Help with speedo cable

marks1929tudor

Junior Member
Need help with my speedo cable , they keep breaking on me!!! The original cable broke twisted off about 3 inches from trans end , figured lack of lubrication car had sat for a few years, replaced with brand new cable inside and out drove couple miles and that one twisted off about three inches from trans end. Bought new cable( had to buy complete cable in and out . Took trans end apart cleaned and greased , oiled it all up and put back together. Removed speedo and oiled with fine oil used old end in a drill to spin ( worked really easy and well ) reinstalled new inner cable in the first speedo cables new outer and drove about five miles and this one broke, did not take apart yet but I'm at the end of my wits with this speedo lol . Any help or advise ? Cable was lightly lubricated in the metal outer not sure what I am missing or what is causing these to break HELP !!!!!!!!!
 
It might be a sign of the Speedometer starting to go bad as mine did a few weeks back, I put a new cable in last summer, another new cable and speedometer last week after it seized up.
 
I would say you have a problem in the speedo head. The inner cable usually breaks at the opposite end from where the seizure is as the cable is able to be wound from the seized point and breaks off at the end that is still rotating ..
 
Remove speedo cable from speedo and with your thumb and forefinger, try to spin the speedo shaft. It should spin easily. If it is hard to turn or if you can't turn it at all with your fingers, the speedo needs to be lubricated, particularly the vertical shaft in the speedo.
 
That's what baffles me as I used the end of the broken cable and put it in my drill speedo spins freely no problems , I even tested a couple of other speedo I have laying around and feels the same !!!
 
I had the same problem. The speedo should turn with you little finger and with little effort or pressure. Before I cleaned mine out, it would turn (with no problem if I used a drill), but there was a little resistance occasionally if I used my fingers. To fix mine, I popped the bottom off of my speedo, cleaned out the grease, filled and emptied it with PB Blaster several times (to break up any gunk) and then filled with new grease. It has worked ever since. Here is a link to the thread:
http://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53013
 
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