HorseflyDF

My speedometer isnt working the previous owner
said the cable is broke. Its broke now cause I cut it from
above because I couldnt get at the bolt to remove it
under the headers.

When I got under the car thats the scary part (its in the street)
I removed the cable to tranny and tranny fluid comes out
so I put it back on .
When I looked up at the cable
I realized I might of had a better shot
at that hold down bolt from under the car.
Then I got the hell out from under.

I just got another used cable to swap it.

Do I need to buy an o-ring or something like that
to stop the leak in the tranny or just put the the other cable on?

Floor guy

There is a very small seal in the rear side of the speedo cable adapter. Remove the 10 mm bolt and carefully pull out the adapter. The oring needs to be removed from the rear of the shaft. I use a pick. There is also a large o ring on the adapter. Change it as well. Slob it up with vaseline and stick it back together.

HorseflyDF

I got under the car again today and removed
the cable and no fluid came out so I put the used
cable I have on but the speedometer didnt work.

I know that the cable and speedo spin freely

Whats the next step I should take now?

thanks

Apeiron

Check for a broken driven or drive gear inside the transmission.

HorseflyDF

Do I have to remove the transmission
from the engine?

Floor guy

No, remove the driveshaft and the 4 bolts holding on the tailshaft. Big o ring may fall off. Save it. The drive gear is on the output shaft and the driven gear is on the end of the speedo adapter

HorseflyDF

2 different locations

what if only one of em is not working?

Should I check the driven gear at the speedo cable housing first?

never did this before..
the haynes manual I have doesnt cover this

Floor guy

You can do that. You will also have a 1/2 decent view of the drive gear thru the hole. If 1 is bad then you will need to change them both. They are very inexpensive. Last time I bought both, they were less than 12 bucks.

HorseflyDF

thanks floor guy

I hope this is the cause of the thumping sound I hear from
time to time.

The previous owner said it was the
speedo cable making this noise but it wasnt ..

I think I can handle this job anyway Ill give it a shot..
Do I need any special tools?

Floor guy

No special tools needed. If the drive dear is bad, take a chisel or screwdriver and gently crack the gear. It is plastic and will fall right off. Gently slide the new gear on the shaft with a gentle tapping and it goes on pretty well. The driven gear just pulls out and new slides right in. Do not fear this job. Pretty easy overall.

HorseflyDF

thanks

for all the info

do you think that noise I described could
be from this kind of problem?

this is the last time Ill bother you
about this subject..

Floor guy

It could vry well be. If you have the tailshaft off at some point, check it by wiggling it. A bit of play is normal. If it moves a bunch, it will cause a binding in the speedo gears resulting in there failure. There is a bushing in the case that supports the output shaft. If this bushing is badly worn it will cause your problem. Changing the gears is a short term fix in this case. Do not worry yet. Check it when it is apart.

HorseflyDF

Well this is something new for me

I am looking forward to this fix.
Too bad it snowed today.
My wife thinks im crazy but I rather try to fix it myself.
Besides its keeping me in good shape I got tired
of going to the gym.

thanks again
Dave

HorseflyDF

Can I bother you with a few more questions?

I Forgot to ask where I should get the gears
dealer? or aftermarket?

AND if the gears I remove are to damaged to read the number
of teeth. What can I do to determine the correct gears?

Apeiron

You can count the teeth, or if there are no distinguishable teeth left, they can be identified by color.

HorseflyDF

From now on i will start with a search
I see that this subject is well covered.
Thanks for your patience and the floor guy also.
regards
Dave

Floor guy

I found the dealer to be the cheapest. Also, the tooth number is marked in the gear. You may have to squint, but color and stamping will tell you for sure .

HorseflyDF

GReetings!!

For a being like me who never owned this
type of vehicle before this information is like finding
a gold mine at my extensions.

When I get the job done( and I will )do my best
with the abilities and tools that I have been given
or purchased or found somewhere on the floor of someones
garage.

I wont forget the help that you have gracefully
provided .This information was hidden to me
because of my rookieness.
Your names should be on my car along with
Edlebrock Holley etc..
I will remember to tell my offspring during the wee
hollows of the night about the FLoorGUY and Apeiron
Indeed I have already mentioned these 2 names
to some of my offspring who look at me with quizable eyes
and nodding in agreement as if to a madman.

Regards
Until we meet again
with another rookie question

Dave the Horsefly

PS I am probably the only horsefly to own a chevy camaro but
its not verified.

HorseflyDF

I want to ask about that bushing in the case you mentioned.

Is this in the tailshaft?
or is located at front end of the tranny?

I havent been able to get the car high enough on all fours
to do the job and I have to work in the street
,so I went to a shop to see what it would cost.

The manager said 150 for the gears and I asked about
the bushing that you mentioned and he said if the bushing
is bad that means you need a rebuild of the tranny
because its in front and theres no way to get to it
without taking apart the tranny. that would be 800 dollars yikes!

Anyway just wanted to check it out here about that bushing
in the case before I decide what to do.

Floor guy

Wow, I bought a set of speedo gears recently and spent less than 15 bucks for both. I do not understand how they can charge $150. The bushing you are referring to is pressed into the case from the front side of the trans. This requires complete disassembly of the unit to do. $800 for a quality rebuild is dirt cheap. My area averages 12-1400 bucks for a stock type rebuild. Most of this figure is labor. I hope you do not have a bad case bushing.

HorseflyDF

Its 150 for them to do the job not just for the
parts ( gears) : )

yeah he said 800 if I have a bad case bushing ?

If I decide not to go with 700r4 setup if the case bushing
is bad.

whats a good reliable alternative auto tranny in your opinon that
could be swapped into the fbody?

Apeiron

The 700R4 is a good, reliable auto tranny.

Floor guy

I am a fan of the 700r4 trans. "I" would not swap it out . Some do prefer the turbo 350 conversion. You will have no lock up or 4 th gear. This may drop gas milage by 4-6 mpg. For my needs and driving style, the 700 is the only way to go. You should weigh out your options and decide which is right for you. Also 700r4 has a lower first gear than the turbo 350. Car will not launch as hard w/ 350.

HorseflyDF

thanks
I take your opinions seriously
The more I drive this car the more I enjoy it.

I attached a pic of the car and my house is the blue one
this is where I work on the car.

regards
Dave

HorseflyDF

hi guys,
I didnt take the car back to the tranny shop yet
Instead I decided to look at the driven gear to
see what kind of shape it was in.

when i pulled it out there I noticed the tailshaft did not
have a drive gear, uh oh?

So now I dont know what drive gear to get oh boy!

Is there a way to check the case bushing if its bad?

heres a pic of the driven gear it seems to be in good shape
wonder why there wasnt a drive gear wierd?

Take care
Dave

Apeiron

How many teeth are on that driven gear, what tire size are you running, and what's your rear-end ratio?

HorseflyDF

38 teeth on the driven gear
245 50 16 tires

All I know is the rear is a 10 bolt .

Is that wierd?
Why wouldnt there be a drive gear on
the tailshaft.

Apeiron

Is that your stock tire size? There are different drive gears, depending on the overall ratio you need. They're a bit tedious to put on and pull off, so without knowing which one you needed your builder probably just left it off for you to deal with. Either that or he was too lazy or forgot.

HorseflyDF

yeah thats my stock size 245 50 16 original Irocz rims

HorseflyDF

This afternoon I jacked up the rear and tried
to figure out what rear end ratio is.

When I turned the rear wheel the drive shaft
turned the same number as the wheel. 1 to 1.
I turned the rear wheel several times and
the shaft turned the same as the wheel.

Now Im confused
Why this is happening?

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

That's very strange. When your turned the wheel, what was the other wheel doing? turning the same way?
use a grease pencil, put a mark on the tire, maybe on the inside, or on the tread, then put a mark on the driveshaft... then turn the wheel and double check that. The car is in neutral with all 4 tires in the air?

HorseflyDF

I didnt jack the front why would I have too?

I had it in park first turned the left wheel and the right
wheel turned also for a few times but the drive shaft didnt
turn. So I put it in overdrive and then drive in both cases
they turned together like it was in overdrive I guess.
I was hoping to get the ratio so I could buy the drive gear.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

ok, no you don't need all 4 in the air, i was just wondering...
no no, put it in neutral.... it shouldn't really matter I suppose...
but yea, in neutral, turn the wheel (either one), the other should turn at the same rate if its posi. Then count the turns on the driveshaft... it should be in the range of 3x more...

Lo-tec

Verify if your car has a posi first. With car in neutral, spin one wheel and see if the other spins in the same direction (posi) or the opposite direction (not-posi). If not posi you will need to stop one of the wheels from turning to get an accurate count. I would spin the wheel about ten times to get a more accurate count of how many turns the driveshaft spins. Divide driveshaft turns by wheel turns. Also, look on the underside of the center console lid and see if the option label is still there. There are a bunch of codes (letters and numbers) in alphabetical order. Post the ones starting with the letter G (ie GT4, G80 etc) to double check gear ratio.

HorseflyDF

I got the codes GC5 GC6 GU2

I will check again with the car in neutral.

So many things to do with this car but its keeping
me busy.

thanks
Dave

Lo-tec

GU2=crappy 2.73 gears. Double check by spinning, but it is probably correct. 2.73 gears take a 38 tooth driven gear (which you have) and 17 tooth drive gear part # 8640517 (which you need). Don't forget the clip for the drive gear part# 6261781. Good luck.

HorseflyDF

why is 2.73 crappy?
seems ok to me I get alot of torque leaving the line.
I dont know to much about this stuff.

use to drive a *****

thanks
now I can get my drive gear 17 and clip

HorseflyDF

I got the job done!

There was some play on the tail shaft
but I dont think it was excessive.
I dont know the limits.

There is a gear further down towards the
interior of the transmission. I should of took a pic
at this point. It looks to be part the shaft, shaped like the
drive gear, which was turning a small green gear which
has a metal rod running horizontally threw it,
and theres a round red housing protruding from the
driver side parallel to this.
What is the purpose of this? Maybe thats why
there wasnt a drive gear ,this could very well of
been mistaken for it by a novice I suppose.

back to the job.

Wasnt easy to do the job for a first timer.
Im hoping the last but I may have put
on the wrong drive gear.

It was difficult getting the gear on to the proper
position to get the clip on. If I had fabricated
a better tool for the job would of been easier.
All I had to use was a flat piece of wood and a rubber
mallet to bang on until the gear reached the point
where I could see the original drive gear was by
shadow marks where the 2 little holes are for the clip.
I wasnt sure if I was successful but so far so good.
I was very pleased to see the cable turning finally.

Even though I may have put on the wrong gear its
been quite a learning experience.

Many Thanks
for all those who have answered all my questions!
for the past months!
I have enjoyed the experience even though
I was cursing on many occasions.

take care
Dave (horsefly)

Apeiron

That sounds like the governor, it measures the speed of the output shaft to control shifting.

sellmanb

These are the posts I love to see... a "saved" ex-honda owner, that's learning to work on his own car, getting quotes from specialty shops to see how much they're saving by doing it themselves, and not doing a hack-job in the process, to make their cars better.

Great job Dave! Continue the great work

BTW, if that doesnt fix your "banging" sound problem, then you might want to give a looksy at your tranny mount.

HorseflyDF

Thanks for the encouraging words.
The people here had a major part helping me
take on the job.

The banging sound may have been due
to low level of tranny fluid. I was down a quart
due to leaking cooler line from the tranny,
which I tried to stop and may have been successful
time will tell. I was able to get a bit of a turn on it.

When it did start that annoying thumping sound,
I could be seen jumping out of the car to get a
better hearsee( not while the car was moving would I jump out)
just on start up.

saved ex honda owner lol
way gas prices are going threw the roof
another 4 cyl import could be on the horizon.
sorry