When it comes to diesel trucks, more information is always better. With project Rust Bucket, we were confident in doing quick dyno pulls, but still felt the need for gauges while driving on the street or down the dragstrip. Our truck is an '89, which means it is a non-intercooled 5.9L Cummins model, so we were worried about high exhaust gas temperatures. Also, we've been told our stock turbo can only live at up to 35 pounds of boost before its compressor wheel will make an early exit. As cheap as we wanted this project to be, we figured a set of gauges would be better than a trashed turbo or damaged engine.
Once we had our new gauges,...
Once we had our new gauges, our first step was to tap into a manifold pressure source so that we could get a boost reading. Luckily, our Dodge had a source built in to the intake manifold (arrow).
For our gauges, we called up Big Power Diesel in Palmdale, California, which supplied us with a set of Di Pricol gauges. These gauges had everything we were looking for, in terms of accuracy and the "cool" factor, and were pretty reasonably priced to boot. Most importantly, we could now monitor our exhaust gas temperature and boost, so we'd know whether to start worrying.
Installation was pretty straightforward. Since we weren't planning on doing any towing with Rust Bucket, we ditched the aftermarket brake controller in favor of a spot to mount our gauges. We also considered mounting them in the dash, on top of the dash, or in the glovebox (for that "sleeper" effect), but in the end mounted them under the dash so they would be out of the way, yet still in a place where we could take quick glances at them. In addition to the gauges themselves, we also needed a mount and a few miscellaneous electrical supplies. After the gauges were installed, we tapped into the factory fuse box for power and drilled a hole in the exhaust manifold for our EGT probe.
 Next, we ran our pressure...  Next, we ran our pressure line from the engine into the cab, where it would be hooked up to the boost guage. But there was a problem - our throttle bracket was in the way. |  Nothing a little drilling...  Nothing a little drilling couldn't fix. The throttle bracket wasn't under too much stress, so we figured an extra hole in it would be be fine. You don;t want any kinks or crimps in the boost reference line; otherwise, it can break over time. |  The next step was to install...  The next step was to install the temperature probe for the EGT gauge. On a Cummins, the exhaust manifold has a split down the middle, so a hole must be drilled either toward the back or front three cylinders. We chose to have it offset to the back. |