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Removing water/oil gauge - HELP

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bighealeysource

bighealeysource

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Help,
I was trying to remove my existing oil/water temp gauge
to switch it out for a correct colored face unit. I
loosened the large brass fitting that threads into
the head by the water outlet elbow where the capillary tube fits into the head for the water temp fitting. I was very careful and when attempting to pull it out the capillary tube pulled out of the brass bulb that sits in the head. Do I need to try to get the old fitting out of the hole in the head and how do I do that without making matters worse? I stuck the capillary tubing back into the fitting but I would imagine that was soldered into it based on the new one I have. HELP - what should I do - leave it alone, scream, swear, cry ????? How can I get the old one out ? Take off the elbow to get to it ?
Thanks,
Mike
 
Yes, you'll have to get the old bulb out of the head. Whatever you do DO NOT pull the bulb off the gauge you want to install! Not only is the bulb soldered to the capillary tube, it is filled with alcohol (it expands, apparently, causing the Bourdon Tube inside the gauge to try to straighten out, acting on a gear to rotate the needle.

Try some good penetrating oil (WD-40 doesn't qualify) to break some of the rust seal that's holding it in.

As I've never done this, I don't know how much of the bulb lends itself to being grabbed and retreived. Don't do anything that will distort the bulb, or you'll have an even harder time to remove it.

Screaming, swearing and crying does seem appropriate :wink:
 
Doesn't the tube have ether? I think so, because when I broke mine on a Saturday, I didn't know it until I woke up on Monday. On the floor of the shop.
 
Hi Mike,
Sorry about the breakage. As Randy says, it needs to come out and get fixed. If you can't worry it out you can access the back side by taking the thermostat out. I wonder if you have a lot of corrosion build-up in the water ways. Might be a good idea to take the thermo off for an investigation anyway. Your choice on that last bit.
 
Thanks y'all for the feedback. I'm letting it sit overnight after
hitting it with some penetrating spray and hoping that will let me
pull it out. If not, Greg's response lets me know to pull the thermostat
from the elbow and get access from the back side to get it out that way.
Oh well, typical Healey adventure, think it will be easy to switch
to the right gauge and it's not !! BTW, should I put any kind of lubricant
on the new bulb when I push it in ?
Thanks,
Mike
 
now that the capillary tube is broken at the bulb you should now be able to get a 5/8 standard socket to remove it. Niswonger (if spelled correctly) is a good source for repair for about $150 and 3 weeks.

What face color on the gauge are you tryiny to replace. The earlier models have the light faces whereas the later healeys after 1962 had black faces.
 
Hey all,
Success ! The penetrating oil did the trick and was able to pull the
bulb straight out today. Of course, not a good idea if you're not
ready to put the new one right back in. But, only lost a little antifreeze
and put the new unit back in, hooked everything up, started it back up,
and viola, no leaks, and the gauge works perfect. That doesn't include twisting
my body into unnatural positions feeding the new capillary tube back under
the dash, through the firewall, etc. The old temp/oil gauge was a black
face unit where I needed the light colored face unit to be correct for my
early BN6.
Regards,
Mike
 
I know I've asked you this before, but how early is your BN6?

Have you registered your car here yet? https://www.healeydata.com/ It's one of the new sticky links Basil put at the top of our Healey page. The database is set up so you can pull up only BN6s, if you like. It's interesting to see pictures of other BN6s (or BN4s) that might've been on the line at the same time as your own car.

Congratulations on overcoming yet another Healey Hurdle!
 
Hey Randy,
Yours and mine are very close to each other. My VIN is BN6L964.
Got the creased hood and prop rod is on the driver's side. Have
a front apron but not sure if it came with as produced - supposedly
too early for one - or was added over the years. I'll post info on
the data link. Will get a few pictures when I have a few more things
assembled.
Regards,
Mike
 
That is close! My creased hood still had the prop rod on the passenger side (electrical side of the engine).

Yours also should've still had the glass windshield washer jar/tiny chrome pump; does it still?

Interesting how these cars evolved, I guess due to suppliers and availability.
 
Randy Forbes said:
...
Interesting how these cars evolved, I guess due to suppliers and availability.
Click to expand...

I agree. When I put together a subassembly, I always read through the restoration guide and the concourse guidelines and look at how the BJ8 differes from the earlier cars. Quite frankly, I think some of the parts and build quality was sacraficed over the years in order to free up cash to add features. Although the BJ8 had all the "bells and whistles" :smile:lol:smile: it also had some obvious cost cutting on things like the deletion of flat washers, and the quality of certin components that were formerly glass or chromed steel and were now plastic or painted steel.
 
Hey Randy,
When I got my BN6 it didn't have the water bottle or pump but did have
the bottle bracket and shelf which fit the later plastic bottle. The
dash had the cutout for the larger water pump piece. So, like above,
looks like Healey was using whatever was in the parts bin at the time !
Regards,
Mike
 
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