October 2011 Issue No. 197 - Navigator Publishing

VOYAGING TIPSwill probably cause engine damage.Remove the wire from the sendingunit. Using two wrenches, onewrench on the sending unit and onewrench on the pulsation damper,carefully unscrew the sending unitwhile not disturbing the pulsationdamper. It will probably take considerableforce to start the threads,as no thread sealant was used inassembly at the factory. There’s agood reason for this: the threadedconnection on the sending unit isthe return path for the measurementsignal, and a clean metal-tometalcontact is required for a reliablemeasurement.Screw the thread adapter ontothe Teleflex sending unit. Cleanup any spilled oil and wipe offthe oil in the pulsation damperthreads as best you can. Carefullyinsert the new sending unit andthe thread adapter in the pulsationdamper and make up the threadsuntil resistance is felt. (You didn’tput any pipe thread sealant or Teflontape on the threads, did you?)Again using two wrenches tightenup the sending unit until reasonablysnug, but take care not tooverdo it. Connect the wire to thesending unit terminal.Start the engine and inspect foroil leaks and proper operation of thenew gauge and sending unit.Total cost of the project is lessthan $80 and it should requireless than a half day to completedepending on access to yourengine and panel. This idea can beextended to the replacement of thetemperature gauge and its sender,and of course, the instrumentson other makes of engines can bereplaced similarly. Just be mindfulof pipe thread standards! nHarry Hungate and his wife, JaneLothrop, have lived aboard theirCorbin 39 cutter, Cormorant, since1997 and entered the MediterraneanSea in 2009. They spent lastwinter in Gaeta, Italy.The Coast GuardProtects Us.Every Day. Every Night.www.cgfdn.org• (860)535-0786hart_13h 3/20/07 6:50 PM Page 1Your support pays for programs and servicesthat cannot be funded through government sources.Pleasesupport theCoast GuardFoundation.TA N K T E N D E RTHE ORIGINAL PRECISIONTANK MEASURING SYSTEM!Accurate tank soundings have never beeneasier when one TANK TENDER monitorsup to ten fuel and water tanks. Reliablenon-electric and easy to install.www.thetanktender.com(253) 858-8481 Fax: (253) 858-848652 OCEAN NAVIGATOR OCTOBER 2011 www.oceannavigator.com