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Onto a new issue with the 41 110… the dash cluster was removed and odometer and Speedo were repaired to working order…after work was done the temperature gauge no longer works…I’ve removed the nut and washer from the cable to the rear of gauge itself but not sure how to remove and inspect the cable or inside guage….don’t want to do more damage….any insight would be helpful! And thanks again for help with fuel pump ..all working great…I’ll attach photo of rear of guage…

Considering the rear of it looks quite dirty, I'd gently clean it with Scothbrite and non chlorinated brake cleaner, as well as the terminal, and try again.

Edit: Just realized this is not an electric gauge 😂 nvm

Not uncommon for those capillary style temp gauges to leak down over 50+ years.

You can try putting a couple of drops of 3in1 oil on the pivot points in the gauge and try to move them a little bit in case they are seized.

But generally, if they don't move, they have developed a leak somewhere in tubbing or in coil inside the gauge and will need to be sent to rebuilder for repair.

Just about to send mine my 37 one off for repair.

If lube doesn't work, as Kev said you will need to remove the gauge and send it to someone for repair.

You would start by disconnecting the sensor bulb at the engine and carefully pull the entire tube and sensor back into the car taking care not to kink the tubing or damage the bulb. . If your car is one of the models that also has a mechanical oil gauge next to the mechanical temp gauge it may be on the same mounting plate. If that is the case, be extremely careful not to damage the oil gauge tubing when removing the temp gauge. To be safe, the oil line could also be disconnected and pulled into the car so as to allow the plate and gauges to be completely removed from the car and manipulated on a workbench without risk of damage to the tubes and gauges.

To remove the temp gauge only, the cluster mounting plate which usually holds two of the gauges will need to be removed from the dash so the gauge can be pulled off. The plate is typically held by 4 screws which mount the plate to the rest of the instrument cluster. Once the plate and gauges are completely accessible there is a large nut holding the temp gauge to the plate. Remove the nut and carefully pull the gauge with tubing and sensor attached thru the hole in the plate and prepare if for shipment. The hole in the plate should be large enough to let the engine end pull thru intact but some of the nuts holding the sensor to the cylinder head might be a tight squeeze.

Here is an old ebay photo of the rear of a cluster plate from a 41 with both the oil and temp gauges still attached. Someone cut the tubing off both gauges and effectively destroyed them. They could probably be repaired but at an unnecessary expense. I don't know which model 41 it came from so your plate may be slightly different in shape or the gauge layout may be different with fuel or ammeter being next to temp instead of oil. The red arrow points to the nuts which must be removed to free the gauges on that plate.



If you want to get an idea of what is involved in repairing the gauge, there is an article from many years ago where a fellow repaired his Plymouth gauge. The Packard gauge repair is no different but finding the components today is harder and the work is tedious. The repaired gauge would still need to be calibrated. It is much easier to just send it to someone who has the expertise and parts. Several on the forum have sent their gauges in and can give a recommendation for a good repair shop..

Great information thanks! Seems crazy to have to pull everything thru firewall but I can see now how they did it…will try the oil and if no go I guess off to repair tks

Kev, what are the pivot points? I got guage dropped and all the brass looks good..the needle swings freely with a slight push ..I can see no damage or where it could be stuck..I see an area where it looks like points in a distributor…is that where u are talking about? Tks

Wow thanks Howard…I appreciate the detailed information! It looks like I’ll be sending out…is there any way to bench test it out of car?

Pivot points may be sort of hidden under the faceplate so if Kev doesn't have a good photo of his Packard gauge showing exactly where to look you can do a Google search for Bourdon tube pressure gauge There are several sites which show illustrations of a typical gauge and where the pivot is located. Here is one of them.

Generally the pivot points are part of the mechanism which connects the moving end of the Bourdon tube to the needle. Linkage will consist of a single or maybe several small pieces of metal linked together in some fashion to move the needle. Pivots are the points which support the needle or actually move where the attachments are made. Some gauges with limited needle movement have it so the needle is pulled directly by linkage via a single metal piece. Other gauges that need to have the needle move a greater distance such as in a circle all around the gauge have a small gear attached to the needle. In those the small tube movement is multiplied so the needle can be operated at a greater range by the piece(s) attached to the tube turning the gear. If your needle seems free and goes back to the relaxed position freely lube may be OK. As Kev said, the working fluid could have just leaked out so there is not enough to move the Bourdon tube. The actual Bourdon tube looks sturdy but can be deformed or bent easily so don't push or pull on the moving end of it very hard.

You can bench test the gauge out of the car by inserting the sensor bulb in a container of heated water. Typically, if your gauge only has marks such as C or H a container of room temperature water will have the needle at the low C end. Heated to somewhere around the engine thermostat range which is typically about 160 will be mid scale and with it boiling, the needle will be somewhere near the top or even past the H. If your gauge is calibrated in actual numbers you could use something like a meat or candy thermometer in the water to see how close the temps match.

Ok thanks…yes all moves and springs back freely…I will pull it tomorrow and send out.,thanks

Well decided to do it now…got nut out of head easily enough…when I try and remove sensor from head ..it I feels like it’s getting stuck or hung up ….it moves a bit but I feel like it will break off if I yank any harder…?