jpolaski@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> I'd like to know if there is any particular brand of after-market
> gauges that are a good value. I don't want the most expensive, but I
> also don't mind paying for a decent quality package. I definitely want
> to avoid cheap instruments.
>
> I'd like water temp, transmission temp, voltmeter.
>
> It will be for a 1990 Jeep Cherokee (w/automatic trans., 4.0L in-line
> 6 engine, ~70,000 miles) that's been overheating lately. I've replaced
> the (obviously bad) water pump thinking that would fix it. But it
> didn't. Next I'll be replacing the thermostat and coolant recovery
> bottle & cap. I figure that if those changes don't fix it I'll switch
> it from a closed/pressurized system to a regular open system by
> putting in a new radiator, etc...
>
> Thanks in advance for any help,
>
>
> Jeff P.
I just went through a similar exercise with the Ugly Truck, as I wanted
to add a trans. temp gauge and an oil pressure gauge. I had an oil
pressure gauge from my '62 Stude that I installed, it was Sunpro brand.
I also bought a vacuum gauge to fill out the 3-gauge panel, also
Sunpro. The only trans temp gauge I could find in a matching style was
a VDO "series 1" unit (I was going for chrome bezels, black faces, white
numbers/pointers - reason being I figured if I ever sold the truck I'd
pull the gauges and keep them for another interesting car project.) The
Sunpro gauges are adequate in that they seem to be reasonably accurate
and responsive, but the backlighting is simply abysmal. The VDO gauge
however has attractive and functional backlighting. I did buy the
AutoMeter "bulb condoms" to get the backlighting green. I posted at
more length about this in this thread:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.tech/browse_frm/thread/14cc0027e057fd85/df00eabc701267ba?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=nagel+gauge#df00eabc701267ba
unfortunately, I have not seen a reading yet on the trans. temp gauge as
I installed the sender in a test ****t, and apparently that is far enough
away from a fluid passage that sees actual fluid movement that it
doesn't work well there, so I will either have to pull the trans pan and
install a bung or else get a (expen$ive) aluminum pan that I can drill
and tap. So I can't really comment on the *performance* of the VDO
gauge, but it sure does look good at night.
AutoMeter makes some attractive gauges as well, but most of them seem to
be in a more modern idiom than VDO's "series 1." They do have their
"Traditional Chrome" line but those have orangey-red pointers rather
than white (which would actually be a good match for my '55 Stude...
but I digress.)
Personally based on my experiences I would avoid Sunpro because of the
backlighting issues; VDO or AutoMeter ought to be safe buys, not sure
about Stewart-Warner as they appear to have either changed hands or
reorganized recently.
Unless you're going to be doing some serious off-roading or other
high-vibration use I doubt you need liquid-filled or anything fancy like
that.
If you feel like taking a chance, I know that Summit Racing has recently
introduced their own "private label" line of gauges, but I have never
tried any of them so I don't know who they're private labeled from. I
imagine other similar retailers might have similar products (Jeg's,
Speedway Motors, etc.)
I hope this post helped more than it muddied the waters :) About the
only hard recommendation I could make would be to avoid Sunpro because
of the abysmal backlighting that appears to not be easily fixable.
nate
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