1930 Oval Speedometer Question

[Afordman31]

How easy is it to remove the round plate that is near the cable hook up to clean and re-grease the inside where the gears are. I see that it is staked, so using a moto-tool to remove them then will the plate be loose enough to get out. I have a couple of these speedometers that turn very hard with fingers so I figure they would break the cable if used. After getting the plate off, can the grease be thinned with something to loosen up the gears? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Afordman31

 

[700rpm]

Speedos are pretty tough to work on without the special tools. When they're stuck like that they should be completely disassembled and cleaned, and that is very delicate and specialized work. If you try to just squirt cleaning fluid in there you're more likely to mess up the numbers than get any good results. I suggest sending it to a rebuilder who has the tools and expertise. They are usually pretty reasonable price-wise.

 

[Mark in MT]

Often times the solidified grease in the bevel gears is only part of the problem. The odometer assemble also has hard lube in it and adds stress to the drive gears when you roll up 1000 or 10000 miles the gear on the end has to turn all five rows of numbers. If it does not turn easily, it will fail. The other issue is that the pot metal frame swells over time while the steel shaft does not, causing the magnet shaft to bind.

If the unit is ok appearance wise then a good servicing should do it, if the numbers need replacing, then you may want to consider a rebuilt exchange one.

Hard to turn drives and stripped odometer gears are the biggest reasons that they get sent to me for repairs, about 1/3 need to have the 1/10 odometer wheel replaced.

Mark's Speedometer

 

[papanick]

If you need it cleaned let me know. jrnichols642@yahoo.com.

 

[Dick So. Cal.]

You might try something that worked for me. I drilled a small hole in the plate near the top and put two drops of 3-in-1 oil in the hole. I then worked the speedometer by hand and then with a drill motor (revolving counterclockwise). It loosened up just fine. I have 4000 miles on it and there is no noise.
Nothing to lose! Try it. Don't put too much oil in.

Dick

 

[papanick]

What you can try is to tap the center of the plate down and then try to pop the plate off. Try to clean out the old hard lube out then place some 10-30 in the base and let it set over night. Then try to work the mag with your hand. If it dose not work then the bushings may be set up. Then it would be best to have a rebuilder do it. papanick/

 

[Aerocraft]

Once you remove the staking, a very sharp pick will pop the plate out. It will take some solvent to remove the dried grease. I have found that, using a penetrating oil, the shaft will loosen up by "running" the speedometer on the bench. Drive a spare speedometer cable very slowly with a variable speed drill. Fortunately, I bought a Stewart-Warner test bench at an antique store and help any club member (gratis).

Gar Williams