Autometer gauge broke

[copper67sat]

Took my Satellite out for a drive last weekend. Accelerated quickly pulling out of my neighborhood while making a left onto a 4-lane divided highway. Heard a clunk and looked down to see my Autometer water temp gauge laying on the console. It was still working, but had separated from the bezel and fallen out of the underdash cluster. Date on the gauge is '93 so it's been in the car since I got it back on the road after resto.

Surprised me that it broke like it did, but it is 30 yrs old and wasn't an expensive gauge - a new replacement is about $60 so I probably paid half that back in the day. Anyone else experience something like this?

 

[RemCharger]

Sort of. I have a cheap oil pressure gauge in my race car and the internal trim ring crumbled apart. So the needle sweeps the garbage built up at the bottom

 

[Sam69sat]

JB Weld to the rescue.

 

[khryslerkid]

I had a cheap oil pressure gauge come apart once. Oil all over the carpet before I realized what happened.

 

[copper67sat]

I had a cheap oil pressure gauge come apart once. Oil all over the carpet before I realized what happened.

Yea. This has me wondering about the mechanical oil pressure gauge that sits next to it and is the same vintage. That one originally had nylon tubing, but it cracked at the ferrule early in its life and leaked all over the console. Clamped a vice grip to the line to drive it home that day and promptly replaced the nylon with copper tubing. Hopefully the copper tubing will hold up even if the housing breaks like the temp gauge.

 

[Budnicks]

sorry to hear & see that

Maybe ? it was org. overtightened/cracked,
with the rear hold-down clamps in the back, pressure against the bezel
Maybe ? it just took a while & 30 years of shaking around & vibration
to break it completely

 

[kiwigtx]

Plastic fatigue......looks a bit crumbly.

You must have launched into the 4-way with a hellava speed @copper67sat

 

[copper67sat]

sorry to hear & see that

Maybe ? it was org. overtightened/cracked,
with the rear hold-down clamps in the back, pressure against the bezel
Maybe ? it just took a while & 30 years of shaking around & vibration
to break it completely

I wondered if it was too tight - maybe. Nuts were only finger tight when I removed the clamp.

Plastic fatigue......looks a bit crumbly.

You must have launched into the 4-way with a hellava speed @copper67sat

I did accelerate vigorously to get across in front of oncoming traffic. Might've even spun the tires a bit on launch

 

[kiwigtx]

Might've even spun the tires a bit on launch

That's what we like to hear.

 

[YY1]

FL is not kind at all to plastics, especially if left in a non-climate controlled environment.