Quoting Homer Simpson

[Ken J]

"WOO HOO!"

Last night I repaired my engine temperature guage for $19.95 (price of a new, cheap mechanical temperature guage)!!

I did just like the repair site instructed, and aside from having to redo the solder joint from the old capillary tube to the coupling (solder flowed in and closed off the cap. tube), it worked!

I noted that at 75 degrees ambient temp, a five-quart bucket full of ice and topped with water stood at 31.2 degrees. After adding about four tablespoons of table salt and stirring, the temperature stablized at 25.7 degrees (why is that?).

After testing for leaks by submerging the new joint and heating the bulb, I cycled the guage a few times. It was sticking, but after I pulled and pushed the needle shaft along its axis a few times, the needle moved very smoothly.

What a weight off my mind. I've been sweating this temperature guage problem for a couple of months now. Now all I have to do is repaint the needle and back face and both guage sets are finished.


IT'S GETTING CLOSER TO RUN TIME

[Mike in VA, USA]

Doing this stuff yourself is one of the best ways to become very familiar with your truck, and thereby more capable of knowing when something isn't right and then fixin' it.
Hats off to farmboy engineering!
I'm not current on my physics, but I know that adding salt to ice is how the old ice-cream freezers worked. Neat trick.

[Tony B]

The salt causes an increase in the melting rate of the ice. In order to melt faster more heat is given off, hence temprature lowers.

[Ken J]

When I went on the Net to find out, I came across another explanation:

That when a salt is added, the free ions interfere with the atomical movement of the water molecules, which causes them to shed energy; this sounds like your explanation.

Thanks!

[Tony B]

Diffrence is mate I try to speack English Just got back from the 90th anniversary of the Somme with My 51 and Canadian Scottish with his APT. We have done about a 1000 miles in the last week doing what Dodges should do supporting guys in the Feild.

[Ken J]

Thanks Tony!

Great to hear you're out and about with your truck! Can't wait to drive mine for the first time. Maybe by the end of this month (after 25 months of work)......

[Mike in VA, USA]

I've been foolin' with mine since October of '97. So far I've put 3 miles on. Currently have float sticking, leaky freeze plug, no charge from generator, no brakes, very stiff steering, and practically no cosmetics done. Its finally got a home with enough room to work around it, but still have one wall open, no battens on the siding boards, and thousands of hungry mosquitos. I did manage to get an electrical feed buried and now have lights to attract more bugs.

[Tony B]

Bit of topic, but if you can still get it a good way to avoid little flying beasties in garages etc. is a stuff called Tegrin Fly Varnish. It comes as a blue crystal which is wetted down and painted on to the wall in patches. You need to put a bucket under it the things queue up to eat and die. Mind you its so good someone has probably banned it. Try the local agricultural supplier.

[Phil P]

I read this site daily during my lunch break and find the subjects covered fantastic and the tech assistance better than any manual. There's nothing like skinning your own knuckles to learn fast. The joy of getting the ol' pot boiler running never diminishes or the first day out on the street. My WC51 is only about 3 weeks from 'burning rubber'. It burned rubber when I first got it but that was the lashed up wiring that some moron had done and then tie wrapped it to the front flexible brake pipe under the rad. The wiring over heated and almost torched the brake pipe! But all that is in the skip along with most of the front bodywork and cab floor. My lungs have almost recovered from inhaling half a ton of plastic padding that maqueraided as the body. Thanks to all the guys who contribute to this site I soon will be enjoying my rag top motoring, unless I suddenly discover some other bodge up hiding.