New guy wanting to say H,i and a tachometer question

Hi everybody. I must admit I've been a long time lurker. I've owned two vans and used to go to TVP but it's been pretty quiet over there lately, and not too much useful info. I never needed to register because I could always find the info I needed. I want to thank everyone here for there input and knowledge. With your help I've been able to fix every problem I've come across (except head gasket on first van).

I want to install an aftermarket tachometer and remember reading somewhere that these van have a wire coming from the distributor, making it very easy. Did I make that up in my head?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for all your hard work here.

Also what other gauges do you think would be useful?

Hi and welcome to TVT. There is a blue wire that comes out of the distributor and dead ends at a green connector. This is the one that sticks straight up beside the distributor cap. Just take the little protective cap off of it and plug your tach wire in. I happen to have my distributor sitting on my dining room table so I snapped a couple of shots for you :)>:.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23...e/IMG_1668.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23...e/IMG_1670.jpg

Other gauges I find useful are engine temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, transmission temp gauge (if it's an automatic), and DC volt gauge. The problem with the van is finding a place for gauges. Wait til you see where I put mine, (I need a copilot to read them accurately) :LOL2:.

More information & pics of mine on in this thread: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...ghlight=gauges

Hey, thanks Tim for the quick response. You've helped me so many times without even knowing it.
I knew that wire existed...just didn't know where it was. The photos are very helpful.
I think I'm going to put a volt meter and oil pressure gauge in as well. The trans temp would be nice but I don't think I want to mess with the oil pan for that one. I hate when I try to make something better, but end up making it worse.
As far as mounting the gauges I think I want to try and put them on top of the factory gauge housing.
When I'm done I will post pics if I can figure it out...kind of a dinosaur when it comes to computers.

Posting pics is easy. Just click on the "manage attachments" button below the dialect box while posting a response. The site software will allow you to upload directly from your computer. Anyhow, I'm glad you finally quit lurking and started posting. Also glad to hear my endless rambling actually helps once in a while :). Tim

I got a chance to temp up my tach today and it worked...so easy after knowing where the sensor is. I used alligator clips to the "hot" positive under the little black box next to the intake. I got me thinking...where should I get power from that is controlled by the ignition? Cig lighter? Also i want to add a oil pressure gauge but don't have a sensor for the gauge, is there a universal sensor that anyone can recommend? Also where do I screw the sensor into? My gauge only has one wire for the sensor to connect to (it has a "pos" & "neg" also). I'm also going to add a volt meter which is the easiest of them all, once I figure out where to get the power from...controlled by the ignition. I'll try and post pics when I'm done. Many thanks.

Although I know it should be easy, I'd like to see your voltmeter pics when done. :thmbup:

The cigarette lighter circuit would be a good choice for an ignition controlled circuit. The higher end oil pressure gauges will have an electric sending unit. Then there are the cheaper ones that just hook up to the oil pressure port with a 1/8" nylon tube (oil actually goes into the tube and sends pressure directly to the gauge). I'm using the one with the tube, but I had to get a longer tube as the one supplied with the gauge wasn't long enough. The best place to tap oil pressure is where they put the stock sending unit (right below the oil filter). The thread size for the Toyota sender is 1/8" NPT. For mine I simply got a 1/8" FPT tee and a nipple (see picture below). 1/8" NPT is a very common size for oil pressure ports, so any gauge you get should come with that size or an adapter that will allow you to use that size.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23...IMG_1588-1.jpg

Another way to do this is to purchase a filter sandwich and install it below your oil filter. The filter sandwich gives you 3 extra pressure ports to tap into. If you go this route you should use a shorter filter (like the one pictured below) so you don't run into any interference issues. Automatic 4wd vans have an oil cooler attachment here, and already require the shorter filters, so the filter sandwich may not be a good choice for those.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23...e/IMG_1547.jpg

The filter sandwich goes for around $50 and can be purchased at any performance oriented auto parts store. I got mine off of Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

My Stock Tach is off. I know this when I go to to the smog station. My idle and high speed read different than their computer. What Is the problem more likely to be in the sender or gauge???

I would guess the gauge head. The sender is simply communicating a pulse based on actual rotations. Tim

Question: I've wanted to add a tac but that green connector doesn't have the mounting clip attached to the distributor. In your professional opinion how important is that clip?