Recent content by FrozenCaveman

Looks to me, having a fairly original car that has been in my family since it was new, that the bottom 3 screws holding the cluster to the dash served that purpose. And from my experience, rather poorly. But yeah, I was going to take a pigtail from the lower center phillips/hex screw on the...

What about the existing grounding pigtail from the steering column to the upper steering column mounting bolt? Wouldn't the mounting bolt be a suitable grounding location for the cluster as well? Replacing the steering box was initially one of the worst jobs I've undertaken. Almost felt like...

Thanks for the tip on direct-connecting the gauges if needed. Do you have a recommendation on how to connect the wires without butchering the harness? I like the idea of a disconnect terminal for the pigtail to make it easier to remove the cluster. I see the phillips screw location you...

LOL - anywhere in particular that you recommend connecting a grounding pigtail to the cluster? Pick one of the small hex screws holding the board to the cluster and put a small ring connector on it? Is this the article you're referring to? Circuit Board Connector Pin Broke The last poster...

Sorry, but I must be more blind than I thought - I read and re-read and I'm not seeing anything about a grounding pigtail in your post. Anyway, I do see the clips that must allow the lower 3 mounting points on the cluster to ground. The alternator speed nuts had been replaced previously with...

Nice post, thanks. Mind you, not what I was hoping to hear, but sounds like if the socket doesn't fix the issue, I'll be pulling the dash back out. One of the dash mounting screw holes is (now?) broken, so I'm glad that the dash cluster itself isn't grounded to the frame of the car by way of...

Hi all, I'm having the very common problem of my gas gauge not reading anything at all in my 71 Scamp. The temp gauge has slight movement to it with key on, but I don't think it's reading as accurately as it should. This was all working before I took my cluster out to have the speedo...

Almost done, but now I've got the problem where the steering wheel spins to the left when not held. I followed the tip in this helpful article to lessen the effect: A body Power Steering "self turns" But after loosening the 2 1/2" bolts and bumping the block up toward the firewall as far as I...

A couple updates - been sick this week, so slow progress. I got the bushing from Summit and it seems a perfect fit for the pitman arm. Managed to get all the seals off the sector shaft. The dust seal was easy to remove, snap ring was a little tricky, and then I used a technique from another...

Yeah, I read about that tip for blowing the seal out, and I think if I was to do this again, I would probably do that. Once I had the box on the bench, I had access to a friend's impact gun and that made the job of getting the pitman arm off a lot easier than if I'd tried doing it under the...

Made a little bit more progress this week. I got the box out, degreased it with OzzyJuice (really cool stuff), and separated the pitman arm after marking the location. Opened the box up and replaced the input shaft seal and the big o-ring there. Still to do: 1) Figure out how to get the...

I do appreciate all the input - everyone has a different technique on doing things, and I can learn from all of them. If I end up needing to rebuild my coupler, I've got the advice right here.

I wasn't able to use the Harbor Freight pitman arm puller on the center link (couldn't grab on anything) - there's probably a more appropriate tool for the job out there, but from what I understand (from more than one source, including a local fellow), it's perfectly OK to use a hammer on the...

LOL - funny you mentioned the pickle fork. I was using a small crowbar and although I didn't scratch anything, it occured to me that I might do some damage if I wasn't careful. I happened to have a pickle fork right there and it fit perfectly. I separated the input shaft, got the last bolt on...

Great article, thanks!