speedometer not working...first steps?

ETAModel

ETAModel

Senior Member
The speedometer on the 30 fordor doesn't work. It has the tripometer which seems to be frozen as well. Someone at the local club said to unhook the cable from transmission and use a drill to see if it will break free. My thoughts are to remove the speedometer and send it off for repair.
Thoughts?
 
If you don't know what you are doing, send it to someone that can do a proper job. If you want to lube it use a very light oil (clock oil) don't get WD-40 near it.
 
Disconnect the cable from the back of the speedometer and see if it moves turning it manually. It might be as simple as a broken speedometer cable.
 
As crosscut said, check the cable first. You can jack up one wheel and run the engine in gear to see if the end of the cable moves. If it moves, grab it with your fingers to see if it stops which would indicate it is broken.

You can turn the speedometer with a variable speed drill motor to see if it is actually broken but try turning it gently first by hand to see if it is locked up. If locked up, send it off for repair.
 
The speedometers can get stiff and not turn well after long periods of inactivity and/or lack of lubrication. The ones I've played with (Stewart Warner) have a die cast zinc body and the main magnet shaft is steel. If it gets too stiff then the cable will eventually fail or the fiber drive gear will fail.

In the speedometer, the odometer and trip meter both function off the main shaft. The little number wheels can get jammed up if the original paint fails and pieces of it get into the areas between the number wheels.
 
I took mine all apart and the main shaft was split where the cable goes in, so it would never turn. Bought one on Ebay for $40 that works perfect! took my nice polished bezel and replaced it. For me it was the easiest remedy.
 

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what happens a lot is that the pot metal has expanded and binds the shaft length wise. you need to move parts on the shaft apart a bit to free it up. i dont recall how i did it but i used a vice to apply pressure.
 
Mine was acting that way. I found out that the tip at the turtle end of the transmission was loose. I pulled it out and crimped the end, put it back in and it now works fine. I had my speedo, housing and cable out three to four times before I found my problem. Thankfully mine was an easy fix once I found the problem. Hope you find your problem soon.
 
It should be rebuild over time the bushing get gumed up a will stop it from turning. Just trying a drill may just damage the inside gears. If you do need it rebuild I can do that for you. papanick jrnichols642@yahoo.com
 
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