Unusual question
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 72
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From: St.Louis area
Unusual question
How do you remove and reposition the guage needle on temp gauge?
I warned you it was an unusual question!
The reason I ask is,as I mentioned in a different post I am in the process of buying a 94 XLT.The previous owner purchased and installed guage appliques in white with red flames.It appears that the needle had to be removed to install these as there is no slit to allow them to go around the needle, only a small hole around the needle post.My kid thinks their neat, I find the whole thing cheap looking and somewhat annoying.All guages seem to read fine ,except the temp. It reads at the cold line when at operating temp.It will read slightly higher if you shut it off for a few minutes then restart the engine, then it goes back down.So the guage appears to work properly ,the needle is just in the wrong place. I asked about this and the guy said he had a friend finish it for him because he couldn't get his fingers in there.He also says the problem didn't exist before the modification.He just noted the discrepency and figgured if it gets to the half mark it was in serious trouble.
I on the other hand want it to read at one third or half scale at operating temp.
Where do yours read?
I warned you it was an unusual question!
The reason I ask is,as I mentioned in a different post I am in the process of buying a 94 XLT.The previous owner purchased and installed guage appliques in white with red flames.It appears that the needle had to be removed to install these as there is no slit to allow them to go around the needle, only a small hole around the needle post.My kid thinks their neat, I find the whole thing cheap looking and somewhat annoying.All guages seem to read fine ,except the temp. It reads at the cold line when at operating temp.It will read slightly higher if you shut it off for a few minutes then restart the engine, then it goes back down.So the guage appears to work properly ,the needle is just in the wrong place. I asked about this and the guy said he had a friend finish it for him because he couldn't get his fingers in there.He also says the problem didn't exist before the modification.He just noted the discrepency and figgured if it gets to the half mark it was in serious trouble.
I on the other hand want it to read at one third or half scale at operating temp.
Where do yours read?
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 163
Likes: 0
From: Bucks County, PA
My '96 reads around a third under normal conditions. I believe the needle just pulls off abd pushes back on, it's a tight fit. I remember seeing a tool for this some time back in a repair manual. After you remove the guage see if you can hold the stem from behing the face plate with needle nose pliers as you pull on the needle. If you can get to the stem you may be able to mark the needles currrent position and adjust accordingly. Good luck.,
Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
This may be an unnecessary question, but are you sure that the appliqué is skewed and the thermostat is good? It may be worth while to compare the markings to a "stock" Explorer to see if they are close. If they appear to be in the same relative positions you may have a bad t-stat that has failed open, as it should. Also, does the needle read significantly below low with a cold engine? If so than I agree that the sticker is misaligned.
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