]Hi guys first time posting. Thought I'd post up a quick "how to" on installing a boost gauge as i couldn't find one. Although i was probably looking in the wrong area lol. This won't be fully indepth but will give you a good idea on what to do.
You will require basic hand tools, a drill, a tap and die set and some heavy grease. You will also need a suitable hose barb fitting and aprox 2m of vacuum line as we will be installing the fitting into the intake manifold.
This will give you a charge pressure reading and what the ecu would see.
First remove the upper intercooler pipe that goes into the intake manifold. This is done by loosening the two clamps and simply sliding it off
Next disconnect your battery and remove it. There is a battery holder bolt you will need to remove as shown.
Next we will be disconnecting the two sensors at the intake. There is one on top and one on the bottom.
Disconnect the electrical connection(yellow circle) by pushing in the tab until it unclicks, then pull it out, don't force it. Next unbolt the two bolts on top and simply pull it up and out.
Same applies to the bottom one. Remove the electrical connector (yellow circle) then carefully push the two plastic tabs in on the side. You will see the top open up around the recessed edge, then slowly wiggle it down. This one is a snug fit so be extremely careful not to break the plastic tabs off. Once out try not to touch the ends that sit inside the intake.
Next grab a rag (or a pair of small socks in my case) and put it in past where you will be drilling to stop and crap from getting down into the intake.
Now the fun starts!!!
Make a mark between the sensors where it will not interfere with them. See pics of where i positioned it. And make a mark!
Size up your fitting with the drillbit you need. Most tap and die sets will tell you the size of the drillbit you will need to use.
Grab your drill and make sure you start with a small bit and step it up (depending on what fitting you have bought) I used 3 different sized drill bits.
Now start drilling. But not all the way through. Once there is enough of a hole for the drillbit to find again, dip the drillbit in grease. It will stop the intake getting filled with metal shavings.
Drill showly! And when the drillbit starts building up with shavings, clean the grease off and re apply it.
Once at the correct size, clean out any shavings from the intake if any fell in, and put the rag back.
Now tap the desired thread into the hole!
Turn slowly and once done, clean out the intake for the last time.
I used thread tape and screwed the fitting into the hole. Do not over tighten the fitting. It does not have to be done up by Hercules.
Next Put everything back together, and run your boost line throught the engine bay.
I won't go into the details of hooking up the gauge as every gauge is different and comes with different fittings and wiring. The rest is very simple though and you should be able to work it out. I used wiring from the headunit as everything is there ( earth, 12v and dimming for the lights)
Hopefully this will help others out there that are thinking about installing a boost gauge. I will probably do a few of these write ups in the future when i start modding but with more detail. It was late when i chose to install the boost gauge so didn't take as many pics to do a full indepth guide.
2.7 crd boost gauge install how to
moneypit at the moment
