Speedometer rebuilding. No info

so I searched all over the net for mopar gauge repair. Nothing. Everyone says replace the cable, or send it off. Well, I don't have 175 bucks to pay to have mine fixed. It fluctuates and never steady. Bouncing all around. I'm tired of looking at it now to the point of actually disconnecting it.

My question is, out of all the things FABO members have learned and knowledgeable about, nowhere can I find anything on rebuilding a speedo. Is this something like rocket nuclear fission science to repair a simple speedo??? Or is this an understanding that only those special people know how to do and they won't say anything unless you pay?
Has anyone fixed this issue themselves or did y'all just ship it off?

Try this, Pull your cable out of the housing, check for fraying,if all looks good clean it and re-lube with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.Next in the speedo head where the cable goes into,you will find a brass bushing. Clean that and pack it well with the Vaseline. I have done many this way and got smooth results.

what kind of car is it?

65 Valiant. But most of them are identical from 62-68 I believe. I checked a 64 dart, 66 Valiant and 68 Valiant

If it is bouncing it is most likely the cable getting hung up

So the first order of business is determine the fault. Is the cable causing the bounce? Has the forces from the cable worn the instrument ? Is a fault in the odometer spool the culprit? That fault typically produces a click noise with needle jump.
Speedometer has tiny bronze bushings with needle size shafts turning in them. It compares to clockwork. Speedometer is a clock of a different sort.
Shops that have been in this business many years may still have limited replacement parts. Most of them also have the means to make new parts. Best I can do is dig up old pictures of worn out instrument parts. I still have some good used parts here but I don't plan to service someone elses speedometer again at any price. Good luck

Interested in this. Mine is stuck at max speed. I replaced the cable and the odometer has always worked. I believe from my research there is an adjustment that can be made but I could not find any how-to info. I was going to take it to a speedometer shop.

Can you remove the speedometer from the cluster and check for dirt between the magnetic coupling and disk?
I've been able to do this on later ones.
It's a close tolerance thing.
I think this may be your problem.
I've got a end of a cable I can put in a drill and bench test them.
LPS1 is what I use to lubricate them

i had a 74 duster that speedometer bounced,took gauge cluster out, at the end of the speedometer cable is a round housing,it had two magnets, i could put a small screwdriver on one and it would pull to the magnet, the one on the other side wouldn't pull the screw driver had lost its magnetism, i replaced just the speedo, $30, whitepunkonnitro on a bodies down Murfreesboro had the speedo i bought

Yes mine still clicks from time to time. Mostly bouncy though. Like a bobble head really. Tried two different cables and get the same result.

I was just mostly wondering if there was a write up on how to completely take one apart, clean/repair, and put it all back together. I just never see about anyone doing this, nor have I tried it. I just want my gauge to work properly. Although I've gotten really good and listening to the engine and running by the police speed indicators on the side of the road, and lately I've been about 1-3 mph under what the speed limit is. 30,40,45,55. Lol. That's sad.

I would love to pull it apart and see the issue. To be able to know how it works all together. What each piece is. And if I'll break it if I try an pull it apart

OK, Pull it and inspect. There's a nearly 1.5 inch long 1/4 dia input shaft with a magnet at other end. First, just lay the instrument on the table so its weight rests on the input. Originally there was very little clearance anywhere so if this pressure lifts the speedo needle away from '0' there is wear. If I see this in a for sale ad picture, I know I don't want it. Anyway...
This shaft has a magnet on the other end that spins inside and outside a drum shape. This drum and shaft has the needle on its other end. This is the one with very small journals in bronze bushings. Look for light marks where the magnet is kissing the outer sides/edges of drum. I've posted pics of egg shaped bushings and broken shafts here before.
They'll eventually get so far worn that the magnet carries the drum and needle far enough around that needle sticks, return spring breaks, needle breaks, shaft breaks. Something has to give.
If everything in this much of the assembly appears fine ( only needs cleaning ) disengage the odometer spool and run the speedometer. That's the simplest way to tell if odometer spool has a internal issue and most of the time its issue is in the tenths wheel. Most wear is there afterall. I've found plastic turned to powder between the digits.
The worse they are damaged, the more the repair costs. I wont go into taking it all apart, those tiny phenolic trust washers, setting up clearances in reassembly, etc...

Well. I took it apart and cleaned it somewhat. Now it reads 10 when I'm doing 20. Lol. I only removed the needle on the gauge to blow it out and dust it off. Maybe this stuff is rocket science. Haha

Hey now.....did you know there was a felt wick in there to oil? Must be the 50,000 mile check. "...

I removed the oil cup with the point of a knife blade (of couse I replaced it). At first I thought that the cup was actually a plug, however, the cup has a tiny triangular hole punched in the bottom, but only two edges of the triangle are cut through. The piece is pushed through the hole to form a small spike similar one of the cheap thumbtacks I used as a youth. Anyway, the little triangular point pokes into the felt wick to help oil flow from the cup into the wick. By removing the cup I was able to apply oil more quickly. I let the oil soak into the wick and on into the bushing and periodically I turned the speedometer to see how well the oil was moving into the bushing. I didn't want to over oil it.



This photo shows the gear train that drives the odometer. The trip meter reset knob doesn't come out of the instrument panel bezel. To separate the metal panel housing from the plastic bezel and remove the speedometer, first unscrew the speedometer mounting screws and then all the Phillips-head screws holding the metal housing and bezel together. The speedometer will stay with the bezel, but it isn't fastened solidly so be careful with it. To remove the speedometer from the bezel, the reset knob has to come loose from the brackets on the side of the speedometer. A small "C" clip hold it there. You can see the gear on the reset knob and the gear on the end of the trip indicator shaft. Those gears have to mesh when it is reassembled. The reset knob has little black bushings that fit into the tabs on the speedometer above and below the trip indicator gear. Just be sure to notice what it looks like before you take it apart...."

In response to the above post... There isn't actual bushing there. That shaft runs in a burnished cast metal bore. You could pull the wick to find its lower end hard and black, wash it and flush the bore with brake cleaner if you wanted, then ad fresh oil. That extent necessary? Whos to say?
To the original... If you cleared the needle bounce, that's something positive.
I don't know how you realigned the needle to zero. There's a needle stop and a needle return spring. Adjusting the stop to get zero will change spring tension and speed displayed. They are sensitive, thus difficult/time consuming to calibrate.

you can hold the small round drum on back and push the speedo hand back to 0,,,then find a bit to put in a battery drill and put the drill in the counter clockwise setting (remving a screw) spin it fast enough to get up at 60 to 70 mph on speedo, when you stop drill , see where hand stops, you can actually pull the speedo hand at the round base straight out and it will come out, then just push it back on at 0mph setting, i just changed my gauges to white face and led lamps, and remove hand and put it back on after got white on face of speedo


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