What am I missing? The speedometer does not work, meaning the red arm in the speedometer gauge does not move. When I put the car together over the past year I purchased a new replacement speedometer cable and installed it. After the car got on the road and the speedo did not work I unscrewed the new speedometer cable at the transmission and asked my wife to look at the speedo gauge, I then turned the cable by hand from the transmission side and she said the gauge arm moved up. I then removed the part that pushes into the transmission and attached it to the cable and turned the gear and the gauge arm moved up again. As for the gear inside the transmission I can barely see it with the car jacked up on jack stands with a light and mirror and it looks good. I put everything back together and the speedometer still does not work. Any ideas?
Speedometer not working
mn1500
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What am I missing? The speedometer does not work, meaning the red arm in the speedometer gauge does not move. When I put the car together over the past year I purchased a new replacement speedometer cable and installed it. After the car got on the road and the speedo did not work I unscrewed the new speedometer cable at the transmission and asked my wife to look at the speedo gauge, I then turned the cable by hand from the transmission side and she said the gauge arm moved up. I then removed the part that pushes into the transmission and attached it to the cable and turned the gear and the gauge arm moved up again. As for the gear inside the transmission I can barely see it with the car jacked up on jack stands with a light and mirror and it looks good. I put everything back together and the speedometer still does not work. Any ideas?
I had same problem with my speedometer but it turned out to be the speedometer itself needed to be cleaned and lubricated. I think the problem is the speedometer works a bit like a clutch and moving it by hand allows it to grab but when on the road it slips. The attached video is pretty much the process I followed and now mine works - not perfectly as the needle shakes a bit at high speeds - but works fairly well. Good luck.
Speedometer repair.
Speedometer repair.
With the cable off the tranny, is it possible to push the cable toward the speedometer enough that it might not engage into the gear? Oh, the all important question, is the odometer working with everything hooked up?
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That is a good question, I will look next time I drive the car.
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I have seen aftermarket speedometer cables that were too long and would bind when fully tightened on a Tri-five speedometer head. The cable had a plastic drive end like the one in this picture. I could loosen the cable nut at the speedometer end a few turns and the speedometer would work perfect. If I tightened the nut the speedometer would quit working. After I cut 1/4 inch off the plastic drive tip I tightened the cable nut and the problem was solved.
![Image]()
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Speedometer is still not working but I can provide an update. If I remove the speedometer cable from the speedometer in the dash the speedometer moves freely, so for now I am not going to remove the speedometer for a cleaning and lube. Neither the Speedometer or the odometer work. I removed the cable from the speedometer side and drove the car and found out the cable at the speedometer does not turn. If I then remove the cable from the transmission and rotate the cable from the trans side it will turn freely on the speedometer side. I than removed the gear from the transmission and attached it to the cable and rotated the gear and everything rotated freely on each end.
I think my next step will be to clean and lube the old cable and try it and or put a bore scope in the transmission to see the condition of the gear on the main shaft. Any thoughts?
I think my next step will be to clean and lube the old cable and try it and or put a bore scope in the transmission to see the condition of the gear on the main shaft. Any thoughts?
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With the car in neutral and the speedometer cable disconnected from the transmission you can turn the driveshaft by hand and observe the end of the driven gear turning. If it's not turning you have a problem with the gears. You didn't say what transmission you have but on a Muncie 4 speed there are two locations on the main shaft that the drive gear can be installed. One is for a tailshaft with the speedometer on the right and the other position is for a left side speedometer.
Some automatics have different speedometer housings for different gears. You may have a mismatch of parts.
Some automatics have different speedometer housings for different gears. You may have a mismatch of parts.
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I have an early 62-63 BW T10 4 speed. Tomorrow I will jack the car up and place it on jack stands to see if the end of the driven gear is turning and post the results.
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With the car up on jack stands and turning the driveshaft the end of the driven gear turns intermittently. I can also see the end of the driven gear move in and out as it turns and stops. I have attached pictures of the bullet with the gear and see some slight wear on the plastic gear, on the outer 3/4 of the gear. The wear is a little bit hard to see in these pictures. When I look inside the transmission it looks like the gear is metal and in good shape. I think my issue is the plastic outer gear, any thoughts? I was not able to find that gear at any of the local parts stores but I found it on ebay, it comes with 5 gears, the bullet and o-rings ( GM T5 T10, SUPER T10 - 18 19 20 21 22 Teeth Speedo Speedometer Gear Set & BULLET | eBay ). I hope once these parts arrive it solves my problem.
I have also attached pictures of both ends of the bullet with gear, I was trying to remove the plastic gear but was not able to do so. Does anyone know how to remove the plastic gear from the metal bullet?
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