Hi everyone, i have a Z28E. Yes one of 1 of 921 produced that 1982. I've been working on this car since i was 17 (19 now) and driving it since 18 (legal driving age here). The car came with a 240 km/h speedo (That's 150 MPH!).
My speedometer cable was broken or gunked up or whatever since I've had the car. A couple of days ago it broke completely into 2 pieces. Wasn't a problem since I had allready bought a replacement cable. Now my real problem is, today when I was fooling around to remove the cable, I thought I'd clean the entire cluster and replace all the lights (some weren't working anymore). In the process the speedo needle broke off! YES I BROKE MY SUPER RARE 240 KM/H SPEEDO NEEDLE!

Now is there a way I can fix this? Replace the needle maybe? And there was a little piece of wire attached to it. What is this and how does it go back on? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks A LOT!

 

I don't know about the wire, but I would think any needle from an 82 speedo would work. I don't see GM using specific needles for specific speedos.

 

Any info on how to replace the needle? I really don't want to switch to a MPH speedo or a km/h speedo that doesn't match up with the rest of the cluster. Thanks.

 

If its just the needle, they just pop off and you push them back on. Nothing special to it.

 

I think that's the problem, I tried to just pull the needle off carefully and I think the shaft that turns the needle broke inside and it came out with a piece attached to the needle still. The needle itself isn't broken. There is a wire that attaches to the piece of the shaft that is still stuck on the needle.

 

Is there any way you can post some pics? If that was an electronic speedo I'd say its definitely broke and to start looking for a new one. Since yours is cable-driven I don't know what to make of that wire. Is it maybe a piece of the steel cable? Regardless of the type of speedo, if you have a piece of the shaft the needle turns on stuck in the needle you're going to need a new speedo. Not much you can do about that one unfortunately.

 

by "wire" do you mean thin steel shaft that the needle is mounted to? in that case, you are in a tough spot. you'll probably have to replace the "guts" of the speedometer. You may be able to have a specialty place recalibrate a standard speedometer to match your 240km/h guage face.

 

Rebuild time. I suggest sending it to a GM facility. There's one in Carrollton (sp), Texas, IIRC.

JamesC

 

Argh, this is gonna be a PITA. I live on an island in the carribean... The cable I'm referring to is e very thin piece of steel cable. It looks like it was wrapped around the shaft the needle is attached to in some way. I'm gonna look into rebuilding it. Maybe I can send it to someone in the U.S. and have them send it to GM. And then send it back here after. Anyone know if there were gauges in km/h that went to 240 for 82-84 cars other than Z28E's? Thanks for all the replies!

 

its the spring that returns the needle to zero, it coils around the shaft and attaches to the transmission unit, you are SOL bud, here's what you can do, a Iroc guage goes up to 145 MPH and has room to keep going, see what I am getting at? it has the same travel at the same speed as the 240 khm guage, get an IROC 145 mph speedo and swap faces, be more careful next time, this stuf is getting vey hard to find.

 

[QUOTE=Chevy8588;4465143...get an IROC 145 mph speedo and swap faces, be more careful next time, this stuf is getting vey hard to find.[/QUOTE]

Removing the needle, because the plastic is so brittle, is also problematic.

JamesC

 

The problem is, I can't use an IROC speedo because IIRC the trip reset button sticks out in a different spot than mine. So I would have to change the clear plastic piece and I wouldn't be able to use my gauge face anyway... Plus my trip and mileage would be in miles then I've seen some companies that rebuild and restore old speedometers. Maybe that's the way to go? Or I'll try to get a 240km/h canadian gauge and swap the guts of the gauge. But I need one from 82-84 to get the trip button in the same location right? Thanks. Stephan.

 

We did alot of work on the new casino on your island...

 

There building hotels everywhere here!!!

 

So the trip on yours is located on the upper left? I sold a 240 some years ago; I don't recall that it was configured any differently than the 140 where the trip was concerned--but I could remember incorrectly.

JamesC

 

I did this once, to one of those rare 145MPH clusters that have the Z28 logo on the speedo. RIGHT AFTER I BOUGHT IT! I was trying to take the needle off to white face the gauges. My old cluster the needle just popped right off but this one wouldn't budge. Then it happened SNAP!

This is gonna sound extremely ghetto but here is what I did. I put a drop of superglue on the broken needle shaft, made sure the needle was seated in the same position it broke so the speedo would read correct and held together for a minute or two. It's not a very strong fix that can be handled much afterwards, but It's working fine in my car for over a year now.

 

IIRC the reset trip on 82-82 cars is on the upper left. On 85-89 cars it's in the middle bottom. FireDemonSiC, I would try your fix but my problem is it's not just the needle that broke off. The tiny shaft the needle is attached to broke so I can't glue it If I can find a 82-84 240km/h speedo. I can try to put my gauge face on it. Anyone know if they existed other than in Z28E's? I'll try to post some pics of mine ASAP. Thanks for all the help!

 

Yes. That's the same thing that happened to me. The tiny metal shaft sheared off about halfway. Half was stuck in the speedo needle the other half in the speedo. I coated one of the halves with superglue and stuck them back together.

 

Just as a side note, the after market 145 (with the Z28 logo) has the reset on the upper left, IIRC.

JamesC

 

i did the same thing...

 

I guess the moral of this thread is "if it any broke, don't fix it!"

JamesC

 

Then I would have the trip and mileage in miles . Anyone know if there were any 82-84 Z28's with 240 km/h speedo's other than Z28E's? Stephan.

 

I sure learned my lesson

 

I was commenting on the placement of the trip. There may be shake tree fixes, fixes that work well and perhaps permanently, but since I'm **** about such matters, I'd send the piece in for rebuild.

JamesC

 

James have you ever had one rebuilt? Could you tell me how I can arrange to have someone do this?
I just sent some company an e-mail and asked if they could do it. Does GM have a special website or phone number or whatever I can use to contact them about rebuilding it? Thanks a lot bud!

 

I once had a 145 that needed some help. I simply took it to my local GM dealership, and the parts man sent it to a GM facility (I guess) in Carrollton, Texas, for what that's worth.

JamesC

 

I'm gonna ask here at the GM dealership see if they have a forgotten speedo in they're storage room maybe I'm gonna try and have it rebuilt since the trip was also not resetting properly. Thanks for all the help!!!

 

Here are some pictures of the speedo and the damage.

 

Thanks for posting the pics. I've been around a long time and never seen an OE like it. Well worth repair IMO.

JamesC

 

hey man I just googled speedometer restoration and a ton popped up , I've never broken a speedo but it seems like every time I work on my car something breaks way too easily, I guess thems the breaks when you got a car that's 26 years old!

 

I've used these folks in the past. They've been around a long time. They repaired the trip odometer in my speedo the correct way with new parts. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't a ghetto job either.

I live close enough to them that I'm a walk-in customer. They'll do long distance repairs, I would imagine. When I was there the shop was full of vintage Mercedes Benz, Jags and Farrari.

I'd contact them and see what they can do for you. Just be sitting down when they send you a quote.

http://www.paspeedo.com/

 

I wouldn't mind sending it there if I lived a bit closer. The problem is shipping to CA will cost me atleast 50 dollars. Then the repairs and the shipping back. It will all add up to a steep price. I'm gonna keep e-mailing companies and see if anyone can repair it.

DAN, 28 years of sitting in the caribbean sun for my car! Thanks for all the replies!

 

How in the hell did you manage to pull the coil out like that?

Ive "fixed" two 145 mph speedos by using the red tube from brake cleaner(yes the plastic red tube).I cut a small piece of tube & carefully inserted the tube onto the stem on the needle & then back onto the speedo itself.I used a tiny bit of JBweld to lock inplace.Afterwards i "clocked" the needle back to zero.I used one in my car for several years & the other was for a friend.I eventually swapped mine for the Z28 logo speedo & my buddy sold his camaro, but neither of us had any issues afterwards.

However this method has one minor problem.That being, your adding weight to the rotating assembly & this slightly throws the calibration off.Because of the added weight.I dont think my speedo was ever off by more than 1-2 MPH & my friend said his was spot on.

Even so, neither speedo had the coil pulled out or damaged.Your coil is toast.If it were me i would find a good speedo(or one w/a good coil at leasts) & try to swap the coil.Then just re-attach the needle with the plastic tube, or any similar tube that will work.Just keep the added weight to a mininum.

Their not too dificult to fix (sometimes).I also fix one that had the plastic housing cracked around the odo.Most of the assembly comes apart easily, except for the needle/stem/coil portion.

 

I'm probably going to buy an american cluster of eBay. I'd prefer seeing my oil pressure in psi and my temperature in fahrenheit anyways. I'm going to keep my old cluster incase I ever want to fix it. I've allready converted my taillights to american style for the same reason as the speedo. I just can't find the Z28E parts anywhere. The mirrors were changed before I bought the car. Besides the Z28E mirrors are hideous . The headlights were H4 headlights from the factory but I replaced them cause the housings were all rusted. So that too is now the same as an american Z28. So I'll just finish the conversion and do the cluster. Thanks for all the help guys. Really appreciate it!