC which will fall off when you remove the bolt. Remove the top electrical connector, and the bottom plug. Squeezed mine with pliers to get it off.

I also removed the plug under the alternator. Cant remember why. Perhaps it was in the way.

Remove the bolt, catch the place, and wiggle the Alternator till it comes off.

Now the Alternator is off you can see the plug which we need to replace.

The circled bit is what you need to remove. Pull the plug off the top. Can be a little stiff. Pry with a screw driver.

Then unscrew it to take it out. If you engine is off nothing will squirt out. Don’t forget to remove the washer if it has one.

Screw the adapter into the Block. I DIDN’T use PTFE tape. Plug the cable into the adapter, again no PTFE tape. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. I destroyed the thread on my first attempted. I used tape, and with almost no effort it destroyed itself and had to buy a new one (thanks matt lewis racing ebay). Thank god it wasn’t the thread into the block!

Run the cable up. I mounted mine to the inlet manifold. You can see from the pic. It just touches the sound proofing on the bonnet. Hope it will be ok.

I then plugged the sender unit in, and the old sensor into bung up the hole. I had to use PTFE tape here to get a good seal without over tightening.

For the time being I left the alternator off, this is so I can check for leaks and tighten if required.. I made sure I had removed absolutely everything. At this point I would say, if in doubt, don’t tighten more. You can always wipe down oil and tighten, instead of over tightening and screwing the thread in the block.

Ran the wires to the gauge. Plugged one gauge into the other for the power.

I then started the engine and sure enough it worked. I checked for leaks near the block and everything was ok. The sender and old switch were water tight too after the PTFE tape.

Also remember to put PTFE tape on so when screwing in it goes with the way its wrapped.

Oil pressure gauge in and working 



Oil Temperature Gauge
This one was a bit of a git to do. Its fiddly and a pain.

You need to remove the blanking plate from above cylinder 3. Its about an inch wide and has a hex center. If you look directly down from the throttle cables you can JUST see it with a torch.

So to get access to it. Remove the intercool and remove the pipe above it.





To remove the intercool. Undo all jubilee clips holding the pipes in place. Remove the bolt on the left. And I removed the two bolts on the right into the intake manifold and left the bracket to the IC in place.

Then wiggle it out. Strut brace was in the way but just play around till it pops out (or remove strut brace).

Here is the bottom in case you are wondering if its stuck on something.




The red indicates where the plug is. The green is the pipe which needs removing to get good access. As far as I can tell it goes from intake manifold to zaust. Not sure what it does, but it wasn’t full of oil or water so it can be removed. My advice is to remove it totally. Easiest way to get it back is put it the straight bit in and then the bent end (into the intake).

Now all that’s out the way, get your hex bit out and remove the blanking plug.



Next I put the adapter in without PTFE tape. Then I put the sender unit into the adapter. Again without PTFE Tape. First adapter was easy cos I could get a socket on it. The sender was a git. Only enough from for a 12mm spanner going 1/8th of a turn at a time. Initially I didn’t do this tight enough (being uber cautious), and started to leak a little when warm. So removed IC again and tightened. Now seems ok.

Wire it all up, put the pipes back, and put IC back. USE OIL on the holes on the IC. Made it 10000% easier to get back into place with a splash of oil. If in doubt. Lube. 

Tested. Working. Done!


Initially I was scared the temp wasn’t working but it just took far longer then I thought to get the oil up to temperature!

Ran the engine on idle for about 10 min with the odd gentle blip of throttle to check all gauges were working correctly. Also checked for leaks.

I then put the alternator back. Was a bit fiddly to get the main bolt aligned, but cleaning and lube got it working in the end.

Pod & Gauge Fitting
Firstly I drilled some holes in the centre cubby tray to poke the wires through.



Also labelled all the wires, poked them up, and wired the gauges through the holes.

The gauges were not a perfect fit, I simply put a small strip of paper tape around them to make them a perfect tight fit.

To attach the pod to the dash, I have used double sided Velcro on the front and the back of the pod.

The rear of the pod sits quite proud of the dash. This is because there is nothing pulling the rear of the cubby tray down where the lit used to. I will fix this at a later day.





More Images http://gticlub.net/gauge/


Pretty chuffed with the gauges. Pics dont do it justice.

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

Great work. So many questions about gauges and this is a great guide.

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

All Seems to be well. Burning off the oil which leaked first time has cause a significant amount of smoke but thats stopped and checked for leaks and there all ok.

Getting 20PSI boost Peak (loving the peak function of these gauges) cant remember the others.

Highest oil temp i have got is about 85 IIRC, highest pressure about 110psi

Looks like the wiring has held up, THe gauges dont turn off when i start, i was mitaken, and they remember everything even the car is fully off. So the perm live is perm live.

Also no signs of my battery being drained as others have posted.

Good purchase, rewarding to fit, and good to know all my systems are inorder and will be nice to monitor when on the track next .

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

Same as my normal readings basically. Although I can get it to boost to 25psi under load (eg, 5th gear from 50mph) and can get the temp to 100 if I'm hammering it. Anything over 110 is not too good so have set my peak a little below this. Normal oil pressure for me is 90psi once warmed up.

In case you didn't know you can turn off the annoying beeps when you turn on the car by holding down the button when you turn on the ignition - keep them held down until the "opening ceremony" has finished. They'll stay muted after that.

bob r

iTrader: (46)

What a cracking write up that is.
I am certainly looking at geting a set of these guages but I am put off by the amount of work involved although with this step by step guide I may just take the plunge.
Thanks.

darms

iTrader: (5)

yeah nice write up mate.....

just foung the one I used when I fitted my defi's. Both guides are very useful.

RB5 Owners Club Website

shame scoobynet doesn't have a "how to" category

help2003

iTrader: (1)

Cool read,

I just started to install mine on saturday, and got all the gauges and pod in place and all wired up, and pulled the wires into the engine bay, all ready for the next step lol,

And my pod sits high at the back as well on my99,, not to sure how am going to get it to sit flush, with out drilling it, which i dont want to do,

How you going to tackle this???

crisco

very nice info -- thanks! i need to re-install the oil temp and pressure senders for my triple gages. parts on the way ...

your gauges look very nice by the way. sure beats the OEM ones I have.

BIGEMP

iTrader: (13)

good write up installed mine this week,thanks for all info you posted

mikey30

well done mate!!!!
thats a good write up!!!!!

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

NOt really thought about it. Got a tons more things to do to the car. got a set of brakes sa ton my desk and hoses.

Been doing the brakes on my bro's evo in the FREEZING cold.

Tbh the back sitting proud doesnt bother me as much as i thought it might, and noone has noticed and the pod sits really firm (and so do the gauges).

I found just a half a wrap of paper tape was enough to make the fitment perfect.

Although now im thinking about the back sitting proud again its nagging at me to get it fixed. If i do get around to it ill post it in here or sdic.

Yes why scoobynet doesnt have a HOW TO section or Sticky's is beyond me!

psigeek

iTrader: (17)

The swear jar is a must! I've started mine today, done the ground work in laying all the electrical cabling into their destination. Try and finish over the weekend.

To anyone installing - a multimeter is so useful!

hixxys STI

i just bought these gauges for my scoob aswell this is going to be a REALY BIG HELP nice1 matey

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

No Worries.

it seems my oil temp gauges temporarily doesnt work. It flickers from one temp to another and then is totally fine some journeys. im sure its a loose connection but i cant for the life of me find it. Might email the guy n get another gauge incase this one has something wrong on the inside.

Its still mostly usable, im just a perfectionist really i think.

HKSubaru

Good guide! Thanks!

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

right. what my problem turned out to be was:

From the oil temp sensor there are two bullet type connections. I cable tied this to a pipe. When the engine revved it strained the connection a little enough to interrupt the signal, making the gauge flicker.

Once worked out what it was, i just pulled a bit more wire through towards the sensor to copensate for the engine movement on rev.

Now its all working perfectly again

Loving the gauges. they are perfect. Why pay double for defi's?!

psigeek

iTrader: (17)

Why pay triple for Defi's?

AlanPPP

iTrader: (2)

Great guide mate Thanks

Fitting the same 3 gauges next week although not the same make..Very usefull!!

0victory0

iTrader: (4)

Hi was just wondering whats the difference between scoobyc oil gauge set up compared to using the sandwich plate method? does the sandwich plate have fittings for pressure and temp?
cheers
craig

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

not sure how the sarnie plate works.

Basically, i believe you remove the oil filter and fit the plate then refit the filter.

The adapter bit means you dont have to drop the oil out of the engine.

I think that was the main reason i opted for the adapter rather than the sarnie.

0victory0

iTrader: (4)

cool, i have got to change the oil in mine soon anyway so might fit the sandwich plate then. seen one one scoobyworld that has 4 ports on it so will prob just stick the oil temp and pressure gauges into there. good guide though and sure i'll refering to it as i fit mine.
cheers
craig

2.5STI

ive fitted these last week still working on them...

the presure gauge needle keeps flickering when settled.?

the POD from scoobyworld is fully rubbish as they tell you to bolt the back to the two swing hangers for the tray lid which moves so makes no sense in how that would hold the back of the POD up?

ive had to buy another gauge from scoobyworld to determain the problems...

funny thing is they said its normal operation and when i asked prosport they said it wasnt...i asked scoobyworld as i thought they would know----as they fitted them...basiclly they get another company down the road to fit them? lol

not bad gauges in all but they are temperamental and instructions are useless..

i used the plate and read around 40 psi when warm 90 on temp and its telling me my standard ppp 98 impreza is hiting 1.1 bar boost?

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

TBH mate the gauges are fine. Only problems anyone ever seems to have is things not connected properly. Which is isntallation error.

Like my bullit connectors which interrupted signal when engine revved. Just play with the connectors and make sure they are all perfect.

I Ended up incontact witht he manufacturer but just before they sent me another i had one final play and got them all working perfectly and solidly.

Not sure what you mean by flickers, if youve got a lumpy idle the pressure will alter with revs perhaps its that?

Mine are all still working perfectly.

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

My boost gauge needs rewiring because of a dodgy bullit connection. Going to it tape up (ie, over the connections) when I've fixed it.

C17RPA

great post mate .....i looked through this just before i done my 3 gauges and i must say there still working (lol) gonna put another 3 more in,in the new year on the drivers side door pillar

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

Good Stuff

C17RPA

gets my vote to make a sticky there should be more (how to do) bits n bobs

brockalightus

iTrader: (2)

remove your sender unit from your strut straight away. it will let in water and then fail. gauge needle will start moving erratically then quit all together... you have been warned

Bungleaio

iTrader: (1)

The original post is a year old. Why would water ingress be a problem there and where would a better position be to fit it?

brockalightus

iTrader: (2)

i know of 4 sender units that have failed because of moisture and under bonnet cleaning.2 were fitted beside the original 2 ports and 2 were fitted on the strut. I have spoken to Danny and he also says to fit the sender unit inside the car as they are not waterproof.