Wrong parts

[Racer Chris]

Why is it, that a company will continue trying to sell you the same bad parts, time after time?

What I am referring to, specifically this time, is the 914 speedometer cables that our host is selling. After I received the third identical part, I was told that they will all be the same, so live with it. In fact, I thought the person telling me this was rather rude, like I was supposed to understand that they kept sending me a faulty part intentionally.

That's a total crock of BS as far as I am concerned. If they all come from the manufacturer with the boot installed backwards, then say so up front. That would save a lot of grief.

BTW, does anyone know where a new, correct, speedo cable might be available?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I don't know that, but I do know that it wasn't hard to slip the boot off of the cable and put it on the other way around.

--DD

[mkinne]

Whoa! Wait a sec.
I've got a brand new speedo cable from PP sitting in a box waiting for enough free time to install. Is there a problem with these? Something I should look for before tearing the old (broken) one out?

- Matt

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The little rubber boot that goes over the tube that sticks out of the firewall may be on backwards. If it is, slide it off the end (you may need to warm it a bit to get it over the part that connects to the angle drive on the transmission) and put it back on again the other way around.

Irritating, but easily dealt with.

--DD

[rockaria]

I just installed mine from PP and it was perfect. As well as the clutch and throttle cables.

Just a note!

[Zeke]

This is funny. I thought the boot went over the cinch nut at the trans speedo drive gear. It fits perfectly there. I guess I'm stupid to not realize how it was origiannally, but my car didn' have one when I got it. No way am I gonna pull the thing out and change it and you know the boot won't slip over the big end.

Chris, I'm sure it's a PITA to reverse the boot over the small nut at the speedo end, but it sounds like your only alternative. If you tear it, ask for a new one.

[Racer Chris]

Originally posted by Dave at Pelican Parts
I don't know that, but I do know that it wasn't hard to slip the boot off of the cable and put it on the other way around.

--DD

Do you think that should be the customer's responsibility? If alteration is necessary, why doesn't PP either make the fix or include a note in the box about it?

When I spoke to Tom about returning the second cable, he said this happens all the time from that mfr. Why did he send me another faulty assembly, instead of sending a correct part, or telling me to reverse the boot myself?

I would not have considered reversing it myself unless I was told that it was a simple fix. The small end of the boot is less than 1/4" id, and it has to go over something more than 1/2", twice to finish the fix. I don't think that's how the mfr. got them on in the first place, and I don't think PP should expect me to do it either.

I was treated about the same by AA when I ordered a set of 1.7L intake manifold hoses. After the third time, I was told the 2 liter ones were all that was available. Are we supposed to have ESP or what?

[Jim Smolka]

This problem came up a couple of years ago. The 2 boots on a speedo cable are reversed. Simply take some silicon spray to lub up the boots, then pull them off and install correctly. Takes about 10 minutes.

Chris, you are correct. It would be nice to know in advance that there is an issue with the cables. I guess the MFR is not very interested in quality control.

[Wayne 962]

Hi there everyone. This is indeed the first time that I have heard of this issue. After doing some research, it seems that there is only one manufacturer of these speedometer cables. It also seems that the problem with the boot on these cables pre-dates even the formation of Pelican (going back 10 years). We have ordered cables from various suppliers, including Porsche, and they all come occassionally with the boot installed on backwards. We have told our suppliers about this numerous times, but the problem still continues.

Do we stop selling the cables completely and let some other company handle it? It doesn't seem to be a big enough issue to do that (like the front windshield seals that we stopped selling because they were falling apart).

Supposedly this backwards boot happens about one in every 20 cables that we sell. Actually, let me revise that - one in 20 complain about it. The first post was correct - as far as I know there are no other manufacturers of this cable

The best thing I can do is put a note in the catalog stating that the boot may have to be flipped around in order for proper installation on the car:

"On some cables, the protective boot may have to be slipped off of the cable and reversed for proper installation."

I have instructed John to place this message in the catalog this afternoon.

As far as I know, the problem with the cables also ocurrs if you order them directly from the Porsche dealer, as there appears to be only one manufacturer of these cables.

Other than removing the cables from our catalog, or posting the message, I can't really think of anything else that I can do...

-Wayne

[Paul_Heery]

Other than removing the cables from our catalog, or posting the message, I can't really think of anything else that I can do...

-Wayne

How about fixing them before they ship?

[Wayne 962]

Chris, I just spoke with Tom regarding your third cable.

The second cable was pulled from stock and immediately sent out to you no questions asked. We just assumed that the cable you received was defective, and we wanted to send you one right away.

The third one was personally inspected and examined by Tom before being sent out to you. I haven't looked at these cables in several years, but Tom has told me that the two boots on either end of the cable are very similar, and it's very, very difficult to tell whether they are reversed, without first installing it on a car. Tom personally inspected the cable that was sent to you, and 'verified' that it was correct. Or, at least it seemed correct to the naked eye. Not having a car here at the shop, makes it difficult to see if the boots are indeed installed correctly.

I have a call into my distributor regarding this issue. I originally thought it would be easy to send back the cables that are defective, but it seems that there is a lot of difficulty figuring out which ones are truly defective, and which ones are not. In the meantime, we have added that message to our catalog.

-Wayne

[Targa]

My speedo cable came the same way. At the time I didn't want to believe it, but now that I see that others have the same problem I feel a little better. My solution was to fold the boot inside out and it stuck in the fire wall and no one will ever know.

[Zeke]

After being thoroughly humiliated by my stupidity in installing the boot on the cinch nut, I decided to see how difficult it is to reverse it. I first thought of turning it inside out like Targa did, but I discovered the groove that fits on the firewall tube. Anyway, the boot is very tolerant of stretching and can easily be pulled over the smaller cinch nut both ways. No, it shouldn't be that way from the manufacturer, but I've had worse issues than this. Not many more humbling, though. Hah!

I'm with stooopid..........

[RandyH]

In case someone is keeping score...I too recently replaced my speedo cable and realized the boot was backwards. I did not try to force it over the nut at the angle drive end for fear of tearing it then I'd be on the hook for another cable. I just simply shoved it into the hole in the firewall. Seems to work ok but like the others, I would have like to have known about the problem and solution in advance.

[Racer Chris]

Wayne, thanks for the info.

From my perspective, I did tell the salesman what was wrong with the first cable in the hope that they would check the next one for me. In fact, since someone else actually ordered the original (a customer of mine), he spoke to someone at PP first. He was told that the ends are the same, so the cable could just be reversed. That's when I became involved directly, since I knew that was hogwash.
I believe you that Tom inspected the third cable before shipment. I find it surprising that he couldn't tell the difference, guess he's not too mechanically inclined, huh. It is very easy to see this problem while the cable is still inside the packaging. The two ends of the cable are distinctly different.
The only difficulty in determining whether the boot is on a speedometer cable right or wrong is finding someone who understands how they are installed.
It would never have occurred to me that the way to get a new part to work is to repair it, LOL.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by Racer Chris
... guess [Tom]'s not too mechanically inclined, huh.

Yeah, working as a mechanic for a couple of decades will do that to you...

--DD

[peter carroll]

My cable,(not bought from Pelican), was also backwards. I put it in a vise and cut it in half with a recip. saw. Then I glued it back together and reenforced it with duct tape. It worked like a charm until friction caused the glue to melt. It then dripped onto my steering column under the dash while driving on a perfectly straight road for a good hour. When the first turn came up, I couldn't ......... . Sorry, I can't go on anymore. Hope you know I was "jus' joshin" Pete

[eric_ciampa]

Racer Chris... I can completely understand your feelings of frustrations about the arrival of a part that was not as advertised, especially after the second time. I think anyone who owns one of these cars understand that parts often come wrong. The first time i bought rear brake pads i bought them from NAPA and they were wrong ones. the upper holes that the holding pins go through the brake pad have to be larger than the bottom ones and so the two upper holes were the wrong size. I resolved to drill out the wholes a little more. PP does a great job with customer service. Just the fact that they have this BBS so you can complain (as well as ask any question on parts, repairs, tech advice, or how to tumble dry your cat ) shows that they are high on the customer service and i am truely sorry that you can not see that in the ideal world there should be a disclaimer and everything should be expected throughly before shipping. PP has ammended their online catalog, shipped you another one, expected it in person, and you are now talking to the the administer for PP parts directly who has called the manufacture and tracked down the problem. I guess i am unsure what else you want them to do? I am not trying to bash on you at all so please dont take it that way i am just making the point that dispite this case PP has a great rep with customer service and i for one am in there debt. I cant tell you how many times i have used their free BBS, wiring diagrams, FI diagrams, techarticals, parts diagrams, tech Q&A, and even the wonderful photo gallery. I would like to say thanks to PP for all of the work they put forth for beginers like me, and so would my car because it would still would not be running.

[roadtrp204]

Whats all the complaining about it been my experience that the damn things dry rot and fall to pieces in about a year anyway. Why is it that I am only 29 and can clearly remember that the quality of new items was much greater than the crap the being made today!!!

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Dave at Pelican Parts
Yeah, working as a mechanic for a couple of decades will do that to you...

--DD

As I understand it, Tom was the parts guy at his former position. This from his former boss as told directly to me. He may have wrenched as well, that I don't know. This boot thing is a small issue. I had a small mix up on some other item from PP, but it was resolved in execellent fashion. Let me tell you about some dealings with parts purveyors in another genre......weeks turned into months. I'll stop there.