Help with removing cable from speedometer

tony-muscle · Dec 11, 2020

I most be missing something obvious here. I am stuck in removing the speedo cable from behind the speedometer. I twist and pull and nothing. I don't want to force it since I don't want to break anything. I did it a bunch of times with the stock cable but this is the first time since I upgraded my transmission and I can't get it out. What am I missing?

I used the speedo cable provided by Modern Driveline, MD-506-1022, which should look like:

And this is a picture I took of the back of the instrument cluster:

Don C · Dec 11, 2020

I believe you need to push in on the flat plastic portion that is shown in your second picture, as installed, so that the small knob on the opposite side is pushed out of the groove on the speedometer nipple, and then pulled straight out.

tony-muscle · Dec 11, 2020

Don C said:
I believe you need to push in on the flat plastic portion that is shown in your second picture, as installed, so that the small knob on the opposite side is pushed out of the groove on the speedometer nipple, and then pulled straight out.

Now that you point it out, I think you are right. It looks like you have to get the knob out of the groove. I hope that' what I was missing. I tried pushing the plastic piece, but looking at how it works I think I need to push the tab opposite to the tab, but without pushing in on the tab. That may have been my issue. i will try later this afternoon.

tony-muscle · Dec 11, 2020

I tried and that plastic piece is very stiff. It doesn't flex as I compress it with my fingers. It may need some mechanical persuasion.

73droptop · Dec 11, 2020

Don C has it right, it is a plastic tab you push down. I struggled with trying to spin it off for 20 minutes and finally I accidently pushed the tab down and it popped off simple. I was pretty frustrated until it came off then I felt kind of dumb, but you cant really see in there so. . .

Good luck, I just replaced mine a month ago.

Bentworker · Dec 11, 2020

I have that exact same cable and I had to go full caveman on it. Ended up breaking off the white plastic retaining tab. I drilled and taped the plastic to 6-32 where the tab was and used a screw to retain the cable housing on the speedometer. The screw fit into the groove that engaged the plastic tab.

Hopefully you don’t have a similar experience.

Don C · Dec 11, 2020

tony-muscle said:
I tried and that plastic piece is very stiff. It doesn't flex as I compress it with my fingers. It may need some mechanical persuasion.

It's not easy to get a grip on it to depress it. The last time I disconnected mine I pulled the speedometer out far enough so I could reach in and get a good grip on it.

73FastBk · Dec 11, 2020

Can I buy the plastic clip by chance, I broke mine a while ago and really want to fix it. Speedo works but at any moment that think can pop off since there is nothing holding it . Or so I have to buy the whole cable

Kilgon · Dec 11, 2020

73FastBk said:
Can I buy the plastic clip by chance, I broke mine a while ago and really want to fix it. Speedo works but at any moment that think can pop off since there is nothing holding it . Or so I have to buy the whole cable

Don't think so. My is broke and I have searched all over for one. They are fitted on the cable. I took a paper clip and made a clip that fits in the grove on the instrument cluster end and between the plastic clip. It holds the cable tight and has held up.

tony-muscle · Dec 12, 2020

Ok. So I just won the war. I needed to use a flat screw driver to lever the plastic piece out of the groove. Thanks to Don pointing out the groove help me understand the mechanism. There is very little space so I blindly tried a few times until all the sudden it came out. The plastic piece could be a little more compliant to help with releasing it. There is very little space to grip and press on it. After taking it out it was clear how it works. Maybe removing couple thousands off the hook would make it easier to remove. I may try this.

Oh well. Now I realize that the old one was always broken so that's why it was so easy to unhook. However, I never had a problem with it coming lose. The cable kind of pushes against it.

73FastBk · Dec 12, 2020

Kilgon said:
Don't think so. My is broke and I have searched all over for one. They are fitted on the cable. I took a paper clip and made a clip that fits in the grove on the instrument cluster end and between the plastic clip. It holds the cable tight and has held up.

That’s one hell of a way to fix it!! Thank you . I will try that

)) this weekend

tony-muscle · Dec 13, 2020

It seems this is a common issue so I will post my analysis so it is here to help others and myself in a few years when I have forgotten how to do it. I know this may be trivial for some, but definitely not for all.

It is easy to figure out how it works once it is out, but when you are removing it in that cramped space it is not easy. The key is to press the longer tab but without holding the opposite side of the plastic piece. Here are some pictures that are self explanatory.

This picture shows the longer tab that has to be pushed:

Here is an inside view of the cable end. The yellow arrow indicates the tab that has to be pushed so the hook moves out of the way:

Here is a picture showing the tab being pressed and the hook pushed out of the way. You can see that the plastic piece is offset to one side. You can see that if you hold the plastic piece with your finger in the opposite side then the hook won't be able to be pushed. Therefore, the cable end has to be held with one finger on the longer tab and another finger either on the actual cable or on the metal tube.

Help with removing cable from speedometer

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