Any cures for speedometers that are not steady??

[awbrown]

Just replaced my instrument panel and the speedo is bouncey and sways wildy , any one have a fix for this ??

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Originally Posted by awbrown

Just replaced my instrument panel and the speedo is bouncey and sways wildy , any one have a fix for this ??

New cable. Happened to me before.
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[SS317]

Yep, new cable. You could try dropping some oil down the old cable and see what happens. I just did that to mine to make it a little quieter and less bouncy until I do the new tranny and it worked pretty good.

[padresag]

pull the cable and see what it looks like. sometimes there are broken strands which will cause that-replace it. may just need a light wipe with some grease, no oil. sometimes it is the speedo head
ron

[PAPA KENT]

Generally like the others have said it ends up to be a dry or damaged cable but there are many times i have found that either the main bearing in the back of the head (behind the drum)is dry it does'nt turn smooth and or the odometer gear and the ends of the shaft are dry also.you can lube those areas without taking the head apart.i have rebuilt many of these and they generally pretty easy.
Good luck!

[Str8axle]

Grease your cable, or replace it. Cheap and easy.

[61_FL_Apache]

Grease it up!!

[Indyuke]

Generally when that happens to one of my vehics, it's because the cable is screwed into the instrument cluster either too tightly or not tightly enough.

[C-10cutty]

Lube it up, worked for me.

[awbrown]

Well an update ,I replaced the cable and sprayed the back of the speedo with some wd40 and ran the speedo with my drill using a smal tap and it was smooth and steady .. got the new cable (and I could see the other one twitching while I drove it with the cluster removed) and on the first trip out it was smooth as silk.. second trip I took it out on the highway and ran 70 for about 3 miles it was steady , then it started swaying about 20-30 mph so I wonder what is up now ???

[padresag]

Originally Posted by awbrown

Well an update ,I replaced the cable and sprayed the back of the speedo with some wd40 and ran the speedo with my drill using a smal tap and it was smooth and steady .. got the new cable (and I could see the other one twitching while I drove it with the cluster removed) and on the first trip out it was smooth as silk.. second trip I took it out on the highway and ran 70 for about 3 miles it was steady , then it started swaying about 20-30 mph so I wonder what is up now ???

was the original cable damaged at all? a light application of w/bearing grease is all that is needed(it won't all run down to the bottom like oil will).
sounds like the housing may be damaged, which in turn is buggering the cable. sometimes the housing has to be replaced as someone has kinked it sometime in it's lifetime or it gets stretched when someone forgets to undo it when removing the motor and trans together. **** happens
wd40 into the speedo head not the best. very lite oil is required for the lubing of the moving parts such as shafts
ron

[PAPA KENT]

Originally Posted by awbrown

Well an update ,I replaced the cable and sprayed the back of the speedo with some wd40 and ran the speedo with my drill using a smal tap and it was smooth and steady .. got the new cable (and I could see the other one twitching while I drove it with the cluster removed) and on the first trip out it was smooth as silk.. second trip I took it out on the highway and ran 70 for about 3 miles it was steady , then it started swaying about 20-30 mph so I wonder what is up now ???

it kinda sounds like you had two problems which is quite common,the cable and the head generally dry out and lose their lubrication and parts wear out of course,sounds like the cable was your main problem to start with but it now sounds like the wd-40 in the head is causing your needle to sway.if you sprayed the entire head with wd and got enough of it on the outside of your drum then there's a good chance that is your problem with the needle swaying.i have rebuilt alot of heads over the years and it's important to keep that area clean,if you have to dissasemble it clean it well and use a very lite coat of white grease on the odometer gear use 3-1 oil or wd on the end shafts and the main bushing (behind the drum).the only thing to be careful of is not to break the needle off the shaft when taking it apart.
good luck!

[MP33]

I have the same problem with a new cable installed. I took Indyukes advise and unscrewed it a bit and it got better, but it still does it. I'll update you if I figure it out.

[Rich 5150 69]

It may or may not be the cable, or ends, the speedo gear it self may be damaged or worn, nobody makes replacement parts for them that I know of, somebody was battling the same issue here a while back with pics after dissasembly, not sure what became of it.

90% of the time, the noise is coming from the cable, since it is not rotating freely. Pull the cable from the back of the speedo...can be done by contorting you body and hand, to reach the nut on the cable at the back of the speedo, usually finger-tight. With the cable loose and the end snaked out from under the dash, squit 3-n-1 oil or other penetrating oil into the cup and into the cable cavity. Slowly, with the help of gravity, the penetrating oil/lubricant will make its way down the cable and lubricate the inner square drive.

For a more thorough remedy, remove the cable entirely, soak in parts washer and repeat above sequence, until the cable is sufficiently cleaned. Follow-up with proper lubrication. By freeing up the inner square drive, the cable will operate freely and the noise & jumping needle will disappear.

In order to lubricate the speedo head, the dash cluster must be removed from the dash and the speedo unit removed from the cluster. At that point, apply a liberal amount of dielectric grease or lithium grease to the nylon gears. This will allow the speedo to operate smoothly, quietly and freely.
Last edited by LILRED66; 05-04-2010 at 08:15 PM.

[kingburnett]

For a different approach, you might want to try cleaning the oil and grease off the cable with a rag or soaking it in cleaner and then try to lube it with dry graphite lube. Worked for me.

[Riveted1]

Originally Posted by kingburnett

For a different approach, you might want to try cleaning the oil and grease off the cable with a rag or soaking it in cleaner and then try to lube it with dry graphite lube. Worked for me.

x2 on the graphite lube