Temp Gauge Update

[Joe Flanagan]

After spending over a week searching around for thin copper tubing to make a sleeve to repair my temp gauge, I'm still no closer. Also, I took a stab at adjusting the needle on the one I pulled from the junkyard (the one that would read 130 maximum--in boiling water). That experience showed me I am more likely to ruin my good original gauge if I start messing with it. I contacted John Wolfe, who is listed on the vendors section of the site and who was recommended by Rodney B. He asks $135 to repair and recalibrate the gauge and I am very tempted to ship it off to him. If I bungle my gauge up, I don't have another one and mine is in good condition. I believe this is one of those cases where "do it yourself" is false economy. For me, anyway.

[adam_knox]

Joe, I couldn't agree more with ya'. Don't feel guilty about it either. I like to tackle things myself, but when it comes to something that's easy to break and hard to replace sometimes its wise to admit there's some things you don't want to learn (at least the hard way, that is!).

[Joe Flanagan]

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about the 135, but I think it's actually the cheap way to go. Would have been much cheaper if I'd done that to start off with. "Do it yourself" is a gamble sometimes.

[RobertKB]

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about the 135, but I think it's actually the cheap way to go. Would have been much cheaper if I'd done that to start off with. "Do it yourself" is a gamble sometimes.

Yeah, but you had the fun of going to the boneyard to pull parts with a buddy. That is always fun!

[Rodney Bullock]

I think Joe does as all of us do, we take a shot. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not. I was very scared of hurting my motor so I used John Wolf because that first start up and run of your motor is so important. It must run for a bout half an hour and you have to know if it is over heating. This is a sensitive thing for me. I have never lost a motor on break in before. I do know folks that have. Alot of them never got a second chance because of money reasons. Putting a motor together almost breaks alot of my friends, having it fail ends their restoration. It just makes good sense to invest in a indicator. The junk yard is good for somethings however when it comes to the health of my project I don't short change it. This is why after I rebuild something I got 10 years of trouble free riding before I start re-evaluating stuff. I like riding with a clear mind. Just a thought you I don't know alot about cars:oI just ride and rides and......

[Joe Flanagan]

I have to agree, Rodney. I feel the same way about the break-in. In fact, about the temp in general. It's worth it to me to have an accurate gauge because one of the things I'll be keeping a very close eye on is the temperature when this thing runs for the first time. I don't want to be guessing and hoping.

[randroid]

Joe,

If you're still going to try it yourself, don't bother with copper when more precision brass tubing is readily available. Look for those displays of balsa wood that haunt most hardware stores and you'll probably find it there.

-Randy

[Joe Flanagan]

But wouldn't there be a problem soldering brass to copper?

[TodFitch]

But wouldn't there be a problem soldering brass to copper?

No problem at all on soldering brass to copper.

[Frank Elder]

Joe, a lot of water fixtures that are soldered on to copper water pipes are brass, should be fine.

[P-12 Tommy]

If all else fails, try Neil Riddle. He has NOS temp gauges from time to time. And his prices aren't too bad.

Tom

[Joe Flanagan]

Thanks, Tom. I'll give Neil a call.

[knighthawk]

I did mine ..was no problem ....... I used the copper tubing from a furnace or water heater'' thermo-coupler"........very small copper tubing... there's smaller one inside the outer one..... new thermo- coupler at a hardware store is about $10 !!!

[Joe Flanagan]

And what about its accuracy afterward? Did you have to calibrate it? I think I have a spare thermocouple in my tool box.

[knighthawk]

I really don't remember, I think it was close enough, as long as you save the fliud (or gas) it should be the same as before. Good idea though to check in hot water with a good thermometer......mines still working , been 2 years now

[Joe Flanagan]

I found a thermocouple today and cut a short piece out of it. The copper tube is the absolute perfect size to do this repair. I'm going to try it and see how it works. I'll be using the bulb and capillary tube from a gauge I got out of the salvage yard intact. This gauge only goes up to 130 degrees when the bulb is immersed in boiling water. I'm going to take a chance that the problem lies with the Bourdon tube, since it won't uncurl but a tiny bit. I'll graft the bulb and capillary from that unit on to my original gauge head and see if it performs any better. If not, I called Neil Riddle this morning and he has a complete gauge with capillary and bulb for my car.

[Joe Flanagan]

I attempted the repair tonight. Made all the cuts nicely. The soldering went well. Nice clean job. Except the ether leaked out. I had the bulb under ice for over two hours and kept it in ice while I cut the capillary tube open. I smelled the ether as soon as I cut the tube. Soldered everything up and tested the gauge. Dead. No reading at all. So I will be getting a gauge from Neil Riddle.

But I do have the right size tubing to do this repair if you want to try it yourselves, any of you. I've got plenty of it, so if you want some, let me know and I'll mail it to you.

On to the next &^%$$*&(!!! project.

[knighthawk]

I don't understand why the either leaked out, hmmmmm. anyway, think of it this way, not everyone would have attemped this repair .

[Joe Flanagan]

I don't understand it either. My first thought is somehow I didn't get/keep the ether cold enough, though I don't see how that's possible. That smell is unmistakeable, though.

[Plymouthy Adams]

how close to the bulb did you attempt the splice...?

[Joe Flanagan]

As far away as possible. Right near the head of the gauge.

[TodFitch]

I don't understand it either. My first thought is somehow I didn't get/keep the ether cold enough, though I don't see how that's possible. That smell is unmistakeable, though.

You will lose a little ether in the operation: The dash unit and tubing near the dash unit are warm enough to have the ether in them in vapor form. So there will be a little smell.

However as long as there is liquid ether in the sensing bulb it should work. Since you had it in ice during the operation that should not have escaped.

If you smelled ether after you finished soldering then you may have had a leak then.

Or, more likely, you inadvertently clogged the capillary with some solder so the pressure from the ether is not getting to the dash unit.

[Joe Flanagan]

Interesting. I made the soldered joints far enough away from the openings to make sure I didn't clog them, but I did smell ether while I was getting ready to put the bulb in the boiling water, so I'm pretty sure I had a leak then. I hit it with a little extra solder but I think by that time it was too late. It's also possible I clogged the capillary when I made the cut. There was some debris clogging the opening, which I cleared out with the tip of a pin and I'm not entirely sure some didn't go back up the tube. In any case, I got a new one coming from Neil Riddle. It's frustrating. I ALMOST did it. Would have been nice, but I've had the usual mix of wins and losses during the course of this project.

[blueskies]

I wonder if using dry ice would help keep the ether in the bulb?

Pete

[TodFitch]

I wonder if using dry ice would help keep the ether in the bulb?

Pete

Boiling point of ether is listed as 94F which implies two things to me:

1. It's not possible for the temperature gauge to read temperatures below that.

2. Salted ice at about 0F is probably more than sufficient for keeping the ether in the bulb. Actually, plain old ice at 32F is probably okay too.