Lubing Speedometer Cable....

Utopia Texas

Utopia Texas

Senior Member
Took the dash panel off the gas tank yesterday to loosen and lube the speedometer cable and found not enough slack in the cable to get my hand between the panel and gas tank. I assume I will need to get under the A and undo the cable from the drive shaft housing in order to get some slack up above. While I have both ends of the cable loose should I lube the cable at both ends or will applying the lube at the top let it eventually run down the cable by gravity and it spinning?
 
Originally there is a speedo clamp on ther inside of the firewall as well as on the R/S frame rail... Make sure these are loose / removed.. That should give you the needed slack...pull the entire cable out from the housing and lube the whole thing as you slide it back in. Do not use white lithium grease....
 
I had asked the Lubriplate Lubricants Company that question; What type of grease should be applied to automobile speedometer cables? There response was "we recommend LUBRIPLATE Aero".
 
RonC said:
I had asked the Lubriplate Lubricants Company that question; What type of grease should be applied to automobile speedometer cables? There response was "we recommend LUBRIPLATE Aero".
Click to expand...

I quit using Lubriplate about 12 years ago, when I noticed it dried out after a few years.
I squirt oil down the top of the cable, then apply Mystik JT-6 high temp red grease to the cable as I slide it back in.

What old31 said also looks like a good choice.
 
How about Sil-Glyde? Supposedly it doesn't dry out, get sticky or run. And it's happy over a wide temperature range. Made by NAPA.

Dave
 
Make a mixture of synthetic motor oil and graphite powder that will flow slowly and inject it into the top end of the speedometer cable. I did this to my Coupe 48,000 miles ago (1980), and the cable runs smooth and quiet.
 
Using motor oil to lube the cable will quiet it up but it will also leach through the flexible cable housing making a mess..
 
Years ago a speedometer restorer told me not to lubricate the top 6 inches of the cable because if over lubricated the excess lubricant would be pushed into the speedometer as the turning of the cable forces the lubricant upwards.I have always wondered if that was good advice or not.
 
This is what we've always used on speedo cables and cable driven tachs on heavy trucks and equipment. Clyde
 

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