Seat Belt Rebuild - Odometer Repair

[clarelaw]

Looking for a place that will rebuild my seat belts - new belts and retractor springs and also looking for a place that can repair the odmeter on my 73 914. The speedo works, but the odometer does not move.

Thanks.

[teenerted1]

got these hints on the odo fix off somewhere on pelican.

Dave Darling's Odomenter Repair Page

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Welcome to Dave's Odometer Repair Procedure. This procedure works on most/all Porsche mechanically-driven (spinning cable) odometers--I think. I know for a fact that it works on all 914/4's and on mid-70's 911's. From reading a similar procedure posted earlier for 924's, I'm sure it works for them as well. I *think* it works for 944's up through some date.

The earlier article indicated that the cause of failure on "all" 924 odometer problems was a gear that had popped out of the teeth of the gear that was driving it. However, on two 914 and one 911 odos, the problem was as described below.

Good luck!


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Symptom: Odometer does not work or works intermittently; speedometer works fine. Possibly the "main" odometer turns forward one mile when the "trip" odometer is re-set to 0.

Patient: Early 9-series mechanical-type speedometers.

Preventaive Maintenance: Don't re-set the odometer when the car is in motion.

Tools: Flat-head screwdriver(s). I used a Swiss Army Knife. Pliers with toothed jaws, or punch, scribe, etc. Tape--masking, scotch, etc. Glue or epoxy (optional).


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Remove the speedometer from the car. On most cars, you can simply pull the speedometer out of the dash face. Disconnect the electrical connec- tions, and remove the drive cable from the speedometer. Detatch the reset cable from the bottom of the dashboard so you can take it out with the speedo. On some later cars there is additional stuff attatched to the speedometer, so you may need to get your hands behind it to detatch this stuff. If you can't get to it from underneath, try popping an adjacent gauge out and getting at it that way.

Remove the glass bezel and metal trim ring(s) from the face of the speedometer. The bezel is held on by the trim ring(s). Part of the ring is bent over the lip on the edge of the metal "can" of the speedometer housing. You can use one of the screwdrivers to carefully pry that part of the ring back. After you go a bit more than halfway around the ring, you should be able to slip the ring off the can sideways.

It may be best to work over a towel or some such so as to avoid un- happy accidents.

Remove the reset cable from the back of the can.

Unscrew the two slot-head screws in the back of the can. This should separate the face and the "guts" of the speedometer from the housing--they should fall right into your hand.

The numbered rollers and some gears are housed inside a U-shaped piece of metal. When the car is rolling, the drive cable turns. This torque goes through some reduction gears, and turns a gear on the outside of this U. The gear turns the shaft it rides on, which goes through one set of rollers to turn a silvery pot-metal gear that is on the same shaft. This gear is what causes the rollers to turn. The problem typically is that the pot-metal gear is now loose on the shaft, and does not turn when the shaft turns. Verify that this is the case for your unit. You can use the reset cable to turn the speedometer input. It will take quite a few turns to see any movement out of the odometer.

Use the tape to tape the rollers in position. Pull the outer gear and shaft out of the U. Make a note of where the pot-metal gear rides on the shaft. Be sure not to let the rollers get loose!

Next, use the pliers or the punch to knurl the shaft at the place where the pot-metal gear rides on it. Dirk Bergstrom tells me he used a scribe to put grooves along the length of the shaft at that spot. The object is to make the shaft rough enough that the gear will not spin on it.

Now put the shaft back into the U, through the rollers, and through the pot-metal gear. Optional: Put some glue or epoxy on the gear-to-shaft joint. Be careful not the glue the shaft to the U or the rollers! If you've really got the shaft roughened up, it may take some real pushing to get it back in all the way.

Test the works using the reset cable. Again, it will take lots of turns to move the odometer a small fraction.

Next, put the guts of the speedo back in the "can". Screw in the two slot-head screws that hold the guts in.

Place the glass bezel and trim ring(s) back over the end of the can, and carefully bend the edge of the ring over the lip on the can. You do not have to be *too* careful, since this rear part of the trim ring will be sitting flush against the dashboard face.

Now you can put the speedometer back into the car, hook it up, and test it for real!


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If you wind up having the rollers fall out onto the floor, e-mail me for further details. Mine did the first time, but I was able to put everything back together again anyway.

--DD

[Rouser]

Dashboard Gauge Repair and Refurbishment

[clarelaw]

I think I can handle the odometer - anyone know of a place that will redo my seatbelts. I have heard rumors that there is a place out of Texas that will repack the belts ?? Anybody?

[Rouser]

Contact Professionally Engineered Products and see what they'll do.

[seventythree]

Use 924 seatbelts from a wrecking yard. Works greats, costs a fraction of what you would spend on new or rebuilt 914 belts.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The 924 belts are almost as old as the 914 belts are at this point. Might make more sense to get brand-new ones... It's not like these are only ornamental parts, here...

--DD

[Speedo959]

Speedo repair works great. Thanks Dave

[peter carroll]

944 belts worked well for me.. Found some in very nice condition.