If a new diesel owner never learns ANYTHING else from visiting forums like this, hopefully they will at LEAST learn the value of a few aftermarket gauges the original manufacturer SHOULD have included in our trucks as standard equipment!

WHY added gauges? Because the diesel truck manufacturers have a gas engine mentality where OEM supplied gauges are concerned, and the engine monitoring that might be adequate for a gasser, is WELL below the basic needs for a diesel engine!

Personally, *I* consider the absolute need for at least *3* additional gauges:

As a minimum, in addition to oil pressure, alternator and coolant temperature gauges, turbo diesel engines also need to have exhaust gas temps, turbo boost and fuel pressure monitored. This is because those elements go a long way in revealing overall safe and efficient engine performance as do oil pressure and coolant temps!

Boost pressure readings tell how far up the performance and power scale the engine is being pushed - the higher the PSI, the greater the load on the engine. Exhaust gas temps are also an indication to stress and load on an engine, as well as how efficiently the turbo is supplying air to fully burn the available fuel.

High exhaust temps combined with low boost PSI CAN be a sign of a clogged air filter or air leakage in the intake tract, too small a turbo, or excessively large injectors for the rest of the engine and it's load. Generally speaking, exhaust temps above a peak of 1300 degrees for short duration, or 1200 degrees for longer periods of load should be avoided to prevent meltdown of pistons and valve damage - and damage to the turbo as well.

Fuel pressure is of special importance on 98-2002 24 valve engines to monitor proper fuel flow to the somewhat sensitive VP-44 fuel injection pump - altho' ALL injection pump types used in our Dodges will benefit from monitoring fuel pressures to avoid loss of the cooling and lubricating effects provided to the pumps by proper fuel flow and pressure.

Probably the largest percentage of common engine related problems with our trucks are related to fuel delivery, and will be revealed by fuel PSI readings under varying operational conditions.

And as a group, the 3 gauges covered here, will provide indicators of the VAST MAJORITY of commonly encountered engine problems and performance issues - THAT'S why they are considered to be so basically important, and why the more experienced diesel operators FIRST question when discussing a newbies engine problems will likely be "Do you have gauges?"



Above are seen the pillar mount 2-gauge setup I have installed on my truck - they are Westach brand, and were bought thru www.genosgarage.com , and include the top dual gauge Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) combined in the same housing with Turbo boost, which has a top PSI scale of 35 PSI. There are many other vendors of similar gauges in a wide variety of styles, mounts and pricing.

Below that, is a fuel pressure gauge to monitor fuel PSI right at the inlet to my truck's VP-44 injection pump thru this connection point:



The tubing seen goes up to where my electric gauge sensor is located, as seen here in the foreground:



And the gauge wires travel on thru a large black rubber grommet/plug seen in the firewall and on to the fuel PSI gauge.

The EGT sensor is attached to the exhaust manifold at a specified location for most accurate temp readings:



The sensor tubing for the boost gauge is just that, a small diameter tube that connects at the engine intake manifold at a normally plugged opening to the rear driver side of the Cummins. It's not in a spot easily photographed, so you'll have to use your imagination.

This thread is intended as a relatively simple overview of added gauges and their importance to the proper monitoring of our expensive Cummins engines and related systems. And while the specific truck and engine bay seen in these pics is my own ‘02, the basic principles will fully apply to ALL year models of the Cummins equipped Dodges.