Speedometer

[jeremycfr]

When I was driving the car this weekend I noticed that the speedometer needle bounced. I used a cable that I bought from OMS so I am pretty sure it is the correct one. Any thoughts? Could something be loose?

 

[Don C]

Is the cable new, or have you had it for a while and it just started bouncing?

The 2 most common things that cause bounce are lack of lubrication and too tight of a bend in the cable. If the connector on the transmission is lose the cable housing could be hanging down, kinking the cable. This could also allow dirt and water to get into the housing (and transmission), compounding the problem.

If the cable is too long for the housing, the cable can't float in the housing, causing it to bind.

 

[jeremycfr]

Is the cable new, or have you had it for a while and it just started bouncing?

The 2 most common things that cause bounce are lack of lubrication and too tight of a bend in the cable. If the connector on the transmission is lose the cable housing could be hanging down, kinking the cable. This could also allow dirt and water to get into the housing (and transmission), compounding the problem.

If the cable is too long for the housing, the cable can't float in the housing, causing it to bind.

It's not too long and was freshly (new) installed in the past couple of months. The car has only been driven a half a dozen times.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

Many times the plastic speedo drive gear will get an almost imperceptible concave wear pattern across the gears, just enough to cause a bounce. They are cheap and easy to change, and since the cable is new and ( presumadely) adequately lubricated, it may be worth a shot.

 

[72HCODE]

i swapped my cable 3 times, lubbed the heck out of it a couple of times and swapped gears 2 times, my speedo still bounces under 30 mph.

i gave up.

 

[Frank Maleno]

When I was driving the car this weekend I noticed that the speedometer needle bounced. I used a cable that I bought from OMS so I am pretty sure it is the correct one. Any thoughts? Could something be loose?

I would try to lubricate it before trying anything else. I had the same problem on a brand new Ford original cable and a little lubrication took care of it.

 

[rutkak]

I have the same problem on my 69 Torino but it only bounces a tad around 70-75 mph. It was much worse until I swapped out the speedometer in the gauge cluster. The driven gear is new and I've swapped that out for separate reasons so that's not the problem.

What do you all recommend lubricating it with? Silicon, WD-40, grease, something else?

KR

 

[Don C]

I use a good quality graphite grease that doesn't stiffen when cold nor harden with age. Try to flush out or swab out the housing (not easy and messy). Insert the cable into the housing from the speedometer end of the housing and only apply the lube to the first 2/3 of the cable. This helps to keep the lube out of the speedometer head.

 

[OMS]

Easiest way to apply lube to any cable is

Put it in a baggie , push the cable thru the baggie and pull it out the other side.

Don

 

[mrmach1]

I used liquid graphite and just squirted in on the end that connects to the speedo. Same way I lube my motorcycle cables.