1962 Cadillac Eldorado speedometer cable trouble?

Hi all...

I'm working on a 1962 Eldorado and have a problem maybe someone here
could answer.

When I got the car, the speedometer cable was disconnected from the
cluster. I reconnected it and of course it doesn't work. So I pulled
the cable out and checked it while driving... not turning. I assume
it's either the cable or something with the transmission.

The trans needed to be rebuilt anyway so while that was happening, I
asked the shop to look at the speedo cable. They told me the cable
was bad so I ordered a new cable. New cable finally came but is too short!
So while I'm waiting for another...

I've removed the old cable and it looks just fine! When I turn it on
one end the other end turns ok. Why would they think it was bad?
What else can go wrong? I don't understand what could be going on.
When I hook it up to the transmission sometimes it turns and
sometimes it doesn't. Why? Is it possible that there is something
wrong with the speedometer gear on the transmission??

Has anyone else had experience with speedometer cables like this?
While I'm waiting for the new cable I'm going crazy thinking about
it! Wondering if I really need it... or if something else is wrong. Any
input would be appreciated.

thanks
Charles

Could be missing the plastic gear in the tranny that the end of the
cable connects to. Nothing to drive it.

Charles Scheffold wrote:
>
> Hi all...
>
> I'm working on a 1962 Eldorado and have a problem maybe someone here
> could answer.
>
> When I got the car, the speedometer cable was disconnected from the
> cluster. I reconnected it and of course it doesn't work. So I pulled
> the cable out and checked it while driving... not turning. I assume
> it's either the cable or something with the transmission.
>
> The trans needed to be rebuilt anyway so while that was happening, I
> asked the shop to look at the speedo cable. They told me the cable
> was bad so I ordered a new cable. New cable finally came but is too short!
> So while I'm waiting for another...
>
> I've removed the old cable and it looks just fine! When I turn it on
> one end the other end turns ok. Why would they think it was bad?
> What else can go wrong? I don't understand what could be going on.
> When I hook it up to the transmission sometimes it turns and
> sometimes it doesn't. Why? Is it possible that there is something
> wrong with the speedometer gear on the transmission??
>
> Has anyone else had experience with speedometer cables like this?
> While I'm waiting for the new cable I'm going crazy thinking about
> it! Wondering if I really need it... or if something else is wrong. Any
> input would be appreciated.
>
> thanks
> Charles

--
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"Eugene Blanchard" > wrote in message
...
> Could be missing the plastic gear in the tranny that the end of the
> cable connects to. Nothing to drive it.

Hrmmm.... but it works sometimes when I wiggle the inner cable around. I'll
probably have to wait for the new cable before I can really get to the
bottom of this. Considering that the transmission was just completely
rebuilt, I would expect that this part was checked out... at least I hope
so. Especially since I had mentioned it ahead of time.

thanks
Charles

Pull the single bolt secures the speedo drive gear housing hold-down and
pull the housing and gear straight out. Here's a pic of what it will look
like
http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowered...peedo_angle.jp
g although you probably won't have the right-angle drive screwed onto the
speedo drive housing.

Look into the end of the stem of the gear - there's a square hole. It could
be rounded out, or end of cable could be rounded. The gear just slips into
the housing from the backside - replacement is like $8 from any Chevy
dealer, and the color of the gear and year will tell them which one to
order. I had to buy one recently for my project car to get the ratio
correct.
V8Z
66 1600 http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/




"Charles Scheffold" > wrote in message
...
> "Eugene Blanchard" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Could be missing the plastic gear in the tranny that the end of the
> > cable connects to. Nothing to drive it.
>
> Hrmmm.... but it works sometimes when I wiggle the inner cable around.
I'll
> probably have to wait for the new cable before I can really get to the
> bottom of this. Considering that the transmission was just completely
> rebuilt, I would expect that this part was checked out... at least I hope
> so. Especially since I had mentioned it ahead of time.
>
> thanks
> Charles
>
>

Charles Scheffold wrote:
>
> Is it possible that there is something
> wrong with the speedometer gear on the transmission??

Sounds like it. The gear could be missing some teeth or the socket that the
cable plugs into could be worn out. If it's anything like my old '61 Ford, the
gear is pretty easy to remove. If you need to replace it, you'll have to remove
it anyway to make sure you buy the correct replacement. The number of teeth vary
depending on the transmission and rear end.

George Patterson
Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely
unintentional side effect. - Linus Torvalds, speaking about Linux.

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
> Sounds like it. The gear could be missing some teeth or the socket that
the
> cable plugs into could be worn out. If it's anything like my old '61 Ford,
the
> gear is pretty easy to remove. If you need to replace it, you'll have to
remove
> it anyway to make sure you buy the correct replacement. The number of
teeth vary
> depending on the transmission and rear end.

Ugh that's exactly what I'm afraid of... don't want to mess with the
transmission since it was just rebuilt and would probably void the warranty.
You don't know if there is any kind of oil seal on that gear is there?
Unfortunately I have nothing in the shop manual about this.

I'll probably just have to wait for the new cable and see what happens.
Worse case, I will bring it back to the transmission shop if replacing the
cable doesn't fix it.

thanks
Charles

Charles Scheffold wrote:
>
> Ugh that's exactly what I'm afraid of... don't want to mess with the
> transmission since it was just rebuilt and would probably void the warranty.

See the post above by v8z in rec.autos.antique. It's been 25 years since I had
to mess with one of these, but, IIRC, on my Ford, you removed one bolt and
pulled the speedometer cable housing out of its socket in the transmission.
That's the blue bolt in v8z's jpeg. The gear was plastic and was held onto the
cable housing with a spring clip. There was some sort of gasket (probably an
O-ring) on the end of the cable housing that kept it from leaking.

The gear had a square socket for the shaft. You couldn't see the condition of
the socket until the gear was removed from the cable housing, and you couldn't
do that until the cable housing was pulled from the tranny. As v8z says, the
color of the gear could be used by the parts counter to determine the number of
teeth.

George Patterson
Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely
unintentional side effect. - Linus Torvalds, speaking about Linux.

I believe that from '59 on, the GM speedo housing is just a cylindrical plug
with o-ring seals around its diameter and a groove in the ouside that the
hold -down sits against. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Loosen one, easily-accessible bolt, remove the hold-down, and pull the
housing out. The driven gear just slips into it from the backside....



"Charles Scheffold" > wrote in message
...
>
> "G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Sounds like it. The gear could be missing some teeth or the socket that
> the
> > cable plugs into could be worn out. If it's anything like my old '61
Ford,
> the
> > gear is pretty easy to remove. If you need to replace it, you'll have to
> remove
> > it anyway to make sure you buy the correct replacement. The number of
> teeth vary
> > depending on the transmission and rear end.
>
> Ugh that's exactly what I'm afraid of... don't want to mess with the
> transmission since it was just rebuilt and would probably void the
warranty.
> You don't know if there is any kind of oil seal on that gear is there?
> Unfortunately I have nothing in the shop manual about this.
>
> I'll probably just have to wait for the new cable and see what happens.
> Worse case, I will bring it back to the transmission shop if replacing the
> cable doesn't fix it.
>
> thanks
> Charles
>
>

Charles,

When you had the speedo cable out did you pull the cable out of the housing to see
if it might be broken? It could be broken and the two ends could intermittently
catch and make it appear to be working. You could buy a universal kit that you
could cut to length and put an end on it like this, also.
http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/p...hid=917AA54992

Leon Rowell


Charles Scheffold wrote:
> Hi all...
>
> I'm working on a 1962 Eldorado and have a problem maybe someone here
> could answer.
>
> When I got the car, the speedometer cable was disconnected from the
> cluster. I reconnected it and of course it doesn't work. So I pulled
> the cable out and checked it while driving... not turning. I assume
> it's either the cable or something with the transmission.
>
> The trans needed to be rebuilt anyway so while that was happening, I
> asked the shop to look at the speedo cable. They told me the cable
> was bad so I ordered a new cable. New cable finally came but is too short!
> So while I'm waiting for another...
>
> I've removed the old cable and it looks just fine! When I turn it on
> one end the other end turns ok. Why would they think it was bad?
> What else can go wrong? I don't understand what could be going on.
> When I hook it up to the transmission sometimes it turns and
> sometimes it doesn't. Why? Is it possible that there is something
> wrong with the speedometer gear on the transmission??
>
> Has anyone else had experience with speedometer cables like this?
> While I'm waiting for the new cable I'm going crazy thinking about
> it! Wondering if I really need it... or if something else is wrong. Any
> input would be appreciated.
>
> thanks
> Charles
>
>

Leon Rowell wrote:
>
> Charles,
>
> When you had the speedo cable out did you pull the cable out of the housing to see
> if it might be broken? It could be broken and the two ends could intermittently
> catch and make it appear to be working. You could buy a universal kit that you
> could cut to length and put an end on it like this, also.

If the cable's broken, replace the housing as well. The broken cable end has
probably scarred up the inside of the housing, and that damaged area will fray
the replacement cable and cause it to break in short order.

George Patterson
Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely
unintentional side effect. - Linus Torvalds, speaking about Linux.