Hey fellas, Got another one for ya. I hooked up the speedo cable in my car. But its not working. I thought I had it on there tight too. My fat hands barely fit between all the wires behind the dash. Is there an easier way to find out if it works or not? I'm making a long distance trip soon and would like to have a speedo that works. 6 hours without knowing how fast I'm going doesn't sound like much fun to me. As always, your help is appreciated. Rocky
Hi Rocky. If you have a GPS take it along, it makes for a very accurate speedometer. I always take mine (Garmin)as a back up speedometer plus it helps me from getting lost. LOL. You can check to see if speedo is working by unhooking cable at transmission. Hook up a cordless drill to end of cable and turn on drill to test. counter clockwise on drill. If speedo works then your problem is gear in trans. Charles
yes, sounds like the cable isn't fully inserted at the back of the speedo. and yes on the Garmin - but wifey works good for me too.. always tells me when I go too fast, and NEVER lets me get lost
never get lost with a gps? yalls funny. yaint never tried to get to my house by using one. i live on a state hwy . nice 2 lane rd. only 6 miles long. the gps's say it isnt complete. its missing about a 1/4 mile of it. so it tells you to turn around and keeps you going in circles if you listen to it . and cell service is hit and miss here which make it fun when ive sold something on c.l. and they come to get it and didnt take directions from me like i tried to give them.
I hear ya', Ron. I have to run my Garmin with the sound turned off, otherwise the yapping of the electronic voice inside there reminds me of my ex-wife trying to give me directions when she herself didn't have the first clue where we were or how to get where we were going. Thankfully the Garmin has a little switch in the back...
I'll try both ends of the speedo cable again. And I'll hijack my brothers gps to take along with me. This seems way easy to do, just need to do it. Thanks fellas!
Yeah, and I'd try and find a cheap tach too, just to A. gauge your speed, and B. monitor your engine. Just a suggestion of course.
re: the speedo problems - QUESTION - aren't most of the DRIVE gears (the ones inside the trans) made of steel? And the DRIVEN ones (on end of the cables) nylon? In my years working Ford parts I don't recollect selling many drive gears. Not that they wouldn't go bad but the chances are unlikely they would be the cause. Am I correct here? I'd guess the issue is more likely with the cable or connections. Now, when John put mine back together he used a new cable & gear and I had the head rebuilt. Initially it worked but the needle bounced quite a bit until oil apparently wicked up & lubed the cable; now it is quite steady. I synched the speedo with my Garmin and it's pretty darn close. Well the Garmin I have isn't bad but it has mislead me a a couple of times when up in northern part of the state. My wife has a Magellan in her car and I still haven't figured it out! It has screwed us up a couple times with wrong directions. And re: the voice? Oh yeah, at least the electronic devices have an 'ON/OFF' switch, unlike the .. well I think you know where I'm going.
When I worked for a Ford Truck Dealer back in the '70s, Alot of those heavy duty trucks had cable driven tachs. The cable inside the housing would dry out and the tach needle would bounce. Greasing the cable with moly lube solved alot of those problems. It also works for speedo cables.
I bet it's a broken cable, probably just due to age and lack of lubrication. My bro went through 3 cables on his bug, I asked him what cable lube he was using and he asked me "what is cable lube"? Installed a new cable with some graphite and has worked like a charm ever since. By the way, an easy way to test if it's the cable or the speedo is just disconnect the cable and look at the end and see if the cable spins when the car is moving.
Glad this one came up, and I'm an oppertunist. First, if I buy a stick( original) speedo replacement for my 55 Customline 2 dr will it work with my C4 trans? Second- anybody ever changed door gl*** in a 55 Customline? I can see where it unbolts but I'm wondering if anyone with experience can give me some tips so I'm not wr***lin with it all day. Thanks.
I had this work for me,I sprayed some WD-40 down inside the cable housing and let it sit a couple hours then drove it and it freed up and worked fine when it loosened up the graphite.Redneck,if you unbolt the vent window you will have more room to work in the door,pop the rollers loose let the window down and with the inside of the door facing you tilt the gl*** to the right and shove it upward out the channel,it might help if someone grabs the gl*** from the top and helps guide it out.
Thanks Jeff, you save the day again! You helped me out with my motor and trans mounts. I went with the C4. Will a stock 55 V8 speedo work with my C4? Thanks.
The stock speedo will work fine,from an earlier post use a 1969 Mustang V8 speedo cable to go from the 55 speedo to the C4,the plastic gear is available with different numbers of teeth to match your rear end ratio.
Thanks, I got both Windows out pretty easy. I'll have the new ones in tomorrow. New speedo on its way. I'm getting ready for the Lone Star Round Up in Austin.
Has anyone looked at these GPS speedometers? A little pricey but not too far out of line with a top of the line S/W speedometer with way more functions and you can customize them to suit your taste. http://www.speedhut.com/custom_gauge_description-gauge_type-Speedometer_GPS-auto_number-861.htm
I have seen the speedometer with the Ford logo and different color flames someplace else before and were cheaper . Can't remember where . The gauges look nice but I think all the gauges now come from china . Is there any made in the USA ? Retro Jim
Jim, it says on the home page of their website that all their gauges are made in the USA. "Your single source for high performance custom gauges! We manufacture custom speedometers, tachometers, boost gauges temperature gauges, pressure gauges, hot rod gauges, and Cobra gauges for all automotive, marine, OEM, and power sports applications. We proudly manufacture all of our gauges in the USA."
The Jalopy Journal
