Firebird1984

I have two issues that I need some help with on my 1984 Firebird.

First, my speedometer seems to be a bit bouncy at lower speeds. As I speed up (over 30-40) it seems to smooth out, but below that speed, it seems to have some instability. Could this just be a speedo cable that needs lubed? Any ideas on what causes this?

Second, my fuel gauge has always been inaccurate. It reads more fuel in the tank than there actually is. I stored it this last winter and filled the tank and added fuel stabilizer. I've taken it out of storage and run it around. I definately have used some fuel out of it and it still is showing full.

Is there any test I can run to see if this inaccuracy is due to a bad sender unit in the tank or a bad gague on the dash? My gut feeling is that it's the sender. Anyone ever change one of these out? I'm sure it's a fun job!

Thanks for any help on these.

Brad

Vader

Remove the speedo cable from the sheath. Clean it. Lubricate it with graphite. Reinstall it.

As for the fuel guage, the guage is not perfectly accurate in any vehicle. FULL is often 2-3 gallons below the peak level. You could drop the tank, remove the sender and clean or replace it. Or you could start running some half-full tanks of fresh fuel and cleaner through the system and wish for luck. The fact that it has so many months of idle time can't be helping either.

Firebird1984

Thanks Vader for the reply and suggestions. We'll try that and see what happens. The fuel sender/gauge issue was there long before I bought the car. The previous owner just kept track of the mileage and refilled on that basis just to be sure they didn't run out. It may just be the sender, as you noted, it's sat for so long. The previous owner left it sit for long stretches of time without any fuel stabilizer in the tank. At least I've kept the stabilizer and cleaner in it whenever it's been idle for any length of time.

Again, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to set aside some quality time to spend with the car and get on this.
Brad