On Sat, 24 Jul 1999, G. Osmundsen wrote:
> take issue with your "idiot lite" description of the purpose of the
> gauge. I use my oil pressure gauge(like I feel most of us do) as one of
> the most telling barometers of engine condition; from a cold overnight
I actually meant that the gauge may not be dead-accurate (maybe it is!
I've never teasted one) - so if it's pointing bang on at 60 psi your
engine might have 63 or 57- that part's not important- what's important is
that it's staying at 60 (or moving to where you expect it to)
> start, to having run 50 miles hard in 100 deg weather, I know exactly
> where my baby should be reading. I keep a close watch on it and
> investigate any deviations from the norm.
> I also expect to see some changes in the oil pressure "dynamics" after
> renewing some bearings.
> Have we finally reached the point that even the beautiful analog
> gauges are being interpreted digitally as "go" or "no-go"?
Mine are like that, sadly... the gas tank sender is flaky so 1/2 means
Full, 1/4 means Enough, and less than 1/4 means Time To Fill. The oil I
keep an eye on but only to glance at, I haven't seen it go below 40 even
when hot-hot-hot and idling in traffic. My temp gauge perplexes me the
most, it goes up nicely and stays there. I keep thinking it's broken, but
the car hasn't overheated yet...
Like the pilot who pokes a wooden stick into his gas tank before takeoff -
that's how I feel sometimes. However, I wouldn't trade any of my gauges
for lights- in fact, I'm considering adding more. In the meantime, I
check my oil every so often and sometimes even pop the gas cap and peer
inside.
-Malcolm
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