Vacuum Gauge??

[OneQuickGT1]

Has anyone hooked up a vacuum gauge? I seem to remember someone having one in their pillar pod. I was just wondering what source they hooked it up to. Also, I am looking to add a third gauge in the pillar. I have A/F, oil Pres., trans temp, and volts as my gauges so far, so any suggestions as to my last gauge in the pillar?

Thanks,
Brett

[Dr_Kyle]

well, this doesn't answer your question, but I asked this 3 different times on the old board and never got a single response. I haven't bought it yet cause I don't know how to hook it up. Somebody HAS to know how to do this. Help BOTH of us out!! :)

[OneQuickGT1]

I got a good laugh when I read this...I sure hope someone can help us both out. :D

Regards,
Brett

[black99gt]

No use for a vaccum guage unless you have boost.

Most boost guages will have "Boost" and "vaccum" readings.

Along time back, some one said they hooked up a vaccum guage and was getting readings, we all wondered WHERE they hooked it to, cause at the time, there were no SC for the car.

[Jeremy]

All you need to do is put a T inline with the vacuum line that goes to your FPR

[Dr_Kyle]

thanks guru! :thumbs: I knew somebody would pop in and tell us OneQuickGT1!!

[Dr_Kyle]

okay, well here's a new dumb question from me...what does the FPR look like? Anybody got an engine pic they could point it out on?

[Dr_Kyle]

okay, sorry I had to yank this image from you guru, but it's the first detailed engine pic I came across. Can somebody just look at this real quick and tell me if I have the right piece?

[OneQuickGT1]

Can someone tell me where to get a t fitting for the vacuum line?

Thanks,
Brett

[Dr_Kyle]

I wish I could help, but mine came with the gauge I bought. Say, did you happen to check out that pic?

[GTPguy99]

yes thats the fpr :) its not the stock one but its in the same spot.

[Dr_Kyle]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been waiting for that answer all night!

[GTPguy99]

no prob i was looking for my pic of mine for ya but then you posted that one :) thats where you hook N20 up to too :thumbs: good luck with the gauge install

[GTPguy99]

for future reference here is the stock setup

[Jeremy]

you can get the vacuum "T" thingy from any parts store. I got mine in the area that has windshield wiper hoses.

[Snake]

When I had a vacume gauge I hooked it up directly to he intake manifold. On the top left hand side of the upper intake manifold you'll see a little rubber plug. If you pull it off and hook up your line there you can read your intake manifold vacume pressure.

[Dr_Kyle]

Special thanks to gtguy. I got the gauge installed finally. I love it, it's like a throttle gauge :D

[OneQuickGT1]

When you hooked the vacuum gauge up to the intake manifold, did you use the t fitting on that too? I am assuming you cant just unhook that fitting without plugging it back into the T....

Thanks,
Brett

[Snake]

I had an autometer vacume gauge which came with a fitting to screw into the turbo piping. What I did was use a small length of rubber tubbing clamped onto the fitting and the other end was clamped onto the port I described eairlier on the intake manifold. Its kind of a ghetto set-up but it did the job. Its the only thing I could think of bc the port on the intake has no threads for any fitting. Hope this helps you out.

[OneQuickGT1]

I guess my other question is, what did you do with the other thing that was originally plugged into the manifold?

Thanks,
Brett

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by Snake
When I had a vacume gauge I hooked it up directly to he intake manifold. On the top left hand side of the upper intake manifold you'll see a little rubber plug. If you pull it off and hook up your line there you can read your intake manifold vacume pressure. That is where my boost gauge is connected. I had to build a fitting and connect the hose to it.:cool:

[Dr_Kyle]

Originally posted by OneQuickGT1
When you hooked the vacuum gauge up to the intake manifold, did you use the t fitting on that too? I am assuming you cant just unhook that fitting without plugging it back into the T....

Thanks,
Brett

Here's what I did with mine...
I used 5/16" vacuum hose from autozone for the piece between the FPR and the T-connector

[OneQuickGT1]

I was actually wondering about the hookup into the intake manifold. Thanks a bunch for that pic though!

[Dr_Kyle]

it would be the exact same setup, just use the intake plug instead. They're the not same size, though, so you're better off using the FPR hookup.

[iceman]

We T'ed the FPR as well on Rob's car.. Showing a nice 8lbs of boost :)

[aleroboy]

Also on the passenger rear side of the manifold the is a capped vacume port if you dont want to tee anything off.

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by aleroboy
Also on the passenger rear side of the manifold the is a capped vacume port if you dont want to tee anything off. That is the port I used for my boost gauge. It works very well.:)

[iceman]

yeah just for some future reference of those that might come across this thread, what kinda fitting did you put on the manifold to do this? We saw that plug but it seemed easier to T the fpr line.

[SilverEcstasy]

You know i'd been wondering about doing this as well.

But can someone exactly explain all that it does? You're basically seeing how much air you're getting into the engine right? And with that guage, you can see just how much of an increase your different intake setups are doing right? Cause i've been wanting one of these for so long, just so I can see for myself, what difference a K&N drop in and a Cone filter and a CAI will do.

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by iceman
yeah just for some future reference of those that might come across this thread, what kinda fitting did you put on the manifold to do this? We saw that plug but it seemed easier to T the fpr line. I used a fuel line hose(I'll check the diameter) and plugged it on to the port. I built a connection to fit the small tube from the boost gauge.;)

[iceman]

Originally posted by KmanGT1
I used a fuel line hose(I'll check the diameter) and plugged it on to the port. I built a connection to fit the small tube from the boost gauge.;)


don't worry about that part, we figured that out (how to adapt the small tube to a larger one).


The fuel line hose sits on that plug snug? No clamps? Good to know, thanks for the info.

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by iceman



don't worry about that part, we figured that out (how to adapt the small tube to a larger one).


The fuel line hose sits on that plug snug? No clamps? Good to know, thanks for the info. Correct, no clamps required. No problem, Bro.:thumbs: ;)

[SilverEcstasy]

Could anything bad happen if you didn't install this right? Persay, a air leak or so if the tap wasn't fitted correctly?

[aleroboy]

Originally posted by iceman
yeah just for some future reference of those that might come across this thread, what kinda fitting did you put on the manifold to do this? We saw that plug but it seemed easier to T the fpr line.

You can buy vacume line by the foot at almost every parts store.
as for fitting sung and no leaks, it has a small barb that the line goes over to hold it snug. My electric boost gauge gets here today so I'll take pics when it is installed of exactly what I'm talking about and even list the size of hose used.

You know we need ot start an archive of threads like this that have really good info. maybe type it up and move it to N-body mods or the GAGT mods section.

[aleroboy]

Originally posted by MikeNT256
Could anything bad happen if you didn't install this right? Persay, a air leak or so if the tap wasn't fitted correctly?

Yea if you have a vacume leak you will affect the cars performance but it has to be a fairly large leak.
most likely it would just effect the way the gauge reads and it would not be acurate.

[iceman]

yep we found the vacuum hose fine..

Finding NPT fittings to match up with the boost gauge ones was the tricky part... grr

[SilverEcstasy]

Originally posted by aleroboy

You know we need ot start an archive of threads like this that have really good info. maybe type it up and move it to N-body mods or the GAGT mods section.

Seriously, someone who's done this, retype all this info into a How To: Installing Vacuum Gauge for us! :thumbs:

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by iceman
yep we found the vacuum hose fine..

Finding NPT fittings to match up with the boost gauge ones was the tricky part... grr It was difficult to match those fittings. I had to use a few different fittings and nuts. ;)

[IrateSpeed6]

Yeah, to add to Seth's and My weekend, it is a CHORE trying to find 1/8th inch vacuum line... Home Depot definately does not have 1/8th inch fittings/line, so don't try. And damn GM for making those vacuum lines so inflexible... argh! :huh:

[edit] about your guys' guages... mine usually resides in the vacuum section... I have to step on it a bit to get it to go over 0... is this normal?

[aleroboy]

Is this with a boost/vac gauge and your sc? or does it read boost too?

[iceman]

When he lets on it it reads boost (up to 8lbs). most of the time it's in vac tho unless he's heavy on the pedal.

[MetaGTP1]

Originally posted by iceman
When he lets on it it reads boost (up to 8lbs). most of the time it's in vac tho unless he's heavy on the pedal. That seems normal. ;)

[aleroboy]

yea thats normal

[IrateSpeed6]

Great... its so much fun to watch... I'll be getting some pictures and video this weekend hopefully...