Noisy Speedometer

Greyoak

Greyoak

New member
Hi Guys,

Since I have a little time here before I need to shovel or plow again I thought I would ask about the noisy speedometer I noticed when I had her out last (early 31 fordor).

I have a ticking that gets louder the faster I go. I took off the cable from behind the dash and used some graphite lube but that didn't seem to make a difference. Should I take the dash off again and add lube directly into the speedometer itself? It seems to be working properly, just annoying.
Also,
My speedometer cable runs up under the floor boards in a groove and into the cabin then up into the dash, it does not go through the firewall nor do I see a hole where it would/should pass through the firewall as I have read it should??

What do you think? Thanks!
 
RHD cars have the groove in the floor board with no hole in the bulkhead . Could be your car started life as a RHD and has been converted to LHD . You might see some evidence where the steering column exits the cabin if it has.

John in cold very dark Suffolk County England.
 
I had an issue with a noise almost like a siren sound coming from mine. I had to take the speedometer apart and remove the caked up dried out grease and lubricate it to get rid of the noise. It works fine now. I removed the removed the instrument panel and disconnected my speedometer from the cable and left the instrument panel hanging. I took it out for a drive and there was no noise. I then knew *** was the speedometer. I think Les Andrews book has instructions on how to disassemble and reassemble the speedometer if you need to.
 
If the car is late 31 then the frame is drilled only on one side for the steering column either LHD or RHD .The 28/29 frames were drilled on both sides . If your car is drilled on both sides it was RHD originally .

John in no change of location.
 
Leave the cable out of the speedo and drive it or if too much snow, jack one or both wheels up and run it.

No point in opening up the speedo case if it is not the source of the ticking.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Interesting thought on the rhd. I don't recall having any holes but I will have a closer look. I'm afraid I'm grounded for a while with this weather. :mad:
 
Often the problem is dry, worn "bearings" for the magnet shaft in the unit. These speedometers do not have any bearings, the shaft runs right in the main frame, which is die cast. The round faced units will wear into the die cast material and get so loose that they will start howling. Sometimes you can lube it and get the noise to go away if the wear is not to bad. Worst case is a total tear down and putting in bushings, not a five minute job.

Mark
 
Another possibility could be a slightly "kinked" speedometer cable which makes more noise as speed increases.

Had a new speedometer cable right out of the mailed packaged like this just a few years ago.

Even though it did not look "kinked" when stretched out on a work bench, here is a test I read somewhere years ago for finding a "kink" in a speedometer cable which will cause noises:

1. Hold one end of the cable in one hand, & the other cable end in the other hand, & allow the cable to droop downwards in what resembles a hyperbolic arch.

2. Twist one end of the cable with one hand such that the cable ends begin to rotate in both hands.

3. When rotating, if the bottom of the hyperbolic arch rotates smoothly & maintains it's original shape, with no up & down or sideways jerky motion, the cable is not "kinked".

4. If the bottom of the hyperbolic arch does not rotate smoothly & does not maintain it's original shape, where one observes the slightest up & down or sideways jerky motion, the cable is "kinked".

5. Best positive solution: Just get another cable that is not "kinked".
 
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