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autometer guages


v8260

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hey guys i just picked up 6 or 7 autometer guages for $100 bucks from a junk yard. so im pretty happy bout that but im confused about something. Some of the guages are liquid filled and are only half full. my question is where can i buy the fluid that goes in and what kind do i get? I will post pics up of the guages when i get the chance.

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It's usually glycerine or silicone. Look in your yellow pages for "Instrumentation Calibration and Repair" for a local source.

 

Failing that, McMaster-Carr Supply company (http://www.mcmaster.com) has it and they take credit cards, and ship.

 

You may try to confirm with Autometer what dampening fluid they use, but I doubt it's anything different than the rest of the industry uses.

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Then the next question you have to ask is why did the fluid leak out?

Ding ding ding...$100 question there. I would guess it's probably just seapage from sitting in a hot car in a junkyard. Could be old seals, check them out very very carefully before refilling them, and look for corrosion inside. If the oil level stayed low long enough the internals could be bad.

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my guess is that it evaporated cause there is no leak that i could find. I was told thou that the liquid really isnt needed. Its only for high performance cars that shake alot. is this true? Would anything happen if i was to have no fluid in the guages?

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Its only for high performance cars that shake alot.

Only suggestion I can make regarding the liquid filling is that it's there to stop the vibration of the needle at high speed.

 

Reason why I say this is because of the reason mentioned, my experience was in the boat we had for years, we'd go through a fuel gauge every 2 or 3 seasons due to the vibrations of the needle in the gauge. The needle would snap off clean at the base. The gauge was an old VDO unit and was reading direct off the sender, with no compensation for "instantaneous" changes. Difference is nowadays, most if not all gauges come with something (can't remember my basic electronics, if it's a resistor, capacitor or whatnot) that will automatically stop the instantaneous "corrections" that most gauges deal with, so modern gauges really only deal with an "average" reading over a set length of time.

 

Unless you've got some mega machine there that has no suspension and vibrates like a herion addict that needs a hit, then don't worry too much, your gauges should be fine as long as the internals are fine.

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well my suspension is similar , i have the MSA sway bars adjustable end links . Dont order the end links a pain in the ass to adjust . I have the tokico lowering springs but only have the adjustable struts in the rear and the non adjustable in the front .

 

Now to add to the stiffness or harshness of my ride i have the AZ car controll arms the fully adjustable ones . In the front there are no rubber or eurthane bushings anyplace all solid . Same goes for the rear all solid bushings .

 

I had a problem with a fuel pressure gauge going bad about 2 weeks after i bought it i went through 3 cheap ones untill i gave in and bought the liquid filled gauge . Its lasted longer 4 months so far but the needled is starting to creep up the scale it never fully goes back to 0 psi it goes down to about 1 1/2 psi even when removed from the fuel line .

 

I have my fuel pressure set to 7 psi but the gauge now says its 9 psi but i know better ive tested the pressure . I guess it determines where the gauge is mine is on the carb fuel inlet line about 2 inches from the carb .

 

Jason SBC 350 super charged

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