Aftermarket gauges, recommendations?

My stock oil pressure gauge is broken and the previous owner had put in an aftermarket one.  That one leaks in the cab so it needs to go.  I was browsing amazon and some parts stores and saw that reviews for aftermarket gauges (Bosch and Auto Meter in particular) are absolutely terrible.  Now granted reviews are terrible in them selves sometimes because a lot of people improperly install something then complain about it but most of these reviews all say the same things, broken, leaking, defective out of the box, etc.  So I wanted to see if you guys are running aftermarket gauges and if so, which ones?  

I personally like the idea of electric gauges so that I only run electrical wires through the firewall and not a copper oil line or metal temp line.  Thoughts?

I don't have any aftermarket gauges in my 1986. I did put a coolant temperature gauge in my 1987 4Runner.

I ended up buying an Equus and installing it. I was happy with it, and it worked well. And it was electric.

https://www.iequus.com/

Edit: Add electric

It should be pretty easy to find a stock gauge to replace the broken one.  But if you want an aftermarket one, instead of or in addition to the stock one, then that's the "belt and braces" approach I usually use.

Big Blue has AutoMeter gauges in him, but I've used other brands as well, all with good luck.  However, I've traditionally used mechanical rather than electric gauges.  The reason is that the mechanical ones usually have 270 degree movement while the electric one typically have 90 degree movement.  I find it much easier to see what they are saying with the 270 degree sweep.  But, they aren't as easy to install, that's for sure.

Gary Lewis wrote

It should be pretty easy to find a stock gauge to replace the broken one.  But if you want an aftermarket one, instead of or in addition to the stock one, then that's the "belt and braces" approach I usually use.

B

NOS: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-FORD-E0TZ-9273-A-OIL-GAUGE-1980-1981-1986-F100-F150-F250-F350-BRONCO/264209275943?hash=item3d84199c27:g:hL0AAOSwL8xccBJp


Used: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-1986-FORD-BRONCO-TRUCK-OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-F150-F250-F350-CLUSTER-80-86-85/322254841898?hash=item4b07e2a82a:g:1xwAAOSwxg5X0INo

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-1986-FORD-BRONCO-TRUCK-OEM-CLUSTER-OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-F150-F250-F350-86-84/222261042420?fits=Year%3A1980%7CModel%3AF-150%7CMake%3AFord&hash=item33bfca5cf4:g:CB0AAOSwmLlX59NU:sc:USPSFirstClass!40475!US!-1

I’ve been pretty happy with my VDO set of mechanical gauges. They are older, however, and came with my ‘86. They are more stable and easier to read than the cheap-o ones. I’ve also heard good things about Stuart Warner. All I can say is if you run a mechanical oil pressure gauge use a copper, not plastic feed line 😭.

jstone4646 wrote

I personally like the idea of electric gauges so that I only run electrical wires through the firewall and not a copper oil line or metal temp line.  Thoughts?

Sounds like you need the factory gauges, which have been good enough for my engine to last about a million miles (literally).

Gary Lewis wrote

I find it much easier to see what they are saying with the 270 degree sweep.

I've never paid that much attention to them - just a glance to see if the needle is significantly OUT-of-position.  If it's basically where it always is, then I don't care what the 2nd decimal place is.   It's just a "gauge" - not a precision meter, even if it has a 360° sweep on a 6" dial with 4 scales of units.