wacky speedometer

My speedometer moves crazily when i get about over 40 mph. It will never stay steady and just flutters up and down(like a 20mph range). Why is it doing this? Can I fix it, or just not worry about it?

Well I had the same problem on me lumina but I never fixed it . On the bright side if a cop pulls you over and ask's if you know how fast you were going, you can say I don't know and not be lying lol :p

The same thing happens on my 94 std hatchback. I don't usually pay it any attention, as I can usually tell how fast I'm going. If I hear anything, I'll let you know.

I now have the same problem. i have found a website that claims they can repair the problem.
http://www.dashusa.com/ford_cars.htm

Mine does this on my 1996 Escort when I get up to about 65mph.

Well i had the speedsensor replace and still does it now i have to decide if i want to spend 150 for the speedo for the guy at the website or have someone tear the tranny down to see if the gears inside are messed up.

Well, if you are patient and careful, this is what I did. I took apart the dash just far enough to pull out the gauge assembly unit in the dash. I would really watch out for the hazard light switch in the top of the stearing column because I bumped it with the housing on the way out and snapped it off. A new toggle switch fixed that problem since the hazard light is only part of the combo light switch. After everything is unhooked from the guage assembly (speedo cable, wires, etc) It should slide out. I forget, but part of the steering column plastic shroud probably has to come off too, to allow it to slide out. Once out it can be further taken apart to the point of disasembling the speedo head. Inside the head there is a shaft that runs to the needle. It has a little spring hooked up to it and you will need to lube the spinning surface areas where they come in contact with what holds them in. They are basically a shaft spinning in a dry bushing. When the bushing grabs the shaft pauses and then releases a burst of speed and then grabs again. This is why the needle bounces all over the place, but your actual speed is somewhere between the two readings. I've had to due this to two vehicles. A 95 Tracer and a 96 Escort SW, both of which I first installed a new speedo cable only to realize that that didn't solve my problem. Somehow I think I must have had to pop the needle off of the unit because I put it back on and it reads a little off from what it is actually going, according to an OBDII tester that I hooked up to it. So, you may have to take the needle off to get down to the bushings in the head. It's been 2 years (60,000 miles) since the last lube job. It is time consuming and I would recommend changing any dash bulbs while you are there. It took me a few hours the first time. Like anything else, once you do it once, the second time is a lot faster. Give yourself a spot to lay everything out like an exploded diagram to prevent any left over peices and most of the screws I remember to be 1 or 2 different sizes of internal torx. Have fun and don't try to reverse any mileage on the odometer while it's out. It looks possible, but they aren't made to be messed with.(numbers roll one way - internal catches built into the rollers to prevent them from turning backwords) It's not worth damaging them.

Sounds like a long weekend job. and as for rolling back this car is way beyond that a 164 plus rolling back would only be crazy. Thanks for the help and sounds like something i am going to try before spending the 150.

My speedometer moves crazily when i get about over 40 mph. It will never stay steady and just flutters up and down(like a 20mph range). Why is it doing this? Can I fix it, or just not worry about it?


sounds like your speed sensor on the tranny