The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Important PSA

DO NOT BUY reproduction "bourbon tube" water temp gauges! They are guaranteed to stop working after a couple runs. ive gone through 3 already and the exact same thing happens every time. do not buy, do not waste your money!
also: does anyone know of quality electric gauges i can purchase?

1951 chevy 3100 1/2 ton pickup with a 1954 235 rebuilt overbored .080

i believe what happens is the horrible solder seal or whatever it is on the bottom melts in low temperature and all the gas leaks out of the assembly. not sure why but they always break during the 3rd run.
i checked the top tank of the radiator and the block with a infrared thermometer and it reads 170 (i removed the thermostat as well) so its not overheating at all.

Thanks

"bourbon tube"

Maybe a cheap bourbon was used? (sorry about my bad joke - Bourdon Tube)

Thanks for the warning.

There should be no problem here, if you post the vendor and part number?

i believe the vendor is Counterpart, but theyre probably from some place overseas (probably china). anyway, its most likely a faulty seal on the reader head itself, i think its just a low temp solder, which eventually would melt from the heat transfer from metal to metal. i am unaware of the "official" part number on classic parts (purchased from) is 24-703C and any respective gauge assemblies that contain the unit. i purchased a 212 one, which appears to either have been recalled or removed from their site. perhaps theyre already aware of this issue?

The originals seem to last 3 days past forever, unless a dumb guy cuts the pipe to take it out.
Post an add in the Parts Wanted forum. Someone who hoards them can help you out.

im thinking about converting to electric, know any good buys?

either electric, original, or i just go without, i mean it wont ever overheat, id just need to watch for a coolant leak, which hopefully wont happen.

Some of these blocks tend to build up hard deposits in the water jacket at the rear of the block. Is it possible that yours may have this issue resulting in higher temperatures in the area of the sender causing the problem. I think my aftermarket gauge is Counterpart. I purchased it 8-10 years ago. The truck has been on the road for 6 years since restoration and it still works perfectly. The 2 aftermarket oil pressure gauges in my truck are a different story.

After my 235 block was machined I always go thru it making sure all threads and passages are clean and free of debris. No water would come out of the block drain at the rear of the block. Some incredibly hard crap blocked much of that rear area. It took quite a bit of effort and prodding with various wires and tools to eventually clear it. I suspect the PO may have repeatedly treated the leaking radiator with some sort of stop leak. In my case, had I left that in there #6 cylinder would undoubtedly run hotter than the others.

I don't think you'll improve things with an electric one. A good mechanical one is hard to beat plus it registers when the engine is off.

However, my experience is the original electric Chevy gauges are very good to excellent and the aftermarket gauges sold since about 1990 are all made in China or Mexico with the possible exception of the Speedhut gauges and Autometer. Neither are cheap and I'm not sure how you'd adapt one to the AD gauge cluster if that is important to you. I've seen where guys have converted all 4 gauges from the early S10 pickups and Blazers to the AD gauge cluster. They're small enough to fit without a lot of work and USA is all over them..even the IC chips on the flex circuit boards are carefully marked USA.

Back to the mechanical gauge consideration...If you have (or can find) a good and complete original gauge, you can replace the tube and liquid yourself. Ether is the liquid and you'll need dry ice to chill things. Also you'll need some low temp but very strong solder. Harris Stay Brite is the best and you can get a small amount with flux on Amazon. A couple of years ago I even saw where somebody was doing this on YouTube. In the 70s there was a place in Dallas that would repair these for $20 each, and there may still be people out there restoring them. As you'll learn if you re-do yours, the charge is mostly labor. Good luck!

thanks for the info i will definitely refer back to this a few times

i dont think there is any build up, it was restored and during the restoration it was power cleaned, so nothing is dirty... however there might be some of the cotton left over (backstory: manufacturer left cotton or someone built a nest in the radiator i bought and there was a ton of it in the system but i flushed it for 4 hours) but i doubt that would cause any issues, and water flows very well too. anyway ill do what Jon G suggested, and just purchase an original assembly and rebuild it (if needed). my grandfather gets his meds by mail and they use dry ice half the time, and if not, my father could easily get some from the countys medical supply, as for ether, im not sure where id get it, im sure its in the medical supply though.

ive looked everywhere and cant find any original tempature gauges, so im wondering if i could just restore the one i currently have? nothing is damaged i just believe that the solder on it melted, but i dont know what the tube contains.. (its reproduction original) one friend said its filled with mercury, others say its filled with some kind of gas, and some say it has ether in it

i saw a video just a minute ago where someone took a aftermarket tube and just swapped it out. i guess ill just do that. just have to find a cheap one with a fitting thatll fit in the block.

Ask any grocery store for dry ice. They almost always have it and will usually give you a cup or so for free. Also remember the solder...low temp and hard. Harris is the best. Good luck!

When rebuilding tire curing presses, we used to shrink BIG brass bushings (12" in diameter and 6" wide") by submerging them in a tub filled with dry ice and alcohol. Once installed in the press frame, they expanded to a very tight fit. The same procedure can be used to swap the fluid bulb and capillary tube from a new aftermarket temp gauge to the head of an OEM Chevy one. Cut the cap tube a few inches from the gauge head, do the same with the replacement gauge after the bulb gets cold-soaked for several minutes, then use a close-fitting copper sleeve and solder to join the two pieces. The alcohol/dry ice bath cools the fluid in the bulb down to around -50 degrees F.
Jerry

thats what the guy said to do, he just used a regulat salt+ice combo which aparently worked, but ill still use dry ice. the swapping and joining if tubes will be a walk in the park but finding a aftermarket assembly with a head thatll fit in the block somehow.