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Crazy Speedo sounds coming from dash

jeff in co

jeff in co

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Once every month or so I get this crazy sound and my speedo bounces around all over the place. Well, it happened again yesterday and it dawned on me that my phone can record video! :laugh: What a great thing for diagnosing problems!

I suspect it's the speedo itself but am hoping it's just a new cable (cheaper fix). Any input on this baby?

I'm going about 25 mph and then come to a stop :dunno:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v69/nielson2020/?action=view&current=2011-01-03_07-50-41_152.mp4

Hope this link works......
 
That's great if that fixes it! I just bought one a few weeks ago when I ordered some trim for the interior. Thought it was due regardless. Hopefully this will fix it!
 
I installed a new speedo cable a few days ago and granted, it's -13 degrees today. But, the speedo started making the same noise again. :(

So, I'm guessing it's the speedo. Can I rebuild it or get a new one? Can I have the speedo mileage set so it matches the existing one?

I assume the 6 digit 90 & 91 speedos aren't compatible with the 89??
 
Mine did same thing. 30 years of cable rubbing against tcase made hole through plastic, down to spinning cable. Try lubing first. Easier to take out and let lube run down hill.
 
The new cable came with some lube so I did that first before installing.....unfortunately, it didn't fix it.
 
Any chance something is bent on the speedo or there is a foreign object in there? Maybe the part with the spinning magnets just needs some lube.
 
Can't see the video, wants a password. But, if its a scrape scrape sound and the speedo jumps up every time you hear it, then it sounds like the magnet may be coming loose and touching the aluminum cylinder it spins inside of.

Years ago, my old Jeep went through a series of defective speedos that would do just that.

It was kinda cool in a way. The noise would get worse, and finally one day the needle on the speedo, which was round on the jeep, would start spinning around like a propeller and then snap off and fall down in the housing.

I finally got tired of buying new ones, so I took a new one apart and reglued the flexible magnet onto the spinning part and all was well.
 
I have a spare speedo from an 89 cluster if you need one. PM me and we can chat about it. Also, 1989 was the last year for a cable driven speedo, 1990 and later are electric speedos and won't interchange with the earlier ones unless you change to a DRAC system and get everything to do the swap including the t-case rear bearing retainer and tone ring. I'm just finishing up on my Autometer gauge install and have just swapped to the DRAC system and although i'm keeping my original speedo I do have a spare like I said.
 
4x4, thanks for the offer...I might take you up on it if I can't find a good solution. I'll try and take out and look at the magnet, etc more carefully. After the new cable, it seems to be a little worse. However, to be fair, it's (-17 degrees) out this morning and pretty close to that yesterday. By Friday, 58 degrees.

I'll look at it then. At about 10-15 mph I hear a pulse or clicking type sound. As I speed up to turns more to a buzzing sound and the speedo starts going much faster than the truck is physically going. Yesterday on the freeway it was PEGGED at 85 mph and was hitting up against the trip odometer post.

Appreciate all the feedback.
 
Yep, that sounds like the magnet is touching the aluminum sleeve. If it has not destroyed its self when you read this, you might want to consider disconnecting the cable behind the dash and using your GPS for a speedo until you get a chance to work on it.

If the magnet gets much more of a grip on the sleeve, there will not be anything to repair.

That stuff is fairly delicate. If it was my old Jeep, it would already be gone since it did not have a stop.
Wasn't much chance of it ever going fast enough to need one unless it was falling off a mountain.
 
I pulled the speedo out and then also clipped off the end of my old cable. I placed it on my drill and then tested out the speedo again. Sure enough, I got the same sound so it definitely is the speedo that is broken. I look at the back side and magnet but couldn't really see or feel anything catching to create the noise. I think it might just be better to hit the junkyard to find a replacement.

I'll keep my "speedo cable tool" on my drill and test a few gauges in the yard before buying it. I think if I find one close enough, I could put it on the drill for a few hours to get the mileage to read the same as my old one.....seems pretty straight forward (provided I go in the positive direction).

I do have 314,000 on the truck (using carfax documentation) and the 89' only has 5 digits rather than the 6 digits on the 90/91 models. If I found a donor 91, could I pull the speedo, the transmission sensor and the DRAC and be complete or do I need more? Assuming I got this to work, is there a way to spin the mileage to get it to read the 314,000?
 
You would be there for days trying to add mileage using a drill.

Yes you can get the later 90-91 electric speedo, drac and convert but you will also need the tail housing from the t-case along with the 40 tooth tone ring. I'm doing the conversion right now for my electric Autometer install.
 
4X4HIGH said:
You would be there for days trying to add mileage using a drill.

Yes you can get the later 90-91 electric speedo, drac and convert but you will also need the tail housing from the t-case along with the 40 tooth tone ring. I'm doing the conversion right now for my electric Autometer install.
Click to expand...

So I'm assuming getting into the T-case is going to be a bit more involved?:confused:

No aftermarket sensor that takes the spinning from the 89' and converts it to the proper pulse signal?
 
jeff in co said:
So I'm assuming getting into the T-case is going to be a bit more involved?:confused:

No aftermarket sensor that takes the spinning from the 89' and converts it to the proper pulse signal?
Click to expand...

The problem is that the VSS sends a signal to the speedo, ECM, and the cruise control and each requires a different signal. The pieces you need from the t-case are easy to remove and swap. You'll need to remove 4 bolts on the tail housing, then remove a snap ring holding the rear output bearing, then remove 4 more bolts holding the rear bearing housing, then remove another snap ring to remove the 40 tooth tone ring (IIRC there is another snap ring behind the tone ring and I would take that also just in case). The reassembly is the reverse order just swapping the speedo gear for the tone ring. Use RTV on the rear bearing retainer to t-case and once again on the tail housing to the bearing retainer.
 
Odometers are 1000 revolutions per mile. If your drill is spinning 3000rpm, that is 3 miles per minute. So to add 100,000 miles takes about 23 days. I hope it's not a cordless drill.

There are ways to "crack" them and change the mileage, but it is also legally acceptable to note the readings of the 2 odometers at the time of the swap.

I haven't looked at the back of the speedo in a while, but maybe there is a way to separate the speedo from the odo or change out just the bad parts?
 
Blue85 said:
Technically it's illegal to alter an odometer, but this is basically for the purpose of fraud. This has been discussed here before, so beware there are strong opinions on it. This guy shows how to do it on a Toyota. I don't know if Chevy is the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYpLaNgSb4&feature=related
Click to expand...

It is a federal offense for any used car place to alter the odometer but it is ok if a private citizen alters one AS LONG AS when the vehicle is sold it is noted that the odometer IS NOT the actual mileage.
 
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