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Post by mongoose on Oct 26, 2012 17:42:40 GMT -5
No, really... you've gotta love old cars, or sometimes they could be just too much. So I'm out for an evening cruise, enjoying an unusually warm Fall evening here in the metropolis of Fort Wayne. I notice the odometer is about to roll over to 76,000 miles. It's been at 75,xxx since at least 2001. I bought the car in 1985 with 54,000 miles on it. I thought "This will be cool, I'll take a picture of it when it hits the 76,000 mile mark. As it rolls to 75,999.9... travelling at about 35mph preparing to take a pic with my cell phone, it suddenly stops just short of an even 76,000 (how many of you saw this coming???)  And of course now the speedo needle is jumping around since the odometer is stuck. So what do you recommend for me to try to "un-stick" the odometer? Can I reach it from the back, and manually help roll it through whatever is obstructing it from moving? |
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Post by Big Mike on Oct 26, 2012 17:59:28 GMT -5
That sucks¡!¡ If the issue is in the speedo head, I don't think there is much to do but get it repaired. If just spinning it will do it you can do it at the trans which is where I would start anyway. Hopefully it's just a bad cable, plastic gear, or a reduction gear gizmo [can't remember the actual name right now] if so equipped.
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Post by mongoose on Oct 26, 2012 18:04:05 GMT -5
I'm guessing it's in the head... but I have nothing to base that on other than the coincidence that it happened as it was rolling to 76,000, plus I hear a clicking noise periodically at the speedo.
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Post by stan65cutlass on Oct 26, 2012 19:22:00 GMT -5
i guess that explains my no werky odometer and bouncing needle, something else to fix
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2012 19:41:01 GMT -5
DOH!
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Post by Big Mike on Oct 27, 2012 7:32:51 GMT -5
I know there's like virtually no room under the dash, but you can remove the cable and place a small Allen wrench [yes, I know the cable is square] and spin the speedo and have some look at the odometer and needle and see what happens.
Most issues with a speedo are with the cable, usually with dried out or gunked up lube in the casing. You can always pull the cable, pull the actual cable from the casing, clean the casing really well with solvent, blow it out and relube the cable and put it back in the case. It should then spin freely and this needs to be done periodically anyway. And while you at it check the plastic gears at the trans.
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Post by mongoose on Oct 27, 2012 8:16:06 GMT -5
So time to pull the drivers seat out...
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Post by mongoose on Nov 6, 2012 15:03:33 GMT -5
So to remove the speedometer cluster do I have to remove the whole dash assembly, or can I get to the screws/nuts from underneath to remove just the cluster? And is it simpler to do it that way, or remove the whole dash?
And if I can just remove the cluster, does anyone have a diagram or image that highlights where the screws/nuts are located that I'd need to remove to get the cluster out?
And who should I consider to have the speedo repaired/rebuilt?
I guess this makes for a good project now that it's cold outside.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 15:31:15 GMT -5
I have a cluster (not Cutlass) at Instrument Specialitys in Rhode Island. Not cheap, but they seem like good people,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so far. Takes a while too, 4 to 6 weeks. They repair and refinish to new. (401) 267-0055
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Post by mongoose on Nov 6, 2012 17:01:40 GMT -5
Define "not cheap"...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 17:43:20 GMT -5
For a Chevelle cluster with an electronic update for the tach, just under a $1,000.00 with shipping. Ya have to send it in to get an estimate. Seems to be time and materials. Yeah, I know, sounds crazy, but how much does a person get in a top notch restoration? Say, like Ramz's. Plus some of this stuff ya can't do and make it look right, or, in some cases, work right.
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Post by mongoose on Nov 6, 2012 18:15:18 GMT -5
And I was grumbling about having to eventually spend $800 for a fresh dash pad from Just Dashes. I think my left testicle just rolled down my pant leg...  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 18:18:28 GMT -5
DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM just dashes. THEY'RE ASSHOLES!!!!!!
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Post by mongoose on Nov 6, 2012 18:19:45 GMT -5
Not to derail my own thread... but are there alternatives?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 18:23:34 GMT -5
Not to derail my own thread... but are there alternatives? If you can, give me a few days. Might be able to give you some info |
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Post by shane on Nov 6, 2012 18:38:40 GMT -5
Mongoose if you need another speedo head I have a few I can spare.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 21:03:23 GMT -5
Just dashes did a GTO dash for a friend of mine. He sent a core, was told a price and time frame, was told 90 days tops. It was almost 6 months and when it was returned, it was wrong. Had to eat the shipping back, wouldn't return calls and they had to have a lawyer send a letter threatening to sue before it was takin' care of. Nobody needs that. There's more to the story but, that's the just of it. There are other people that do dashes but I've never done any up to this point.
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Post by mongoose on Nov 7, 2012 6:27:32 GMT -5
Thanks everyone.
Shane, first thing I'll need to do is get the speedo out of the dash. So I'm hoping someone has some insight as to whether or not I can/should remove it by itself, or if I should pull the whole dash. And if the former, then it would be cool if someone had an illustration that shows where the screws are located to remove it. I assume there are going to be a few screws "hidden" at the top that you can't see from underneath (maybe with a mirror).
While I was peaking under the dash, I disconnected the cable from the speedo. If the weather cooperates I may be able to get a drive in this weekend. I assume its probably a good idea to disconnect the cable at the other end too? I've got a "calibration box" at the transmission that was installed years ago to re-calibrate the speedo after a gear/tire change, so maybe I can leave the cable attached and not worry about fluid leakage?
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Post by shane on Nov 7, 2012 8:15:01 GMT -5
I have some insight . Be careful when you unplug the harness not to pull the pins out of the circuit board . If no one post more help on the screw locations I will later today when I get home.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2012 17:31:55 GMT -5
I took mine apart piece by piece and it was a chore. Don't know if that's the right way or not. If I was going to do it again I think I might try taking the whole dash out. As I remember it (it's been two years) there are a couple of screws up on the top of the cluster that are pretty hard to get at.
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