redneck gauge fix

[koda2000]

last month my oil pressure sending unit went nuts on my '01 xlt. the needle bounced around so much it managed to get it under the little pin it's supposed to rest on. as such i've had no pressure reading because the needle couldn't move. i know how to remove the instrument cluster and could have done so to fix the needle, but this truck isn't worth the effort to me. instead i drilled a small hole in the cluster face with a step drill. then i used a hooked pic to lift the needle over the pin. to plug the hole i took the top off a BIC pen, painted it low-gloss black and pressed it into the hole - problem solved the redneck way.

 

[sport97]

Gotta love fixing something your own way. I broke a fitting and hose for the wiper sprayers a few years back. I used a small pneumatic fitting, some plastic tubing i stole out of an old squirt gun and a little duct tape to fix it. You would never even know I did it, its all under the wiper cowl and still works.

 

[snoranger]

last month my oil pressure sending unit went nuts on my '01 xlt. the needle bounced around so much it managed to get it under the little pin it's supposed to rest on. as such i've had no pressure reading because the needle couldn't move. i know how to remove the instrument cluster and could have done so to fix the needle, but this truck isn't worth the effort to me. instead i drilled a small hole in the cluster face with a step drill. then i used a hooked pic to lift the needle over the pin. to plug the hole i took the top off a BIC pen, painted it low-gloss black and pressed it into the hole - problem solved the redneck way.

Whatever works, right?

I would have spent the 20 minutes to pull the bezel, removed the cluster cover (there's no need to pull the whole cluster, the cover can be removed without pulling the whole thing.), and fixed it right...But thats just me. At least you didnt just leave the open hole.

 

[koda2000]

Whatever works, right?

I would have spent the 20 minutes to pull the bezel, removed the cluster cover (there's no need to pull the whole cluster, the cover can be removed without pulling the whole thing.), and fixed it right...But thats just me. At least you didnt just leave the open hole.

normally i would have, but not worth the time on this old tub. if it had been my EB, i would have fixed it the right way. i've also fixed a lot of stuff with JB Weld. like the xlt's DOOR AJAR switch (which was in 2 pieces). that was over a year ago and it's still working just fine. i've also used JB Weld to repair broken plastic mounting tabs and a broken timing belt cover saving me 100ths of dollars. if it ends up stronger than the original part and you can't see it, why not?

 

[sport97]

normally i would have, but not worth the time on this old tub. if it had been my EB, i would have fixed it the right way. i've also fixed a lot of stuff with JB Weld. like the xlt's DOOR AJAR switch (which was in 2 pieces). that was over a year ago and it's still working just fine. i've also used JB Weld to repair broken plastic mounting tabs and a broken timing belt cover saving me 100ths of dollars. if it ends up stronger than the original part and you can't see it, why not?

My door ajar switch is snapped in half too... along with 2 wires. Yea, my window went rogue...

I can't find where the other half of the connector is, is it on the latch or something?

 

[koda2000]

My door ajar switch is snapped in half too... along with 2 wires. Yea, my window went rogue...

I can't find where the other half of the connector is, is it on the latch or something?

yes it's attached to the latch a held in place by a single phillips screw. remove the door panel (window full up position) and with a good light, look inside at the latch mech. you should see the screw. there's a great post somewhere in the forum with pictures and instructions (might be a sticky, i forget). i was gonna just get a new switch, but when i saw how it was broken i decided to try a fix it instead.