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1988 Camaro speedometer issue

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Old Nov 20, 2018 | 05:07 PM
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Ernest May's Avatar
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Car: 1988 chevy Camaro
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1988 Camaro speedometer issue

My 3rd gen is making a crazy noise. Sounds like it is coming from the speedometer. It is a ticking noise that starts around 15mph and gets worse as I speed up. When i reach 55mph the needle flips all the way to the far right of the speedometer (km/h) no longer reading the speed. The ticking noise becomes very loud at this point. Until I slow back down till 55mph then it reads the correct speed agian. Will replacing the speedometer fix this problem?

Last edited by Ernest May; Nov 21, 2018 at 07:26 AM.
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Old Nov 20, 2018 | 06:10 PM
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Re: 1988 Camero speedometer issue

1st things first, welcome to TGO!
2nd. CamAro. ...with an A. You're killin' me Smalls.
3rd. That's not a stock 88 speedometer, and yes, I imagine a new speedometer would probably fix the problem.

That speedo is from an early year car. 82-84 I think. Used to have an amber needle 180* opposite the white, so it would always read MPH and KPH at the same time, but it looks like yours broke off. What do your other gauges look like? Curious if your whole cluster is swapped or it's just the speedometer. You may have a hard time finding just a speedometer. I think they came in 85,110, and 140...all of which should work. The higher the mph, the more sought after they are, and most of the time you have to buy the whole cluster. That's not always a bad thing though as the other gauges DO go bad.

All that being said, I happen to have an 85 mph speedometer. Send me a private message if you're interested.
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Old Nov 21, 2018 | 07:03 AM
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Re: 1988 Camero speedometer issue

speedo cable. do a search as you can lube it or replace it. Also ensure that all of the hold downs for the cable are in place from the tranny to the firewall.
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Old Nov 21, 2018 | 07:24 AM
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Ernest May's Avatar
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Car: 1988 chevy Camaro
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Re: 1988 Camero speedometer issue

Lol of course I notice the spelling after I posted it...
Also the gas gauge moves around a little. Doesn't alway show the true amount of gas in the tank.. I will get in touch with you about the gauge you have
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Old Nov 21, 2018 | 07:26 AM
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Re: 1988 Camero speedometer issue

I can see how a clicking sound could come from the cable. That was my initial thought too....but couldn't picture in my head how that would throw the speedo off to the point where it would flip like that. Sounded to me like gearing inside the speedo itself was jacked up. BUT.....the speedo cable is a free and easy fix/test. ....I've used powdered graphite lube in the past with great success.
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Old Nov 21, 2018 | 07:31 AM
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Re: 1988 Camaro speedometer issue

While only inches apart, the speedo and gas gauge are completely unrelated. How far off does it read? If it's a tiny bit, that's just the nature of the beast. Could be the sending unit in the tank. That's no fun. Mine used to read fine until a got a smidge below half a tank and it would just stop. It wasn't a daily driver so I just knew to fill it up at soon after hitting that point on the gauge. Had the mileage in my head down pretty good. ....when I did the fuel pump and was in there anyway, I fixed the sender.

Double check that speedo cable before replacing the speedo, unless of course you just want the correct speedo anyway. Checking the cable is free, and you have to remove the cluster anyway if you do the speedo swap. I'm still leaning towards it being the speedo, but hey....might as well check.
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Old Nov 25, 2018 | 10:24 AM
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Car: 1988 chevy Camaro
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Re: 1988 Camero speedometer issue

Originally Posted by naf
speedo cable. do a search as you can lube it or replace it. Also ensure that all of the hold downs for the cable are in place from the tranny to the firewall.
Thanks for the help! Lubeing the cable worked great!!
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Old Nov 25, 2018 | 10:25 AM
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Car: 1988 chevy Camaro
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Re: 1988 Camaro speedometer issue

Originally Posted by Abubaca
While only inches apart, the speedo and gas gauge are completely unrelated. How far off does it read? If it's a tiny bit, that's just the nature of the beast. Could be the sending unit in the tank. That's no fun. Mine used to read fine until a got a smidge below half a tank and it would just stop. It wasn't a daily driver so I just knew to fill it up at soon after hitting that point on the gauge. Had the mileage in my head down pretty good. ....when I did the fuel pump and was in there anyway, I fixed the sender.

Double check that speedo cable before replacing the speedo, unless of course you just want the correct speedo anyway. Checking the cable is free, and you have to remove the cluster anyway if you do the speedo swap. I'm still leaning towards it being the speedo, but hey....might as well check.
thanks I used the powdered lubrication and it worked great. That fixed the issue.
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Old Nov 26, 2018 | 08:37 AM
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Re: 1988 Camaro speedometer issue

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