Speedo a no go.

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73 Duster 360

73 Duster 360

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Apple Valley California
I recently took out my instrument cluster to replace by fuel gauge and voltage regulator as part of my entire fuel system overhaul from tank to gauge.

Everything is back in the car and the fuel gauge is "working" (another issue for another day) but now my speedometer isn't working. My guess is I didn't actually get the cable reattached properly before I put everything back together. But I won't know for sure until tomorrow.

I'm gonna bust out my manual tomorrow and start the process of unscrewing the instrument cluster but in the meantime while it's dark and cold outside I thought I'd ask you guys, is there anything else I might have forgotten to do that might have caused this?

Happy New Year everyone!
 
I think rather than unscrewing the instrument panel , loosen the fuse box and slip your arm up behind the panel .. mine snaps on . Others may screw on ..
 
It is possible to thread on the speedometer cable and lot get the cable in the socket, it can end up just outside the socket.


Alan
 
Update: I was able to squeeze behind my instrument cluster and feel around and sure enough the speedometer cable was not hooked up at all. It must have sprung out as I was struggling to get the cluster back in place.

I ended up lowering the steering wheel and undoing the six screws so I could pull it away and get it back in place. But it still doesn't work

I suspect I missed a step. All I did was feed the cable as far into the back of the speedometer as possible and then clip the plastic clip on.

There must be more to it than that though since it's not working still.
 
Take it off at the tranny connection .. put a drill on the cable and spin it while watching the speedo . you may have pushed to far up and in that it's not connecting to the tranny gear .
 
So I took the cluster back out (I'm getting really good at it now) and i pushed the speedometer cable back down toward the transmission until it stopped and now I cannot twist the cable whereas before I pushed it in it turned.

So I think the cable is okay and I just over extended it the first time. My question now is if there a technique to connect it to the speedometer without messing up again?
 
Alright so I got it all hooked up again and now the speedometer needle bounces around all over the place and every now and then I hear what sounds kind of like a bell.

Thoughts?
 
Lube the sleedo cable.

There is a product out, kind of like Chain Lube that sprays in thin, then evaporates to a thicker state for better lube.

Have used this with success in the past for the bouncing speedo cables.
 
Quick update I couldn't find chain lube so I used graphite lube. New cable because the old one had a small chunk missing (see pic) new cable looks like the same length as the old one. 63 inches. Thought I lubed it up pretty good.

No more ringing noise when I drive but the needle still bounces back and forth between 30-80 mph when I'm going closer to 20mph.

Today I was gonna pull it all back out again and lube up some more. Since all of this started when I removed my instrument cluster and the speedo was fine before that, it would be some weird coincidence for the plastic gear on the transmission to break at the same time right?

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Quick update. I lubed it up some more and my speedometer still bounces. The issue seems to be that the cable seems a little long. It's 63 inches but it wants to bow about an inch behind the speedometer and I think that's causing the issue.

Is it plausible to trim an inch off the end that goes into the transmission to shorten the cable and reduce the tendency for it to bow?
 
Forces from the cable is the only thing to damage a speedometer. The cable should come to it as straight as possible. The stop collar should be able to hug right up to the back of the input without applying pressure. Did you clean the old hard crud out of that square port?
The white plastic sleeve/clip on your sheathe is improvement over the collector nut that 67 and earlier had. Twice as long would have been better for the 50-year instrument life. The bell ringing noise was a rotating part hitting another part. There wouldn't be enough movement in the bushings for that to happen in a new speedometer. Good luck with it.
 
Make sure you don't have any tight bends in the speedo cable. If it's not coming straight out of speedometer it could cause it to slightly bind and cause your issue.
 
72Duster440 said:
Make sure you don't have any tight bends in the speedo cable. If it's not coming straight out of speedometer it could cause it to slightly bind and cause your issue.
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Sounds like the only real way to fix it would be to replace the cable and housing. I had kept the original housing and just replaced the actual cable to make it easier (and also because the new housing didn't have the clip) but I guess to be sure I should just replace the entire thing.
 
73 Duster 360 said:
Sounds like the only real way to fix it would be to replace the cable and housing. I had kept the original housing and just replaced the actual cable to make it easier (and also because the new housing didn't have the clip) but I guess to be sure I should just replace the entire thing.
Click to expand...
The sheathe makes a long slow 90 degree turn under the drivers seat. The cable would wear the sheathe right there and cause problems. The entire thing isn't nearly as expensive for your model compared to others like early A. Price check the 64, 65.
 
I was figuring it's gotta be something like that. I went to Napa and their computers couldn't find any speedometer cables that have the plastic clip, only the screw on type even when checking darts and valiants of the same year.

Out of desperation I stopped by O'Reilly's on the way home and was having the same problem until I asked them to check for it under the Dodge dart and then they found it.

That's my task for today. My plan is to spray it with lube before I install. Any reason I shouldn't?
RedFish said:
The sheathe makes a long slow 90 degree turn under the drivers seat. The cable would wear the sheathe right there and cause problems. The entire thing isn't nearly as expensive for your model compared to others like early A. Price check the 64, 65.
Click to expand...
 
So in my attempt to install the new speedometer cable I had to take off this thing by removing two nuts. Once I rotated that part that's in the way I heard a crack it looks like some kind of plastic ring.

Can anyone educate me in what the plastic ring is called so I can get a new one?
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PXL_20220130_221636903.jpg
 
There is a plastic bushing in the bracket. These get brittle and break from old age. The Chrysler part number is 3467800. Look on eBay; the white bushings are reproductions and the dark ones are original Chrysler bushings.
 
Thanks torque shaft bushing. Ordered. Looks like they have them on classic industries too in case anyone stumbles upon this thread in the future.

Speedometer cable ended up being the wrong one. Transmission side was the wrong size. Found a cable on C.I. I'm gonna try since I've exhausted all of my local shops and have come up empty handed.

Never thought a cable that spins in a hose would be such a pain in the ***.
 
I’ve had good luck on eBay for Speedo cables. They aren’t as heat resistant as the original one, have to make sure it’s not close to the exhaust, but they work great. The seller is belair2door.
 
When getting parts at auto places make sure they look up valiant duster. Most of the time duster wont show. I got mine at napa and just cleaned the sheath real good. Worked perfectly
 
So I got the speedometer from belair2door on ebay per 72duster440's suggestion. Pulled the old one hooked up the new one. Speedo bounces all over the place randomly but also consistently shows I'm driving 20mph faster than I am.

This never happened before. I haven't changed tire size or any of the gearing. But I did hand spin the speedometer while cleaning it back when it was out of the cluster. I dunno does this sound like I need a new speedometer gauge? I know they aren't cheap.
 
Is the speedometer gear housing clocked correctly for the gear?


Alan
 
Cuda Al said:
Is the speedometer gear housing clocked correctly for the gear?


Alan
Click to expand...
I assume so since I didn't change anything and it used to work properly.

Quick update after playing with the cable I have stabilized the bouncing and now it only reads 10mph slower than my GPS reports. But it's only when in motion. When stopped speedometer reads 0
 
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