Re: Speedometer cable question

["David Cox" <dmcox@xxxx>]

David Teitelbaum wrote:
>The first place to start is to pull off the front left wheel and check
>the plastic drive disc that is captured between the rim and the hub.
>Make sure it won't slip and the square hole inside isn't rounded out
>causing the square drive cable in the center of the hub to slip.

Definitely check the plastic drive disc! While doing some checking on my
car, I pulled this off and inspected it to make sure that hole hadn't become
enlarged. There appeared to be some dirt on the side of the disc and I
wiped it clean before replacing it. The speedometer (appeared) to be
working fine immediately afterwards, but I soon started to notice that it
would, on occasion, drop to zero, or bounce about wildly. On other
vehicles, this behavior has been caused by a broken cable, so that was what
I immediately suspected. I went back through the archives, but I must have
missed references to the drive disc, because I didn't suspect it at all. I
_thought_ that it was held in place by the wheel, but that does not appear
to be the case. I finally was able to test the entire cable assembly by
grasping the end of the lower cable in the jaws of a driver and spinning it,
verifying that the speedo moved when I did so. I ended up placing a small
amount of trim adhesive on the rim of the drive disc and my speedo has
worked flawlessly ever since.

I repeat, I may have missed it, but checking the plastic drive disc, other
than to check the center hole, did not jump out as a possible cause when I
checked the archives. It should be added to the list of possible speedo
problems areas.

Dave
vin 16367