rwmorrisonjr

I'm looking for oil pressure & voltmeter gauges that match the TRD boost guage. Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome. I beleive that AutoMeter makes the TRD gauge, but none of their retail stuff matches it.

mozzie

i believe that the phantom line of autometer matched the trd guages...they have white faces and black faces depending on which version you have...

rwmorrisonjr

Will check them out. I've seen them before and I think the lighting seems to be different from the TRD gauge, it comes in from the site & glows instead of being backlit.

AFP520

ditch the TURD gauge and go all out autometer bro... i'd rather glow blue then just light up white face

rwmorrisonjr

Thanks, but I'm just not into that look. Will probably ditch the TRD, though, since it will be very hard to match. Am looking at either the Phantom or Ultra-Lite series of guages. Now I'll need to get white faces for my dash gauges! Heck, I'll just trade over to a Tacoma & get the white dash guages for free!

yellowspeedracer

if they're the gauges are the same and you like that ill trade you my white gauges off my tacoma

i have all ultra lite gauges on the car and i like them. i wish i had a night shot for ya.

Vato Loco

What year is your Taco?

Gadget

If you have the TRD Boost Gauge that is black with a orange needle, then the Auto Meter gauges that match that are the Z-Series gauges.

You can see what they look like on my Gauges page.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

ManyMods

IMHO, if you really want NICE gauges that look factory at night, take a look at VDO. JM2C

ManyMods

I just ordered the Lo-Tek double pod A-pillar cover and mentioned that Ron referred me. I have used Lo-Tek before and found that their material and construction was inferior to Gauge Works, but I am not willing to go through the trouble of starting something that I can't back up nor am I willing to front a setup cost like Ron did. I want a transmission temperature gauge and will ask John at IPT where is the best sender connection point. No, I do not think the pan is the best or most accurate location.

rwmorrisonjr

Thanks for the suggestions, I think I'll go with the AutoMeter Z series since they seem to come with senders and the VDO's don't. Any good places to order them online from?

BTW, found a generic 3-gauge pillar pod at PepBoys for $30. Cut it to fit and it works great except for the viewing angle, will need to fashion some tilt rings to make them more viewable.

ManyMods

Summit and Jeg's are always a best bet for AutoMeter.

I am surprised that you say the VDO gauges don't come with the sending units. I will hav to check on that if I decide to switch over from Autometer in the truck.

I worked with Greg Dey, the founder of Gauge Works, when we designed a 3-pod full cover for the Impalas so I have had my share of quasi-fit covers. I am hoping that Lo-Tek has improved their quality and fit. I also devised a way to attach the covers to the a-pillar so you do not see screw holes or plastic cover caps on the cover; however, in this case I think I will just go with the two grab handle attaching points --- maybe?

rwmorrisonjr

Cool, what's your method for attaching the pod to the pillar? I just wish that Lo-Tek made a 3-gauge pod for the 4Runner, but then I could also dump the Boost gauge as it really doesn't do much. Am more worried about the volts, oil pressure and tranny temp for normal driving. The boost gauge is just fun, that's all.

ManyMods

First of all, let me respectfully disagree with you on the Boost Gauge aka Vacuum Gauge. I have had a vacuum gauge in just about every car I have owned because they can do quite a lot. They are like a barometer for your engine and can show tell tail signs of impending problems or help in showing the results of adjustments you make in both fuel and ignition. To me, the most important second gauge we need is a tranny temp gauge. It is nice to also have a PSI gauge but if the temperature goes up, the pressure usually goes down. As for oil pressure, I do not know how Toyota has calibrated the PSI gauge but if it is like most GM cars, it is nothing more than a glorified idiot light. Unless you are running low on oil or pay no attention to the general maintenance of your engine oil, the tranny is a much more volatile and sensitive part of the drivetrain, not to mention costly to repair --- very costly. I have been through it and the embarrassing rides home on the deck of a flat bed tow truck.

As far as how to attach the A-Pillar cover so you do not see any mounting points on the outside, the most important part is the chemical bonding agent you use. I have never had any luck with Crazy Glue when it comes to bonding plastic to plastic. Then I found a product called PLASTIC SURGERY made by a company in Chicago called SUREHOLD. This stuff really fuses surfaces together and for some plastics you can use their accelerator to neutralize some of the surfactants in the plastic. What I do is buy plastic ratcheting mushroom fasteners with the widest heads that will work --- similar to the kind that are used to fasten hood liners on some cars. Then I sand the caps down to make them less convex (rounded) and more compatible with the inside surface of the A-Pillar cover. Next I rough up the inside surface of the cover at the point where I am going to attach the ratchet fastener. Obviously, it is critical that you define the exact mounting points that will coincide with the designated mounting hole in the body A-pillar. I have used something in the hole that with a dab of paint on its tip will mark off on the inside of the cover when I test fit it into position. Am I being clear? It is my experience that the ratchet fasteners will hold the cover on and will withstand numerous removal and install procedures before they have to be replaced.

rwmorrisonjr

Hmm, hadn't thought of it like that, but I see where you're coming from. I'd like to have the tranny temp as well, might subsititute that for the voltmeter as I know the charging system in the truck is working correctly. I might also do what Gadget did & mount the guages down below the radio area where the extra lighter plugs are, but they might be harder to see down there. Then I could leave the boost guage on the pillar and the other three down there. Decisions, decisions.

Why didn't Toyota leave a full set of basic gauges in the 4Runner/Tacoma like they had in the 2nd Gen, Tundra, Sequioa and LandCruiser!

AFP520

dont like the lotek dual gauge pod for the taco.. doesnt face the driver that well imo.. vdo is a good idea yea but damn they are pricy!!!

ManyMods

It is a funny thing about gauges. I guess it sort of goes under the heading of "what you don't know won't hurt you". SUV's are very popular with socker moms and are marketed to non-autophiles quite regularly. These drivers don't want to know EXACTLY at what level the engine temp, voltage level, or oil pressure is, they just want to know when it is going to over heat, the battery is dead, or there is no oil in the crank case. They don't want to start worrying before a catastrophy, if you know what I mean

yellowspeedracer

2004

rwmorrisonjr

Cool, thanks for the offer but the gauge clusters are different, you're are more of a circle than mine. I'm going to go for the Z-series from AutoMeter, possibly do a mount job similar to Gadget's for one of them, possibly the volt or tranny temp gauge.

rwmorrisonjr

Do you have web sites for them?