What would you do?

Autolite · 23-08-2011, 08:44 AM

I finally decided to pull the speedo out of my car (XYGT) because it was making a whirring/grinding sound . Had the cable disconnected the the last couple of months cos it was so bad. After a couple of hours getting it out I decided to go for a quick drive so I hooked the cable back up to it and off I went. i drove for approx. half an hour and you guessed it, it was perfectly silent. Do you reckon I should lubricate it up and throw it back in or take it to a shop and have someone give it the once over? If so can anyone recommend a place in Melbourne to have alook at it?

aussie muscle · 23-08-2011, 08:51 AM

Lube up the cable would be a good start, since it's a mechanical speedo.

kopyme · 23-08-2011, 02:06 PM

I have used graphite powder in them before with great success. Not sure if that will help your problem. It worked for me.

mik · 23-08-2011, 02:57 PM

if you`r worried you could get it serviced by an instrument restorer/technician, sorry no idea where in melb, for a good car like yours i think i`d get it serviced.

Bud Bud · 23-08-2011, 03:32 PM

Are you saying that you have the speedo still connected but sitting in your lap while you are driving, and now it is silent? It may still be making the noise but it may not be audible because it is not screwed down to the dash. It could be that the noise you hear is amplified once it is fixed solid. I would at least eliminate this first before I put it all back together.

Bud Bud

yift · 23-08-2011, 03:40 PM

if the speedo has never been recoed, you might aswell get it done.

gcg2503 · 23-08-2011, 04:17 PM

Get it checked out by Howards Instruments mate

They recalibrate speedo's, get them working, even reco fuel senders etc

http://www.howardinstruments.com.au/

Phone : 61 3 9457 4755

110 Northern Rd,
Heidelberg Heights,
Victoria 3081, Australia

kopyme · 24-08-2011, 09:01 AM

Ringwood speedos may be able to help with this too...

MarkAW · 24-08-2011, 01:32 PM

Uncouple the speedo head from the cable, remove the inner drive cable and see if the cable has previously had a dry lubricant, like powdered graphite or a wet lubricant like grease or oil. Also check for any damage to the cable. Neither dry or wet should be mixed as it will gum up the cable. Give it some more of what ever it had before by tipping just a small amount down the inside of the outer cable and you should be good to go. Don't over do it or fill it up, just a very small amount.

If there is nothing wrong with the speedo, then why pay good dollars for the same thing from a repair shop.

05_ENFORCER · 24-08-2011, 01:49 PM

These cables can break down near the sender.
Try driving a short distance with the speedo off and see what heppens.
The inner core should turn.

.

Autolite · 25-08-2011, 04:21 PM

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll take it to howards and see what they think and i'll also try some lube in the cable.

66FAIRLANE · 25-08-2011, 04:32 PM

I would just lube up the spinny thing on the speedo then reconnect it and NOT screw the nut all the way in. Sometimes the cable can exert pressure onto the speedometer drive and this can cause wear and the noise you hear. This probably explains why it was silent when you had it out of the dash. Cable was bent differently and wasn't exerting the same pressure.

I have done this before with success.