| carcrazy | -- 10-21-2016 @ 8:33 PM |
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What is the cause of a noisy speedometer with an indicator needle that jumps around the dial and sometimes stay buried out of sight past the top speed mark? What is the easiest fix for correcting this condition?
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| 56MarkII | -- 10-21-2016 @ 9:06 PM |
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A squealing buzzing noise? There is a brass bushing in the speedometer drive where the cable core is inserted into. You will see a small shaft with a square hole with this bushing surrounding it. The lubricant dries up and this happens. You could probably give a very tiny shot of WD-40 in there that might help. Use it sparingly because you dont want it getting where you dont want it. If the speedometer was out of the car you could use a drop of sewing machine oil or a very light oil there instead of the WD-40
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| nelsb01 | -- 10-21-2016 @ 10:37 PM |
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DO NOT USE WD-40. For as good as it is for other things, it will not help your speedometer. Trust me -- I know. Get some liquid graphite. Disconnect speedo cable and add some down the cable. Clean off any extra that may get on the housing or screw cap. This liquid graphite will get up into the end of the speedo cable and take care of the speedo head. Drive the car for a short distance. If the jumping needle doesn't stop --- add a little more and drive again. It usually calms down after a few miles.
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| BUCKAWHO | -- 10-22-2016 @ 5:03 AM |
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Again, do not use WD-40...it is not a good lubricant. WD stands for "water displacement". It is meant for freeing up rusted and stuck parts. Very poor lube qualities. Best use sewing machine oi, gun oil, or a graphite lube. BT
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| 56MarkII | -- 10-22-2016 @ 1:08 PM |
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That's why I mentioned the sewing machine oil as well. If you are attempting to get some lubrication up here by crawling up under the dash like I had to years ago in my Merc it is very dificult to get much of anything in there. Mine was buzzing and jumping around in cooler weather as well. The original lubricant dries out and in my case a tiny bit of the WD worked for me. Yes it is a water dispersant it has a slightly better lubricant quality than most so called penetrating oils. If it is miserable to get to the speedometer drive, removing the cluster is probably the best choice but some of these are very difficult to remove. My attempt of giving a very tiny shot of the WD with the plastic tube stuck into the spray nozzle did work and it was done laying on my back upside down with my legs up on the seat back. Nothing was damaged and if it works it works. If it doesn't it doesn't that's why I mentioned don't get carried away and spray a large amount of this product up there. In my case a tiny amount went a long way and did the job. Yes my speedo is still working.
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| 1932BB | -- 10-22-2016 @ 1:10 PM |
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After lubing the cable, drive the car before connecting the cable as the "whip" of the cable may damage the speedometer.
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| jwitt | -- 10-23-2016 @ 7:30 PM |
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You didn't say what car you have, but I will pass on what I've learned about this problem. In my '36 it's pretty easy to take the speedo head out of the dash. There is a small (1/8 inch) soft metal plug in the back of speedo housing that can be lifted out (small needle nose pliers). This hole should get just a few drops of sewing machine or 3-1 oil. This will free up the dry bushing for the internal shaft . More is not better, BTW. The needle is driven from a rotating magnet mounted to the shaft that is lubricated as above. The cable drives this shaft in turn. If the cable is old and dry, try pulling the cable out of the housing and cleaning it with mineral spirits, drying it then lubing the cable with a very light grease. Don't grease the last foot of the cable -- the grease will migrate up there and you don't want it getting inside the speedo head. For what its worth, I used a nut driver to remove the nuts holding the speedo head bracket to the dash. There are a couple of 10-32 studs which are welded to the back of the dash that the bracket and nuts go on to hold the speedo head in. In my '36 you just sit in front of the steering wheel and reach up under the dash and take those nuts off. You can do it by feel and not have to work upside down. Hope this helps your situation. It's nice to have a working speedometer. John Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.
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| carcrazy | -- 10-23-2016 @ 8:12 PM |
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Hi John, The car is a 1953 Ford car.
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| TomO | -- 10-25-2016 @ 9:23 AM |
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Speedometer cable lube is a thin graphite lube and does a very good job of lubricating the cable. In 53 Ford recommended white Lithium grease to lube the cable. This is how I do it. Disconnect the cable at the speedometer head, remove the cable from the housing, clean with mineral spirits, check for burrs (replace cable if burrs are found), lightly lube( use either the graphite or white grease) the cable as you are reinstalling it into the housing and reconnect the cable to the speedometer. Tom
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