Speedometer not working ...

[Clyde9]

From: denisondc  (Original Message)
Sent: 6/28/2006 7:34 AM

This post is in answer to Allan-CZ asking about a speedometer for his 79 Chieftain.
He said, ?I could use a working speedometer for my '79 Chieftain. Ever see these still in the dash?
It's an 85mph/137kmh with trip. Allan?

His question was in a thread that whose topic no longer matched its title.

** In the salvage yards the speedometers are usually still in the dash, because they are a fair amount of trouble to remove. I suspect the speedo from a 1974 or newer vehicle would either be identical or would fit. They come out with the instrument cluster which then has to be dismantled.
But - wouldnt the speedometer from any1978 or 79 Dodge pickup or van or light truck be the same? Or even a 1974 -- 1979 Dodge? There should be many of those in junkyards. I am assuming yours is on the dodge chassis. The same would be true for any other chassis maker though.

And do you know if its the speedo itself, or a broken drive cable? The drive cables get plenty of corrosion at the end close to the tranny, inside the outer sheath. I dont know if the cables themselves are available, buy you can buy a replacement inner cable, which you have to cut to length. Then you need to clean the muck from the old sheath first.
My cleaning method was to unscrew the bottom end of the cable sheath from the transmission, and put a pan under there. I dribbled kerosene down the sheath or cable housing from the top end, having pulled that end off the speedo when I pulled the instrument cluster forward from the dashboard a little. I worked the cable in and out of the sheath, along with more solvent, until it was dripping out clean at the bottom end. Then I put a slight amount of 3 in 1 oil (its about a 10 weight) down the sheath. After cleaning off the cable, I coated it very lightly with vasoline, and slid it back into the cable.

The hard part is getting the access to the cable assembly at the back of the speedometer.



From: AllanCZ
Sent: 6/29/2006 5:14 PM

Thanks for relocating the message.

I'm pretty sure it's the head itself. The needle bounces semi-randomly when I drive and the odometer doesn't move at all.

Allan