New Dial Fitting - removing needles from dials

Hey all,

I just wanted to clarify some things before I go charging into this.

I've got a new set of Metal Monkey Dials, and I need to fit them. This means removing the needles from the dials. I've seen the guides etc on here (and also have instructions to fit the dials which are totally different)

I have an Apexi AFC with rev counter readout so I think the RPM will be pretty easy, and should be able to do it at idle and just put the needle on at whatever the AFC reports.

Fuel gauge, so long as I don't move the needle, should be fine.

Temp is a bit of a guesstimate by all accounts.

With the speedo, it seems the only way you can do this one is to drive and fit it? Sounds a bit dangerous to me - is there another way to do this one?

And when people put the needle back on for the speedo, do people set it EXACTLY right, or do you set it reading higher by roughly 10%, as nearly all speedo's read higher than actual?

Cheers folks.

i am sure you need to remove the needles for metal monkey dials , the el-glo one i get are slip over the needle

I know mate - I thought I had said that above?

Don't like the El-glo ones, which is why I went for the ones from Metal Monkey. These guys supply Thor with their dials so I'm told.

Pabs, you in a rush with the dials? I can give you a hand if you want I've done a few And yes, needles need to come off, hardest bit, getting them back on.

Thanks for the offer mate - just wanted advice on them really, in particular the speedo.

Got so much on the go at the moment - I'm fixing the alarm as the battery in it is knackered, got my headlights in the oven giving them a facelift, sidelights are in bits, sorting out the HIDS as one doesn't seem to work, and just generally got car bits all over the place.

Not really in a rush - just figured while the car is off the road I can get all those bits sorted that I have lying around.

if you want/need a hand, drop me a line

I fitted a Metal Monkey speedo dial face fairly recently and had the same concern over the needle (which had to be removed).

I seem to remember the MM fitting instructions suggesting removing the needle stop and allowing the needle to come to its 'natural resting place' with the dial held upright. That didn't work for me for two reasons:

1. I couldn't get the needle stop off (without risk of breaking it) whilst in situ;
   
2. mine was a facelift speedo so the needle couldn't get to its 'natural resting place' because it ran up against the odo. reset first.
   

After a lot of head scratching, I found a solution (that worked for me anyway) ...

If you remove the speedo unit from the dash assembly (four screws?) and examine the underside of the speedo mechanism carefully, you should be able to see the gearwheel of the needle.

I was able to thread a cocktail stick along the underside of the dial to contact this gearwheel and hold it in place. Of course, any movement of the cocktail stick will move the needle so I carefully positioned (wedged!) another cocktail stick - perpendicular to the first - to keep a bit more tension on it (wish I'd taken some photos as this is far harder to describe than actually do!).

By applying small pressure to the first cocktail stick - push/pull - you can now set the needle to any memorable position so that when you come to replacing the needle on the new dial you know where it should be pointing (I left mine pointing at 0). Obviously, I was very careful not to move the cocktail sticks whilst removing the needle (two teaspoons method - don't twist!) and refitting.

I've since verified the speedo against several of those 'Have a nice day' speed warning signs and it's bang-on.

If you don't fancy this technique, I've also heard that with the ignition turned on (engine running?) the speedo needle should be lightly resting against the needle stop. Not sure how accurate that would be but then using cocktail sticks doesn't sound too promising on the face of it.

Hope that helps

You just get into the car, put satnav on and put needle when driving steady. Done it at least 4 times All cars showing proper speed now

fair enough - thanks for the tips guys.

I've got a speedo readout on my i-colour boost controller, and cruise control, so I suppose setting the cruise to a fixed number on the motorway and then fitting the needle is the method to do.

Cocktail sticks sounds clever - but for me too fiddly - I recon I'd just knock it anyway.

fair enough - thanks for the tips guys.

 

I've got a speedo readout on my i-colour boost controller, and cruise control, so I suppose setting the cruise to a fixed number on the motorway and then fitting the needle is the method to do.

 

Cocktail sticks sounds clever - but for me too fiddly - I recon I'd just knock it anyway.

tea spoon much easier, and I have a little gizmo which means I can put the needle back on exactly, without having to drive the car to do it

right then - you didn't mention the "gizmo" before

right then - you didn't mention the "gizmo" before

thats why I offered to help

well then I may just have to take you up on that offer!

Not sure when I'm going to tackle it yet - I might remove it all from the car this weekend, and then give you a shout to help me put it back together and fix anything I break! haha....

Could get that LED heater control unit from you at same time lol

well then - got bored today so decided to remove the dials from the car. Before I knew it, bits were being removed left, right and center! lol

New MM dial faces are on now, and they look superb (just what I wanted), I've just got to put all of the needles back on, but for this I'll need the ignition and engine on.

Needle stops were a pain in the a*se, but I think I'm almost ready to refit to the car

I'm going to nip out to the car now, and screw the dials back in, but without the clear plastic cover on. Hopefully it'll all go well!

Everyone says this, but I just put mine on at zero with the engine running and car stationary. Seemed to work out fine

that's kinda what I was thinking mate - think I might give it a go like that and not put the needle on too hard, then I can move it if needs be.

I know how much fuel I have in the tank, but i think I may have moved the needle. I'll put the needle back on when engine has been running for a couple of mins to the level I know it's at.

How long does it take for the car to get to running temp?

right, well, finally got all the bits back in and on the car tonight - took her out for a spin to check things over and speedo is good, rev counter and fuel gauge are spot on and temp gauge is perhaps a little higher than I'm used to, but that doesn't really matter too much

Just got to clean the clear plastic section that goes over top and put it all back on, and job done