Gauges, senders and bezels OH MY

SeaWeasel · 01-09-2007, 09:40 AM

VDO. Old 311. Need replaced. Want to buy a set of Autometers from Fred for the whole dash. Do I need new senders? My mechanic seems to think everything is arse backwards . . . Fred thinks no. And I am in the middle. Anyone with experience?

Ted G · 01-09-2007, 10:07 AM

My Livorsi/Gaffrigs have new oil pressure senders but old water temp and gas senders. The oil pressure switches are pretty sucky anyway, I would just order new ones and start fresh. 89 311

CObarry · 01-09-2007, 03:47 PM

I changed mine to Livorsi recently, and the only thing that has to be changed is the fuel level sender (in the tank). However, I'm going to change the oil pressure senders, because one engine reads 5 lbs less than the other at RPM and I want to make sure it's not the sender. Water temps are right on. The VDOs were flaky...it's nice to have gauges that you know are working!

SeaWeasel · 01-09-2007, 03:59 PM

Thanx guys . . . I will get the OP and tank senders and bolt them up. Did either of you use the factory dash- or have one made?

CObarry · 01-09-2007, 04:03 PM

I used the factory panel, but if I were going to do it again I would take it somewhere to have the holes enlarged....see this:

http://offshoreonly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140133

Treads · 01-11-2007, 09:14 AM

Sea,

I replaced all my VDO's with Gaffrig, white face/white ring, 270 degree sweep and blue bezels. For as little as it costs, I put in all new senders, temp, oil and fuel. I felt it was the best approach to ensure that I had a good baseline and wasn't leaving the senders to chance. Senders were fairly inexpensive considering the cost of all the gauges. Its great to look across the dash and not even question any readings. Just my approach.

Ted G · 01-11-2007, 09:22 AM

Mine is a custom plastic piece that I would not recommend. It is about 1/8" thick and has started to crack near one of the screw holes. If I wasn't doing my shifters and trim indicators this winter I would probably be doing the dash over with a metal panel.

88formula223 · 01-11-2007, 10:15 AM

I will hopefully be doing this in the spring too, so when you replace the senders do the old connections hook right up to the new senders?

I'm not going to waste money on a GPS speedo I don't need it to verify my boat is slow, lol....so I will replace it with a non gps one, where does the speedo tube run, is it just in the side compartment or is it under it?

last thing is this a project that will take hours or days, I'm decent with wiring and such

thanks PJ

Ted G · 01-11-2007, 10:23 AM

Depends on how fancy you get with the panel. The factory wiring will all work, especially if you leave the gauges in generally the same order. Once the gauges are mounted in the panel you should have a couple of hours of wiring and replacing senders, maybe less with a single engine.

Treads · 01-11-2007, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by insptech

Depends on how fancy you get with the panel. The factory wiring will all work, especially if you leave the gauges in generally the same order. Once the gauges are mounted in the panel you should have a couple of hours of wiring and replacing senders, maybe less with a single engine.

I agree with insptech, all I did was cut off the spade ends from the wiring and crimp on ring terminals for the new gauges, couple of hours at best, same on the senders. I dropped out the speedo completely.