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Odometer repair

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:45 pm
by Jim LaGuardia
Ok ,here it is again,as I posted it on the OLD real 4x4 board.
Patiently/carefully peel back the bezel ring with a screwdriver or
side cutters,and remove the ring.
The next part is tedious,warm the speedo housing around the lens with
a hair drier to loosen the tar like sealer,use 2 small flat blade
screwdrivers on to pry the lens on opposite sides ,slowly walking the
lens off.
next remove the trip meter cable and the rest of the fastening
screws/nuts.
Now the guts are in your hand,look at the small worm gear,it is most
likely backed out,don't push it in yet!
Pull the worm gear out the rest of the way , and swab out the pin
bore.
Put a SMALL DAB of super glue on the tip of the worm gear shaft and
push it back in,YOU ARE NOT DONE YET!
This may sound wierd ,but get a small metal picture hook(the kind
that is folded and uses a small nail),unfold the hook to make a brace
to hold the pin in .There is a screw on the speedo body by the worm
gear ,bend and cut the hook to fit to this screw and over the end of
the worm gear shaft,apply a small amount of anti-sieze between the
worm shaft and the new limit/retainer you just made.
Test prior to re-assembly by rotating speedo input.
I wish I had a working camera when I did mine, a picture is worth a
thousand words.
I have over 12000 Miles since I repaired mine,and it still works fine.
I was shocked that a new(used) speedo head was over $400 , that is
why I repaired mine.
I am used to these kinds of repairs as I have restored many cars and
car parts dating back to models from 1916 and up. You can't get a new
part for those golden oldies ,so you find creative ways to repair,or
extend the life of the parts you have.
The alternative is to take it to a speedo shop, or try to negotiate a
good price for a replacement,or go electronic.$$$$$$
Hope that helps, Jim LaGuardia 74 710M.......been there , done that!

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:43 pm
by undysworld
Jim, I'm assuming the the speedo still worked, and just the odo was afu. What a timely post, as this is exactly my current symptoms. Thank you!

I too have found myself frequently working on vehicles too old to get parts for, or at least cars where the part/s needed were too pricey. I find it more challenging and satisfying to rebuild the part than to just swap it out. Plus it mystifies my 'mechanic' friends.

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:02 pm
by todds112
BTT! Noticed my odometer is not working today.

I'll give this a try. Anyone know if you can order just a replacement lens somewhere? Now would be the time since I'll have it apart.

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:54 am
by todds112
Well that wasn't the issue with mine. The shaft that goes through the number wheels ends in a silver metal gear. The shaft was spinning free in that gear, so the gear wouldn't turn anything else.

I tried just a dab of JB weld on it. Haven't tested it yet.

That crimp/face ring was a PITA to get back on. Mine didn't have any sealant in it. Just a rubber gasket. I fussed with trying to get the numbers to line up right, but finally gave up. I figure they will self correct after one revolution.

If this doesn't work, or it dies again, I'm just going to go electronic. :roll:

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:22 am
by Kirby
I'm just going to go electronic
Thats what I did... I put one in about 10 months ago.... I no longer have to remember how fast in KPH is MPH. . :? ..

my cable broke, and just decided to upgrade :wink: .

Speedo

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:21 am
by pcolette
The electronic speedo is great! Easy install and easy to calibrate.

Paul

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 11:18 am
by Kirby
The electronic speedo is great! Easy install and easy to calibrate.
Right on the money :wink: .... and can be recalibrated with any new tire size change in the future :D

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:15 pm
by ccalingaert
I used Jim's directions to disassemble the speedometer and found that the worm gear he mentioned was fine, but the problem was that the grey pot metal gear next to the ones digit was loose. You can verify this without removing the speedometer if you turn the trip odometer reset around to zero and the odometer goes up by one mile.

Remove and take apart the speedometer, then use scotch tape on both sides of the odometer digits to hold them in position. Push out the shaft using a stiff piece of metal about the same diameter. The pot metal gear is supposed to be press fit in place. In order to fix it, rough up the shaft where the gear sits with the jaws of needle nose pliers. It doesn't take much. Reinsert the shaft, which should take much more effort than removal did.

There is a more detailed explanation with several helpful photos at http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticle ... repair.htm.