Subject: [Healeys] Water temp, oil gauge

From: Frank Magnusson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2013 10:03:42 -0500

As others have said, don't cut the capillary tube.  If you're going to send
the gauge off for repair to replace the nut, let the instrument shop cut it in
the right place.  A simple solution short of that is to file a few flats on
the rounded off nut with it still in the car.  Takes some patience but if you
can file some  flats straight enough to get a good flare nut wrench on it,
then you can remove it, clean the threads, put some thread tape on it,
reinstall it and get it a little tighter.  Use a flare nut wrench not an open
end wrench.  That's how these nuts and brake bleeder fittings get rounded off
in the first place by using an open end wrench.  A flare nut wrench gets on 4
of the flats, not 2.    And has a slot to get it over the tube.  Sears has
them , and they're not expensive.  Also I wouldn't run the car much without a
temp gauge especially if its a new restoration.  You never know if something
else might be amiss in the cooling system.  You sure wouldn't want to overheat
the engine.
One other thought, my car had the tube cut when I first got it and I found a
cheap $20 temp gauge with a cappilary tube of the correct size. (Temp only not
a combination gauge)  I installed this gauge temporarily under the dash and
was going to send the original gauge out for repair.  This might be a good
temporary solution while your gauge is being repaired.  I never got around to
getting my gauge repaired and this cheap temporary gauge has been in there a
long time and works fine.

Hope this helps,
Frank
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