Ok my boy had to replace the speedometer cable and housing. Somehow...he snapped the cable at both ends and cracked the housing in half. He ordered the whole unit from O'Reilleys and got a part that was 2ft longer then the old one plus it had two male connectors. Fit on one end but not the other, obviously. He called the parts guy and he said it was the right part. That it used to be 2 parts but is 1 part now. Is he referring to the cable and housing as 1 piece or something else? How can that be the right part with no female connector? Also, he just called and said he might have to go thru the firewall..can he do this? If so is there a bolt he can unscrew or what would he have to do? He will be working blind behind the seal so...the seal itself wont fit back on and tighten up either since he tried to put this replacement part on. Problems and more problems.

 

I've changed the speedometer cable/housing on my IROC. You can buy just the cable but it's not worth the hassle. I got a replacement cable/housing from NAPA just under $20. Mine was also a little longer than the original but that's fine, it's better to be longer than short. You can use the extra length to make smoother bends/turns.

Yes, it should have two male ends. One end goes into the back of the speedo gauge,clips on sort of, and the other plugs into and screws onto the driven gear housing on the tail end of the transmission. Be careful, some of these driven gear housings are made of plastic so don't make it too tight. The plastic also becomes brittle over time.

As for routing the cable it goes through the firewall through a rubber grommet. When installing the new cable/housing, start from the engine bay and feed the gauge end through the grommet. Might be easier to pop the grommet out of the hole and put in on the cable from inside the car. Don't waste your time trying to push it through, didn't work well for me. Connect it to the back of the gauge until the clip engages. It is very cramped and hard to see but there is a way. As for the other end try to route the cable the same way the old one was, you made notes right? I think I remember the cable having some clips along the body to hold it in place. Once you've done that, put the bend protector, the old one had one right?, back on the new cable and screw it into the speedo driven gear housing with caution.

The new cable and housing should be pre-lubed so don't worry about that.

Now give it a test and see if it works. After that, pray that the magnet in your speedo didn't lose too much strength to be accurate like mine.

Good luck

 

Would you by any chance have or know where I could find understandable schematics or diagrams? He wants to make sure there arent mistakes as he doesnt have a good work area. And the lighting sucks but he does what he can with what he has. Much appreciated the speedy response.