The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Speedometer cable

Hey, it's the man of many questions again, ha ha! Ok, this should be a simple one....I replaced my speedometer cable because the old one twisted and broke at the transmission. The new one was a pice of cake to install, and it works...kind of. It buzzes and bounces all over the place like the old one did before it broke. Did I maybe miss a step when I installed it? Maybe my speedometer itself is screwey?

maybe it needs some lube. but don't wait too long or it may break the needle.

you could check and see if the odometer numbers are turning,sometimes they get stuck....

Is it a reproduction speedo cable?
I put a repro in, and there is supposed to be a little crimped on ferrul at the speedo-end of the cable, that keeps the cable in the sheath, rather than slipping down into the trans.
It's possible yours is slipping out of the end of the speedo head and just catching it erratically.
Your speedo could also be about to die. Mine did that right before it croaked.
I ended up finding an original speedo cable set-up, washed it in the parts washer, and lubed the cable with white lithium grease. It's going back in the next two days for a 1,000 road trip to Missouri. It'll be nice to know what I'm getting for gas mileage, and how fast I'm going!

-Brad

I am not sure about your 61 but on some earlier models like my 52 the needle will bounce around a bit and act crazy. If you catch it in time a good lube will work wonders. The earlier ones had a "wick" to lube them and they dry out over the years.
Before you do anything be sure to "measure twice, cut once".
Let us know what you find out.

Well, I took it out of the speedo guage the other day, it has a plastic end on it which stops it from falling back down towards the trans. I lubed it with some all purpose grease and put it back in. Was ok for a little bit but is now starting to make some noise and bounce around again. Maybe the speedometer is about to kick the bucket.

What you need to do is pull the instrument panel, remove the speedometer and lube the gears on that. If the gears are not damaged yet then it may be okay yet. I would say the issue is more with the speedometer than the cable.

ok, I'll try that.

I thought I would add my problem here. MY speedo works fine unless it is below freezing. This morning we had a wind chill of 8 and the speedo was really noisy and bouncing around like crazy, after about a mile it cleared up and worked fine. Any thoughts on what to do? I don't want it to break.

Thanks!

My dad always used parifin(sp?)wax used in canning,it won't freeze.

Thanks todjob, but pardon my ignorance... where do I apply the parafin?

Unscrew the speedo cable from the back of the dash cluster and drip 3-in-1 oil in the cup. Do this for several minutes, to allow the oil to flow down the cable, as far as possible. Over time, the cable gets dirt in it, causing it to bind when the temp is real low.

Thanks! We'll do. Appreciate the help.