Just a FYI Speedo story
My 46 (w/T5) Speedo started squealing like a stuck pig and needle jumping wildly, I disconnected the Speedo cable from back of Speedo on the side of the road and all went quiet… well…. Must be this old Speedo since cable is now rotating fine and quiet… I sure don’t want to go there, the thought of getting under dash /pull Speedo/send it out/waiting/back under dash to reinstall… so a month later I replaced cable with generic from my local NAPA just because it is a cheap quick way to confirm or eliminate that potential cause… WOW, All working and job done…got off easy on that…
Fast forward 2 years Speedo jumping and squealing AGAIN…. Thinking it’s the Speedo for sure now I was chatting with my older bro (navy diesel mechanic in Nam) he suggested to just relube of the cable first. I figured nothing to loose why not give it a go, pulled cable out of housing from Speedo end, cleaned it meticulously with solvent then brake cleaner and then used a dry Speedo cable lube, dont recall brand but seemed like a graphite type of product again from NAPA. Reinstalled and six months now all is still working good as ever. Didn’t even have to get under the truck this time…
Point is… bench testing is a good start but any compromise is the cable like minor kinks etc do matter, it’s cheap, just R&R it. And thoroughly clean and lube the cable, you might also be saved from going down the Speedo rebuild worm hole.
Chuck
