Noisey Speedometer/Speedometer Cable '89 2WD Manual Trans

Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise doesn't
seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of the
vehicle.

How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced. Is
there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
squealing?

This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 20:08:04 GMT, "R.E.Pasco" <richp945@earthlink.net>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
>speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise doesn't
>seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of the
>vehicle.
>
>How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced. Is
>there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
>squealing?
>
>This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.[/color]

Squealing sounds like the speedometer head, not the cable, but you
can pull the cable core and clean & lube it to make sure. Lubriplate
would be perfect, but any good white grease will do.

The speedometer cable and casing should be changed as a set, because
the lining on the inside of the casing wears out also and allows the
core to whip. And if the core shreds when it breaks, it really messes
up the inside of the sheath and leaves behind sharp bits of broken
wire. A new cable core in a casing that has had a cable break inside
it may not last long.

I changed the cable on my LandCruiser, it was under $100 and took a
couple hours to remove all the clamps and pull out the old, put in the
new. If anything, the pickups look simpler.

Don't try to change the routing or the slack, and don't kink the new
cable while installing it, or you'll be doing it again soon.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

I had the EXACT same problem with mine. I changed the cable and
housing which made NO difference. Turned out to be the speedometer
assembly in the dash, cost me $125.00 to have it repaired at a speedo
shop. If it's just noisy it's probably the cable. If the needle works
erratically like mine, it's probably the speedo assembly.

"R.E.Pasco" <richp945@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:EanNf.5917$5M6.5741@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...[color=blue]
> Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
> speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise
> doesn't seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of
> the vehicle.
>
> How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced.
> Is there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
> squealing?
>
> This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.
>[/color]
I had the same problem a few years ago with my '89 Toyota 4x4 5 spd manual
and took it to the dealer who fixed the problem by changing out the
speedometer cable.

"R.E.Pasco" <richp945@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:EanNf.5917$5M6.5741@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...[color=blue]
> Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
> speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise
> doesn't seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of
> the vehicle.
>
> How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced.
> Is there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
> squealing?
>
> This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.
>[/color]

Ive fixed that same issue in my 92 4runner, removed the speedo cable both
ends and while the gearbox end was driven by a battery dril I fed new grease
down the tube till it came out the other end. That was a year ago and teh
noisey speedo and jumping needle havent returned. Took me around an hour and
a half to do the whole job. Oh, then about another half hour to get teh
grease i spilt out of the carpet, DOH!.

You should be able to do this yourself. Some cables will come out of the
cable housing when disconnected from the back of the speedometer head. You
can pull the cable out and clean it, then put it back in. My guess is that
yours is very dirty, and the gunk & muck are causing the noises you hear.




"R.E.Pasco" <richp945@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:EanNf.5917$5M6.5741@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...[color=blue]
> Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
> speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise
> doesn't seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of
> the vehicle.
>
> How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced.
> Is there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
> squealing?
>
> This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.
>[/color]

"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:4r8d02d4eo6qon24du0c2ajlnflc950ibs@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 20:08:04 GMT, "R.E.Pasco" <richp945@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Ready to turn 190K; in colder weather lots of squealing and minor
>>speedometer pointer jitter. Sound goes away after a few miles. Noise
>>doesn't
>>seem to be related to clutch throw-out bearing, moreso to speed of the
>>vehicle.
>>
>>How big a deal ($ & time) is it to have the speedometer cable replaced.
>>Is
>>there any part of the speedometer itself that would cause the initial
>>squealing?
>>
>>This truck has received TLC and runs like a top, except for above.[/color]
>
> Squealing sounds like the speedometer head, not the cable, but you
> can pull the cable core and clean & lube it to make sure. Lubriplate
> would be perfect, but any good white grease will do.
>[/color]

I agree on the fix, but the cable is more likely the cuprit than the head.
Just my opinion ...


[color=blue]
> The speedometer cable and casing should be changed as a set, because
> the lining on the inside of the casing wears out also and allows the
> core to whip. And if the core shreds when it breaks, it really messes
> up the inside of the sheath and leaves behind sharp bits of broken
> wire. A new cable core in a casing that has had a cable break inside
> it may not last long.
>
> I changed the cable on my LandCruiser, it was under $100 and took a
> couple hours to remove all the clamps and pull out the old, put in the
> new. If anything, the pickups look simpler.
>
> Don't try to change the routing or the slack, and don't kink the new
> cable while installing it, or you'll be doing it again soon.
>[/color]


This is all true as well. The only speedo cable that ever gave me trouble
could be fixed by cleaning it, but surely the inside of the sleeve can be
damaged and cause the noise that the OP complains of. I'd clean it first ...

On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 10:43:00 -0800, "Jeff Strickland" <crwlr@yahoo.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>You should be able to do this yourself. Some cables will come out of the
>cable housing when disconnected from the back of the speedometer head. You
>can pull the cable out and clean it[/color]

And grease it - white lithium grease as a default, unless someone
knows there's something else specified for it.
[color=blue]
> then put it back in. My guess is that
>yours is very dirty, and the gunk & muck are causing the noises you hear.[/color]

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

With mine, the needle didn't work erratically, when I hit 45mph, the
speedo needle jumped to 65 mph and stayed there until I reached 65 mph
then the speedo worked correctly above that.