Speedometer Cable Lubrication

bfrench1984

bfrench1984

Junior Member
My speedometer is bouncing all over the place and I believe the cable needs to be lubricated. I replaced the drive on the transmission last year. I got some advice yesterday to disconnect both ends, put graphite on the cable and spin the cable so it works its way down. Paul Shinn, however, shows removing it from the car, and working red grease on the cable before reinstalling.

So…I’ve come to the internet to see what y’all think…..

Anything else I should be thinking?
 
I did what Paul did. I had a ticking noise at about 30mph and above.
His trick worked fine for me.

I carefully lubed the speedo stuff as well.
 
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Hopefully just the cable needs to be lubed, but it could also be the speedometer head itself that needs lube unless it has been serviced recently. If it's the speedo, use light oil like 3 in 1 oil or sewing machine oil on all the rotating parts, shafts, etc.
 
when the cable is out roll it on a flat surface to see if it has any kinks.
I like the little squeeze bag of cv joint lube for speedometer cable lubrication.
 
I do like Paul, except I use "graphite grease". Years ago we just used chassis grease.
 
katy said:
I do like Paul, except I use "graphite grease". Years ago we just used chassis grease.
Click to expand...

Graphite like the stuff we used for pinewood derby cars, or is there a special graphite grease I am unaware of? It’s probable that I am unaware of a lot of things. 😂
 
bfrench1984 said:
Graphite like the stuff we used for pinewood derby cars, or is there a special graphite grease I am unaware of? It’s probable that I am unaware of a lot of things. 😂
Click to expand...

Graphite grease is very common, look it up. try google or Amazon.

I don't know what "pinewood derby cars" are, will have to look it up
 
BFRENCH84,


Mine did the same thing until I followed Shinn's advice and removed and and lubed the cable thoroughly with normal bearing grease. It runs like a charm unless I am at high RPM (i.e. vibration) in 2nd gear.
 
Hopefully lubricating the cable fixes your problem but there are reasons other than the cable that could cause a jumpy speedometer. I have been training with an older fellow for months now on rebuilding model A speedometers and will be offering rebuilds in the future. Sometimes you can lube a speedometer and get satisfaction but most of the time there needs to be a complete disassembly of the speedometer to find and repair or replace the problem. Hopefully it’s your cables lack of lube.
 
That’s why you roll the inner cable on a flat surface looking for kinks they will cause the cable to bind then release— slowing it some from input speed then when it releases higher than input speed causing a wavering speed
 
Using grease to lubricate the speedometer cable is a bad idea where a Model "A" is exposed to the cold temperatures of a winter climate. The viscosity of the grease increases and significantly increases the torque load on the cable. I learned this the hard way by greasing cable that caused it to fail in the winter.
Graphite powder alone or graphite powder mixed with an SAE 10 oil works well in cold climates.
Excessive greasing of the torque tube bearing forces grease through the speedometer drive gear and into the speedometer cable. If this happens, flush the cable with kerosene to remove the grease.
A kink in the speedometer cable will cause it to become noisy.
 
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