I need to replace the fuel gauge on my wife's '81 300SD. I got a used cluster (fuel, water and oil gauges), but the dial and needles don't look as good as the cluster with the defective fuel gauge.

Can I easily remove the needles and faceplate and swap them with the other cluster? I noticed that the water and oil gauges both have stops for the needle and wondered if I needed to do anything special to preserve the calibration of the gauge other than re-install the needle against the stop. The fuel gauge doesn't have a stop. It simply points to the edge of the reserve fuel indicator triangle.

__________________
Tom Evans
69 280SE 91K (wish I still had it)
73 220D 98K
78 300D 134K
78 300D 185K
81 300SD 301K (still have)
82 300SD 321K (still have)
84 300D 268K
84 6.2 Diesel GMC Suburban 225K (a whole different story!)

Or it may be on do it yourself on Diesel Giant. I removed my 300SD guages, repaired the clock, and refurbished all of the needles with fluoroscent paint as suggested in the article...worked great.

Regards

RUN-EM

If the needle is sitting on a stop, be sure to lift it over that stop and let it rest its position before taking it off. Then mark the position, and return the needle there. Don't assume that the stop limits the needle to the same position as the mechanism; it's highly unlikely to be the case.