235 temp gauge confusion

I have a 1953 235 (head is 58-62) .The motor is in a 1948 stylemaster (3spd).Temp guage goes to 100 as soon as car is started,it doesnt move up or down,is it a bad guage?The oil pressure reads at 14 pounds.These are the stock guages.This may seem like a stuped question,but if it needs replacing does it need to be 6 volt.Do these even need power?thanx

 

Both should be mechanical no external power needed. If your engine is a '53 low pressure engine IE splash style rods 14 PSI is normal. Your temp gauge is probably dead.

 

The temp guage on my 54 235 is a non powered unit. There is a capillary bulb and tube that is full of ether. The bulb is attached to the head on the driver side rear. When the head heats up, the pressure in the tube increases and that gives you the guage needle movement.

Sounds kinda odd if you are getting deflection immediately. Pull the guage and bulb and test it with some boiling water.

 

Thanks guys for the info,Going to pull the guage and bulb this weekend and check that,and still get new guages since they will be very easy to install(not having to be wired in),Maybe tuck them under the dash just a bit?

 

If the head is newer than '55, it will need an adapter to work with the older guages. Does it have this?

 

Man,Im not sure,would the adapter be on the head or the guage in the dash?I want to say that where it goes into the head it looks like a one size nut then another for the actual bulb,would this be correct,i will have to check that out to be sure

 

The adapter would be in the head. The hole got bigger in '56 when they went to electric instead of mechanical. Moroso sells an adapter specifically for this. I can get you a part number if you need it.
I can't say that it would cause it to read funny or not. The fact that it instantly jumps to 100 and stays there says to me that you have an electric issue not related to the temp bulb? just guessing... There are several places on the internet that specialize in gauges. Perhaps a call to one of them is in order?

 

Im wondering if one of the previous owners just used the adaptor w/ the amechanical unit that came w/ the car since it`s a 48.As soon as I get home from work i will list any more info I can find,Is telling the differance between the mechanical and electric as easy as just looking behing the dash and seeing if the guage is wired?

 

YEP ! Both oil and temp will have something looking like a piece of 1/8 tube coming out of them. If you have a nut screwing into another nut in the head you have the adapter.

 

Yes I have the adaptor,just checked that,Can I use a mechanical guage on this?Is the bulb the same for both mechanical and electric?And I checked looks like my guage not moving at all /stuck on 100 degrees.

 

Electric gauges don't have bulbs. There is a sender that screws into the cylinder head, and a wire goes back to the gauge.

Mechanical gauges have the bulb that is tethered back to the gauge by a thin metal tube.

If you are replacing the stock mechanical gauge with an aftermarket mechanical one, you may or may not need to reuse your existing adapter. It depends on the way the gauge is made. Most come with a set of brass fittings to help install. It may require a combination of pieces. You won't really know until you get the new gauge...

 

Thanks for all the info Snarl ,much appriciated,ready now to tackle another problem to get the car road ready and safe

 

Thought I would update my progress with this...got new gage(mechanical),installed it and no reading at all.So pulled it out- put it in some hot water on the stove and it works,put it back in the car...no reading.Let the car idle for 15 minutes and nothing,checked the thermostat that appeared to be not working(looked very rusty)..took that out and still no reading on the gage.I'm really confused,Could the motor really not be getting hot enough for it to read...Not sure what to do at this point

 

Are you sure it has enough coolant in it?

 

When I pulled the bulb out of the motor coolant came out,I even ran the motor w/ out the radiator cap to allow air bubble`s to come out.Each time I took the bulb out I did add coolant,about an inch from the top of the radiator.I let the car idle for 15min...no reading at all.I drove it for ten minutes last weekend and nothing,I dint want to hurt the motor,I dint know what it could be...still stumped on this

 

Run it with radiator cap off and stick a meat thermometer in the rad . See what kind of reading you get. Is the thermostat in place ? Working? hold it in a pan ofboiling water does it open? Re-check the new temp gauge same way. If is not boiling and blowing out water from the radiator you have no real problems. But running to cold is not real good either long term.

 

Will do,I will try that when I get off work tonight,maybey the guy that had it before be put strait anti freeze in it?.Its very clean when ever I have drained the radiator a bit.I took the thermostat out hoping that would solve my problem.I checked the bulb in hot water -it read instantly .At idle for fifteen minutes with cap off radiator it was even close to boiling,did that last night.I will try using the meat thermometer that sound like a good idea to really see whats up -thanks man will keep ya posted

 

Put a GOOD thermostat back in it. I think you will find at idle with no stat it will take a looooong time to warm up.

 

I will hit up napa monday and get one,the one I took out is really rusted up.Im really think`n its strait antifreeze in there.Going to drain it tonight and put the proper 50/50 mix in.The guy that did own it before me put the wrong break shoes on each side,the 2 big ones on one side and the 2 smaller on the other sooooo....Im think`n he may have just put strait antifreeze in there,see what happens.

 

Eh ! Not to long ago I was working on a old Chevy for a friend and found the same deal on the brake shoes. What the hell were they thinking ??

 

I know! lol Did a search in here and found someone else had the same problem....one wheel locking up,sure thing,the shoes were on wrong!I was just happy it wasn't something serious and I could fix it in a half hour lol aww man to funny!

 

Just updating ...Drove the car for a few miles,gage finally showed some temperature.It took about 5 miles of driving before it would eventually read.At idle it would never read temp.Will redo coolant mixture to make sure 50/50 mix is in there.Now on to other problems lol