DIY - Inclination Meter on Instrument Cluster (Pajero Fieldmaster)

The liquid from inclination meter sips out due to normal wear and tear. We had Pajero Super Select before and it had the same leaking problem. From meter face, you will notice the waterline further going down each day. I'm not really using the meter and doesn't pose safety problem for me. Nonetheless, it's cosmetically an eye sore.


Basic tools – screwdriver (flat, Philips), drill, syringe, masking tape, iron sheet shear, cutter
Special tools (optional) – rotary tool
Materials – baby oil (100 ml), clear silicone, flexible translucent plastic


Procedure:

1. Using small flat screwdriver, nip the screw cover of the instrument cluster as shown below then unscrew both sides.

2. Take out the top cover of the instrument cluster and it will expose 4 screws (2 from each side). Unscrew.

3. Unclip the cables by pressing the lock while pulling off at the same time.

4. Once you take out the whole piece, bring it to your work desk to further work on it. Remove the wood panel by unscrewing the screws marked as 'A'.

The 3 remaining screws holds the inclination meter. Once unscrewed, the meter can be separated from the housing which holds the 2 other instrument meters (compass, altimeter). Unscrew the unmarked screws above as well.

5. Flip over the housing, meters facing you. From this position you'll see as well the vacuum resulting from leaking liquid. Dismount the inclination meter. The rear side of the meter is transparent with concentric grooving. In my case, this part got brittle due most likely to heat exposure. DO NOT ATTEMPT to take short cut by bonding the hairline cracks. It won't be long till the cracks open up for the rest of the grooving.

6. You will notice hardened yellowish glue/bond where the original filler hole is. Using drill or rotary tool with appropriate tip, re-bore the filler hole.

7. Next step is optional. Using syringe, suck the remaining juice out. This will be a lengthy process as the oil is quite dense and would have hard time passing through the needle. You may skip this process and go directly to removing the rear side cover with the use of cutter. If you do not suck the remaining oil out, exert more care not to spill the oil while cutting the cover (unless its no problem for you to get more messy).

8. After taking the rear side cover out, rinse it with liquid dishwashing soap to take out any residue and unseat the oil from the surface. During rinsing, hold the movable part with your index finger as you shake the meter. If you have air compressor, it would help a lot avoiding watermarks. If you want to use blower, more care is necessary as you may melt the housing if heat is not controlled.

AVOID!
If you feel the urge removing the internals, take a deep breath and stop dreaming about it. The frame of the internals is made of plastic and at this point, it may have become brittle already. I tried but I broke the piece that is locking the frame inside. The other side is still intact so I stopped trying before I create more damage.

9. You will now need to replace the rear side cover by fabricating with flexible plastic. To easily make a pattern, put masking tape over the plastic sheet where you draw your pattern.



AVOID!
In other forums, somebody thought of using cover of Pringles. I thought of using CD cover as better alternative since it doesn't block the light source from behind of the meter and would illuminate the face better than translucent Pringles cover. I was wrong. CD cover is too brittle. I fabricated 3-4 covers from CD. They easily broke with slight bend. Even you manage to avoid breaking it, soon it would get hairline cracks due to heat radiating to the dashboard. I suspect it won't last. I got hold of my daughter's crayon casing which is flexible and translucent. Thick and flexible enough to sustain contraction and expansion, translucent enough to make the light pass through. You cannot use a material that totally blocks light source.

10. Using iron sheet shear, fabricate the cover. Stick some masking tape to easily hold the cover during fitting.

11. Before bonding the cover to the housing with clear silicone, fill it up with baby oil. (Screw hypo-allergenic… get the cheapest baby oil you can possibly get. I got Michael brand from our local store which cost less than half of J&J brand.) Fill upto few millimeters before the rim. Do not fill completely. When you are moving the meter during rest of the steps, you do not want the oil to spill through the silicone bonded area.

12. After silicone dries up, fill it up some more with oil. Notice the compartment in the top area just below the filler hole (see below). Make sure you fill this compartment as well. This will make sure that the meter marks are completely submerged in oil rather than seeing oil level on meter face. Use the syringe to fill up through the filler hole on top. Expect tough time using the syringe as it takes some effort to push the oil pass through the needle.

13. Before assembling back together, make sure there are no leaks. It will take few minutes before oil sips through any open cracks. When there are no traces of oil leaking, assemble everything back together and install back the instrument cluster to the dashboard.

So far, mine still looks functioning.

Satisfied making my day productive. .. this is what DIY brings!

Intro...

I’ve been wanting to start my own virtual space to share my weekend DIY activities (Do-It-Yourself). It is not meant to showcase my writing prowess but merely to return the favor to those who have shared essential information for the purpose of steering would-be-DIYers in the right direction like myself.

Along the way, I came across pot holes and dead ends which can be eluded only if more information were shared. At this point, let me just vividly clear that I don’t claim patents to the steps I will be posting in this space. Most of which may have been acquired in forums and other sources. Neither I profess expertise in the subject area. I suppose the essence of DIY is having non-experts do their stuffs which gives them liberty to make mistakes and realize satisfaction in the end. It is for these reasons that I dive and  make my hands dirty yet at times the cost of doing-it-yourself is more costly than hiring professionals. Well, you cannot put a price tag on the pleasure and satisfaction accomplishing a DIY project, can you?

A software engineer as myself, more often I would be coming direct to the point as people in my profession are used to… blame the IF-THEN-ELSE frame of mind we were taught in our field. I shall supplement the guide with appropriate images to make myself as comprehensible as possible. I will make sure to inform you what to avoid as at times these what separate success from failure. As I am exposed to the demands of my work, not to mention my 7 and 2 year old hyperactive kids, I’ll be able to reply to questions with respect to the posted guides in my spare time after work. If my limited knowledge cannot answer your question, I sure hope others will. 

Let’s start learning together!

First in my list, I have to fix our Pajero FM’s inclination meter in the instrument cluster. The liquid leaked and it is almost half-filled already. You could buy the meter or go the DIY route.