The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors 1949 gauge removal

HI, i am taking the cab off my 1949 chevy truck and i'm in the process of taking the wiring and gauges out. The problem i am having with the gauges is that the oil pressure and temp gauge are hooked up to the engine and both sides are rusted on. i can not get them of even with leverage. any tips? Also when i do get the free and loose how is the end going to fit through the cab? Would it be easier to cut them and buy a whole new gauge? Also what is the best way to take the wiring harness out of a truck; from inside out or vise versa. If you could explain how you might have did it, i would be extremely thankful because all the wires are driving me nuts! thanks in advance. Mike

If your gauges are fine, don't cut the line, unless you LIKE throwing money away. Try some penetration overnight. It took two days to get my steering wheel nut to finally break loose. Have patience, even though it's hard when you're working behind that small dash space. I don't have a recommendation for which way is easier to remove the harness, I will defer to someone with more experience. Also, run a search in the "Electrical" section, you might get lucky.

If you're going to ask questions, I think it's a rule that you have to show us some pictures of your truck. Well, at least it should be a rule. Good luck Mike.

Mike, I can’t help you any more than Wada did, I’m assuming your having a hard time getting the fittings loose from the block because the tubes are permanently fixed to the gauges, is that correct? Just soak them real good at the block, apply that patience he mentioned and use a good fitting tubing wrench. Wada’s also correct, replacing them will be expensive and they are pretty hard to find. Once you cut the capillary tube your done with it, their shot after that.
I think, if your going to offer advice I think that it should be a rule that you should sign off with your NAME!
Wojo, some people aren't completely computer literate and registering with picture archive and posting pictures isn’t always the easiest thing to do. There are still a lot of people that don’t have digi cameras or like my self am connected through a phone line, real sloooow, ya know! It takes me hours sometimes to get pictures uploaded. That’s a lot of effort that is often times ignored or misinterpreted as to your being on some kind of ego trip.
I can certainly understand why some people don’t post pictures, or replies for that matter.
That said, there are many times when, as the tired old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and it would most certainly be a help in coming up with an answer.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I appreciate the advice. i pulled the wiring today and i applied some pb blaster at the block and i am going to let it sit overnight, i will post some pictures as soon as possible; been busy trying to get the truck ready when i get my license this december even i am not going to drive it in the winter. thanks, Michael Ahearn.

Good luck to you Michael. Jeff

Michael:
What are your plans for the truck? If the wiring is in bad shape you might think about a new harness. If the gauges don't work they might be repairable or you might have to buy new ones. If you need to get new gauges you have the option of standard or digital gauges. I would suggest you check with Amazon.com for some books to help you along. Some books that have helped me are: The Chevy Shop Manual, How to Restore your Chevy pickup and the Truck Factory Assembly Manual. Being able to read how it was assembled helped me not to destroy stuff I was taking off. Anyway, good luck and check back when you're stumped. We all do.

Michael,

If you do cut the cappilary tube it is possible to have it repaired--but it cost me around $100.00. Best to avoid if you can but DON'T throw the gauge out if you cut the tube!

Going from experience, I use a product called MOOVIT. It is an amazing penetrating fluid. I buy it a the local NAPA.

The oil line is just a steel line but the size is hard to find. The fittings on the end of the oil line are hard to find too so make sure you keep them. The temperature gauge is a sealed tube and you don't want to rupture it. The big risk will be twisting the line when undoing the fitting. The fitting is brass so it should give eventually. This is a place where you CANNOT use heat.