robot808

I'm looking for a fuel pressure gauge that I can use for my SC installation. I know someone must have removed one from their car and has it sitting on a shelf. Don't let it waste, sell it to me cheaply :-)

andy-gts

a remote one with the gauge in the cabin is what you really want so you can sit there and shark tune and know the pressure is good!!I haven't installed one yet but I took mine off the rail long ago.

Speedtoys

Im pulling mine since Ive noticed theres no more glycol _in it_.

robot808

I have an 82, so no Sharktuning. I have a WB O2 going in, I just want something to check pressure when I'm working on it.

dr bob

I grabbed a H-F generic test setup, and also a used rail cap from 928 International. Itapped the end of the cap 1/4-20 to match a GM standard, and use that adapter hose in the kit to the gauge. The 1/4" stub sticking into the cap allows me to use a generic 1/4" tube compression sleeve (Home Depot plumbing piece in the tube fittings section) to replace the ball bearing to seal against the end of the fuel rail. For less than $35 or so, I have a way to connect all kinds of things to the fuel rail. Besides the pressure gauge, my fuel injection cleaning canister now uses the same quick-disconnect fittings as the gauge has now. For instance. Anyway, parts and pieces to make this work are very readily available. The fuel pressure tester kit is regularly 'on sale' at H-F for less than $20. The drill and tap was in my tool cabinet. Sleeve (bag of 10) from HD. O-ring from stock here. Quick-disconnects are also from H-F, for connecting to the GM adapter hose.

robot808

Nobody took one off after Randy's incident? I would have thought there would dozens taken off of cars.

dr bob

Folks who took them off after Randy's fire probably still want them as test gauges.

Speedtoys

Yup.

robot808

I'm sure your right dr bob. I thought there might be a number of people who had bought it for the bling factor in the first place.
Does anyone one know if the Autozone loaner tester has a fitting that will mate with the end of our fuel rail?

Speedtoys

IIRC, our rail is special/odd, as Roger had to have customer adapters made for it.

dr bob

It's quite unlikely. I looked at a few options before I just bit the bullet and modified the existing cap. There's a history of discussion on getting a new cap to seal, something that inspired me to go with the 1/4-20 threads vs pipe threads on mine. I tried a few different sizes of compression sleeve and decided that the 1/4" tube sleeve was close enough to the original ball-bearing seal, plus it would work with the adapters supplied in the H-F kit.

Do you need to borrow the pressure tester for a while? I can box it up and ship it to you today if you need it.

robot808

Wow, dr bob. I guess I should be getting used to the generosity of members of this board, but frankly, I am still amazed by it.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate the offer, but I think I need to just buy one. Since I am installing a SC, it seems like fuel pressure is something I should keep an eye on.
I just thought these might be like K&N filters and there would be people dumping them.
Thank you so much for the offer.

Speedtoys

Ya..get a good nice electronic sender type for permanent use.

Mine is in an odd state, doesn't leak fuel, but the glycol has leaked out..its not goin anywhere cept in my toolbox for future diagnostic use.

dr bob

Bob--

Keep in mind that the gauge itself isn't anything special. Since there won't be any more 'permanent' installations, the need for a fluid-filled gauge head is gone. So any decent pressure gauge will work, if the range is appropriate. The fitting on the rail is the sore spot. It uses the ball bearing, seated in the flared end of the rail and the spherical dome inside the cap, to do the actual sealing. If you tap the end for a tapered pipe thread fitting, you can't use the ball any more. The threads for the cap onto the rail are straight so are not anywhere close to self-sealing as you tighten the cap.

If I was starting from scratch and looking for a permanently-mounted solution for a kompressor car, it would include drilling and tapping a fuel rail for an electric gauge sender. This can be done somewhere near the rear of the rail so it's not so obvious. Another option is to add a plumbing connector in one of the crossover hoses either front or rear, but that would require a dedicated ground lead for the sender since it would be 'floating' in the rubber hose. Both of these options retain the ability to attach a test gauge under the hood at the rail cap. Note that pipe-threaded connections are seldom if ever supplied by the factory in fuel piping. Ditto regular tube/compression fittings.