Speedometer (I broke it)

[neverfinished]

Last night I pulled my dash apart to grease a squeaky speedo and fix some malfunctioning gauges. Everything is back in but now my speedo doesn't work. I can reach in behind the dash and spin the cable which makes the needle move so I think it's cable related or transmission related. Should I be able to spin the cable like that or did I manage to break the cable or maybe pulled it loose from the transmission? I wouldn't think that the cable would break or disengage from the transmission with the little bit of tugging I did to get the cable off of the gauge cluster so I'm wonder what else I should be looking for.

[swb85]

I don't think you should be able to spin the cable by hand. Sounds like either the cable broke, came loose somewhere or the speedo gears in the tailshaft aren't engaging?

[knightlife]

cable broke....me tinx...unless its not completely connected...they arent supposed to be able to "free-spin" if completely connected *shrugs*

[Zilverado]

I can't quite figure out how you can reach behind the dash and spin the cable with the speedo attached, but - - oh well...

I would agree - there is a cable issue here. Did you pull the inner cable out of the sheath to lube it? If you did, make sure you got it all the way back in and properly seated.

If you have cruise control, you may have a 2-piece cable. The first piece goes from the speedo head to the cruise mechanism (gear box) under the hood. From there, another length of cable goes to the tranny.

Either way, this shouldn't bee too hard to find. Pull the gauge cluster and pull the speedo cable back out of the sheath. You should be able to pull it all the way out (if memory serves me correctly). If this portion of the cable is intact, check the second length of cable (if you have 2) and check the tranny end of the cable, where the gear is.

Let us know what you find.

[neverfinished]

Originally Posted by Zilverado

I can't quite figure out how you can reach behind the dash and spin the cable with the speedo attached, but - - oh well...

I would agree - there is a cable issue here. Did you pull the inner cable out of the sheath to lube it? If you did, make sure you got it all the way back in and properly seated.

If you have cruise control, you may have a 2-piece cable. The first piece goes from the speedo head to the cruise mechanism (gear box) under the hood. From there, another length of cable goes to the tranny.

Either way, this shouldn't bee too hard to find. Pull the gauge cluster and pull the speedo cable back out of the sheath. You should be able to pull it all the way out (if memory serves me correctly). If this portion of the cable is intact, check the second length of cable (if you have 2) and check the tranny end of the cable, where the gear is.

Let us know what you find.

I did not pull the cable out of the sheath, but I did pull it out a little bit to get the gauges out. I didn't remove the cable from the transmission side and I thought it locked in on the transmission side.

No cruise control here, just a heavy foot. I'll pull the transmission side and see if maybe I just manged to pull it loose.

I can reach it because I don't have the gauge bezel on. I can reach up through the dash next to the headlight switch or in through the little box compartment with some arm wiggling.

[Zilverado]

I do not recall totally what the trany end of the cable looks like - I think just the end of the cable "squared" off like on the speedo end. If you can spin this end (maybe with a drill) and get the speedo to move, then the issue is either with the cable engaging the gear, or the gear is bad/not engaged.

My money is still on the cable not being fully engaged somewhere.

[neverfinished]

100% correct there Zilverado, the cable wasn't engaged at the trans side.

There isn't any locking mechanism to hold the cable in the sheath at the transmission side but there does seem to be a catch in the trans to hold the cable once you get it seated right.

[Zilverado]

Glad you got 'er fixed. It's been a number of years since I've messed with my cables, so I'm glad my memory was good enough.

Yeah, the cables pretty much rely on being just the right length - to properly engage in the tranny gear and the speedo head.

Good job.