I just put a new speedo cable in my '89, the old one was broken at the trans. I didnt kink the new one and used the 90 deg. elbow at the trans, drove the car about half mile and the speedo was bouncing like crazy and then stopped. Shouldn't new cables be lubricated? What am I missing here?

Thanks
Louis

 

90 degrees seems pretty sharp to me. Lube, yes (and clean the housing if you used the same one). Are you sure the cable was properly seated in the driven gear?

JamesC

 

90 degrees was the way the factory cable was, how do I lube the cable and make sure that it is seated completely in the driven gear? Will compressed air in the housing be good enough, or do you mean make sure none of the old cable is in the housing?

 

Did the cable fit in a curved alum "housing?" Is the new cable the same length as the old? Did you double check the the cable clip is seated at the cluster end?

With the cluster removed, pull the cable from its housing. Unscrew the housing from the tranny, then shoot brake clean or some other cleaner down the housing until the fluid is clear. Brake clean will dry rapidly. Button up at the tranny. Clean the cable itself, then put a glob of Napa's Sil-Glyde (mentions speedo lube on the tube) in your palm and run the cable through it as you thread the cable back into the housing. You'll probably have to manipulate the cable a bit to reseat it in the speedo sleeve at the tranny end.

Air couldn't hurt, I guess.

For more info about the cluster removal and the trip odometer repair, check the following link:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fa...-fix-pics.html (Trip Odometer Fix/Pics)

JamesC

 

Thanks a lot for all your help James, I found out some good news today; the cable actually melted on the header and caused it to sieze up, this is good news because the trans didn't cause the new cable to break. But thanks for the advice on how to lube the cable I will definately lube the new one that I get.

Thanks again, Louis