Speedo has gone crazy! [gauge cluster now replaced, PIX]

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:00 pm

Hey there guys,

today I ran into a strange problem. My speedo readout is way too high now, yesterday it was working fine but today when I went to the grocery store, the speedo was showing 130 kph when I actually was driving something about 35-40 kph. I also hear a strange ticking noise from behind the speedo. I have checked the wire, it's securely and properly attached at both ends. I also have a strange leak which pushes gearbox oil up the speedo wire shaft.

I'm suspecting the speedo is broken and that I lack a seal at the gearbox end of the speedo wire, but before I jump into conclusions, I would like to hear what you guys have to say.

I'm open to suggestions.

Cheers,
Jan

Post by **shanec86** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:48 pm

mine used to do similar things with jumping around all over the place and ticking. The end of the wire shaft where it meets the cluster wears out and no longer sits 100% in the cluster drive. What i did was unscrew the fitting off the sender (on the gearbox) and put a washer over it so it would space the wire shaft further towards the cluster. This fixed it perfect.

Although the oil up the shaft would be a seal problem. I'd sugest changing the sender, and putting a washer where i mentioned.

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:57 pm

That sounds like a go. I'll try that, thanks!

This problem came up a couple of days after I pulled out the dash slightly to fix a small windshield leak, I may have damaged the gauge drive slightly in the process. The speedo has been jumping a couple of kph since then, up until today when all hell broke loose.

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:40 am

Replacing the sender fixed the leak. The washer didn't help though. The speedo is even more crazy now (don't think I caused that today though)... when I parked the car inside the garage, the speedo jumped to max and staid there even after I turned the engine off. Bashing the dash with my fist made the speedo needle return back to zero.

I'm starting to believe I really do need another speedo/gauge cluster...

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:59 am

A friend of mine had his doing a similar thing. Would go to max speed just idling along. His was due to oil and grease coming up past the speedo drive cable and into the back of the speedo mechanism its self, gumming up the rotating barrel and its keeper. Solution was to pull the dash and spray a healthy amount of degreaser or WD40 into the mechanism to melt away the gunk. Did this till the whole thing spun freely again. Worked a treat.

Damo

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 6:53 pm

Great, thanks for the tip! I'll try that! I sure did have a lot of gearbox oil at the gauge end of the wire...

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 7:49 pm

Darn, seems it was actually broken... a spring came out through the odo opening.

Well, thanks for your help guys! I'll get myself another gauge cluster now.

boosted · Post by **boosted** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:02 am

TurboZ.Dude wrote: http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc11 ... G_5634.jpg

LOL, that looks crazy

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 4:16 am

Sure does, just as if it were in a cartoon. Sproing!

xr6eta · Post by **xr6eta** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 10:34 am

That is pure gold, if only all the problems on these little cash cows made themselves so obvious.

et_rider · Post by **et_rider** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:14 am

jesus a few ks there lol

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 1:42 am

yup.

I put together a new gauge cluster out of two gauge clusters (as well as my old one) I found at the local junkyard. I took the time to adjust the odometer (as well as trip meter) to match the readings on my old gauge cluster. Now I finally have black gauge faces instead of the blue-gray ones, but more about that later.

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:25 am

Allright people! The new speedo works perfectly, now I just have to adjust the needle... I'm not sure exactly what speeds I'm driving... the reading may be a bit off. That's why I left out the glass... so I can re-adjust the needle while out driving.

Here are some photos of the process... I got myself two gauge clusters from the local junkyard... one 1983 model, one 1985 model. The 1985 model donated the black gauge faces as well as the odometer rolls and the entire trip meter. A lot of work but everything works fine now. I also put back together the 1985 one so I have a fully working spare cluster.

The three gauge clusters (I had already removed the gauge faces from the 1985 one here):

The broken 1984 one:

The 1983 one:

The 1985 one:

The 1985 speedo unit (disassembled):

The 1983 speedo unit assembled with the 1985 odo and trip meter parts:

The gauge face color difference is quite obvious (1985 to the left, 1983 to the right):

The 1983 gauge cluster assembled and ready to be installed:

The 1985 gauge cluster (foreground) and the 1984 gauge cluster with broken speedo (background) (oops, I broke a speedo needle and a piece of plastic came off the 1984 one):

The 1983 gauge cluster installed (I'll put in the glass as soon as I'm finished with the needle adjustments):

The reason why I swapped parts like this is; the 1983 one is almost in mint condition, all its' mechanical parts are in very good condition. The 1985 one isn't all that good and it's very dirty inside, but it does work.

Cheers.

samual · Post by **samual** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:21 am

nice work.

got to love photos of work..

TurboZ.Dude · Post by **TurboZ.Dude** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 6:00 pm

Thanks!

Yeah, they'll still be fun to look at when years have passed by!