Speedometer Problem

Tim, You might try contacting Deluxe Speedometer and Cable Service in Denver, CO. They can be reached at 303-629-6958 or at deluxespeedometer@hotmail.com.

They made a new speedometer cable for me recently with an exposed metal sheath like the originals had. I don't know whether or not the internal cable is the reverse rotation type (I hadn't heard about that until reading this thread), but so far it is not transporting oil from the transfer case up into my speedometer.

 

All fixed I'm good. Thanks guy's.

 

So, what was the fix?

 

Am I just thinking about this wrong, or couldn't you basically just pull the core out of the cable, and re-insert it the other direction (i.e. "Backwards) and make the twist run the other direction? Far as I know, the ends are the same on the core.

 

Well I took everything out including the speedometer (what a pain). Took the speedo apart and used brake clean to clean it very good, used compressed air and blew it out so it was dry and re-lubed with 3-1 oil including the tiny shaft to the needle. Put it all back together. Took the speedometer cable and housing out and cleaned it real good. Lubed the cable with a spray lithium grease. Put everything back together and it works perfect. So far so good. Will see if it lasts.

 

Yes, you are looking at it wrong. The twist will remain the same no matter which way you insert the cable.

 

As I recall, one end has a fitting.

 

That's correct - at least on the ones I've had, there's a fitting on the speedometer end of the cable that keeps it from sliding down toward the transfer case.

 

Resurrecting an old thread here. I called Deluxe Speedometer and they said their inner cables all have a "left hand lay". Does anyone know if this is the correct direction to keep gear oil from climbing up to the gauge?

 

A speedometer cable with lefthand lay should push fluid down the housing while driving the vehicle forward.

 

Thanks. Does this mean when you look at the cable it looks like it has left hand threads?

 

I guess you could say that.

 

This is all very confusing. The cable that was on my jeep that I broke was right hand. The Crown replacement which had other fitment issues was also right hand. The generic replacement from my FLAPS was left hand. Odd that there's no standardization.

 

Yes it is odd.
The longer I run the 3B at road speed, the more oil I have in the floor from the speedometer.

 

To help understand how the lay of a speedometer cable can affect whether the lubricant is pulled up or pushed down the housing, a simple test can be conducted. Lay the speedometer cable out in front of you so that the driven end (speedometer end) is up and the drive end (transfer end) is down. The left hand lay will look similar to Pete's pictures above. We know the cable turns in a clockwise manner as viewed by looking at the end of the cable at the drive end (transfer case end). Pick up the cable so that it is laying across your left hand and lightly held between your thumb and forefinger. Now rotate the cable with your right hand as if being driven by the transfer case drive or an electric drill as noted above. You will sense your thumb/forefinger being pulled down the cable or it may feel as though the cable wants to move upward through your thumb and forefinger. Hope this makes it easier to understand.

 

I see it now, that was a good explanation, thanks. I worked with my spare speedometer and I see how I want the left hand lay to keep the gear oil from climbing the cable. The right hand lay would act as an Archimedes' screw

 

Zackly.

 

Am additional follow up. I got my cable from Deluxe Speedometer. Very high quality item. It's much more expensive than a Crown unit but you can sure see the difference. I also got my speedometer back from a local rebuilder. So far everything works well. The needle runs very smooth with none of the "bounce" I was seeing before.

 

1968 CJ5. dauntless engine. t14 transmission

thought i would add to this, since its along the same lines. i have owned this jeep for about 2 years now. brand new cable. been putting plenty of miles on it. up until last night the speedometer was working fine. last night the wife and i even went out and i checked my speed with my phones GPS. I recently got new tires, wanted to see how much the speedo was off by.

after an evening of cruising, and on the way home out of the blue the speedo would start "grinding" for lack of a better term. thought it was the transmission at first, but that never made any noises. driving it to work this morning, and it started up again. then it pegged out, and now the needle is stuck at 0, one full revolution around the speedometer face. i am afraid its toast now.

wondering what could have caused this?

the only current fix i have for the ride home is to remove the cable from the back of the speedo on my lunch break.