Odometer / Speedometer supposed to click?

MrWrong · 08-30-2008, 12:01 PM

My odometer bit the bullet long before I got my heap.

Today I got around to pulling the instrument cluster out and working the speedometer/odometer. It appears that the first gear/shaft off where the cable plugs in has "hogged out" the holes the shaft sits in.

I added a little bit of plastic in the holes (aka pieces of drinking straw) and the gears appear to work fine, meaning they all spin and the odometer moves, but I have a little bit of binding every now and then and a click like a gear skipping a tooth.

Is this normal, like the device to prevent you from running the odometer backwards, or should I be swearing and dig out the magnifying glasses?

kdjones2000 · kdjones2000's Garage

Pick a couple of your choicest, grab the lens and get to work

MrWrong · 08-30-2008, 12:21 PM

Yeah,

I just fixed it, 5 min after posting.

One more plastic shim on the shaft.

HondaDustR · 08-30-2008, 12:46 PM

I know what you're talking about. Mine is doing the same thing. I just haven't gotten around to fixing it. So what did you do to fix it?

MrWrong · 08-30-2008, 07:20 PM

I need to invest in a digital camera.

Basically the worm gear that is connected to the speedometer cable wasn't making contact with the next gear, call it gear B.

The shaft that gear B sits on had enlarged the V shaped hole that the shaft spins in.

All I did was to insert flattened drinking straw pieces (the only thin plastic I could find) on one side of this V between the shaft and the plastic frame that the hole is in. I did this untill the hole was tight and Gear B was making contact again.

The clicking was caused when I did not have the holes on each end of the shaft reduced to the same diameter and one end of the shaft could flop around and skip a tooth every now and then.

Eventually with lots of trial and error I got it right and put a dab of superglue on my stack of straw pieces to tack it to the frame.

anotherblack944 · anotherblack944's Garage

Is this the case where the speedometer needle bounces like 20/30 mph along with the clicking? If so, you just saved ~$250! That's what the nearest VDO shop quoted to fix the one I had. Good info, thanks!

ballysdad · 08-31-2008, 07:39 PM

A friend of mine found a place in Fla that did it in 1 day and charged $170 I thought was a bargin to replace the gear inside.But yes a straw is cheaper

anotherblack944 · anotherblack944's Garage

Actually I had two bad ones a few years ago. I found a shop in Milwaukee that quoted $120 for the gear replacement (odo not working/no click) and $250 for the other (click/bounce). I didn't want to fool with getting the bezel off of either one so, $120 seemed pretty reasonable to me. If I took it over there, they'd do it while I waited too.