As many as 8,500 service stations have old fashioned meters that need to be fixed (about 17,000 individual pumps) because the pumps can’t register more than $3.99 on their mechanical dials.

Demand for replacement parts has caused a huge backlog and that’s just for those that can afford to upgrade.

Many station owners can’t afford to replace their pumps. New ones cost between $10,000 and $15,000 each.

Mechanical meters need to be retrofitted with higher numbers when pump prices climb another dollar. The last time this was necessary was in late 2005 when gas went over $3 a gallon. Station owners with older pumps installed kits that went to $3.999.

Now owners will need to install another kit that can accommodate prices up to $4.999 (and possibly higher). This has been estimated to cost as much as $650 per pump.

Some state regulators are allowing half-pricing. This means that pumps will be allowed to display the price for a half-gallon of gas and then double the price shown on the meter.

The average price for a gallon of gas rose past $3.70 over last weekend. Diesel is selling for an average of $4.33 a gallon.