Hey guys,I was wondering if anyone has had luck changing the cable and probe on a water temp gauge? I have a large sw gauge and it is missing the end and I would like to try and repair it. Rather that throw it away. Any tips would be great
It's not a do-it--yourself thing. Now somebody will come and link to an ancient site that shows how they did it with some dry ice and a soldering iron. But I think if the gauge is valuable (some old SW's are really valuable), it should be left to the pros.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/stewart-warner-temp-gauge-fix.812542/ .....or send it to a pro.....https://williamsons.com/.
Mo-Ma Manufacturing - Home (momamanufacturing.com) Mo-Ma in Alburquerque can do capillary tube repair.
It has been done and posted here more than once. Hot Rods - Capillary tube replacement | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Mechanical temp gauge repair? | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Technical - Mechanical temp gauge repair | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Need help with capillary tube replacement on Stewart Warner water temp gauge | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Capillary Temp Guage Extension | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
@alchemy is right, I have done it on 2 different gauges, by using a donor gauge to steal the bulb off and the capilary tube. . And yes it did work sort of, but it was no where near accurate. I still have them both to send out and have done properly, instead of my rig.
@1954fordkustom Can you post a photo of your SW water temp gauge? It sounds like you have a 2 5/8". I can shed some light on your gauge if I know which one you have. The guys are correct, the proper thing to do is to send it in. I have sent several to shops over the years.
If it's a smooth bezel gauge with a crescent needle & curved gl***, it would definitely be worth it to get it fixed. If it's a later flat gl*** step bezel gauge, you'd be better off finding one that works, as the repair cost would exceed they value of the gauge.
Good call. Many of the common newer SW gauges (2-5/8" too) are not worth the extra labor to repair. They can still be found in perfect working order at swap meets for half the price of a brand new one.
That style was made from the late 50's through at least the 80's. Then in the 80's they started painting the tail of the pointer black, but all else was the same. Yours has a plastic covered tube, so I'd guess a later gauge. The earlier ones had a wire wound tube. As I said above, gauges like that can be found at almost all swap meets. Usually for about $40.
Thanks for the info. I bought several different 2 5/8 gauges from a fiend. A box full of them and unfortunately all the water temp gauges have been cut
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