hi

[chrisanthony]

hi i have a 96 ford escort lx 1.9L

I'm noticing my Speedometer is jumping around the place when i go over 60km and its starting to hiss. Could it be a problem with the speedo cable? I checked many threads about this but didnt find how i would go about replacing the cable.


Thanks

[denisond3]

It could be a couple of things. With time and miles the speedo cable can wear and its lubricant get stiff, resulting in the cable not turning at a steady rate. The result is the speedo needle wobbling at lower speeds. This is usually worse in colder weather. Eventually the cable will break.
Also, the speedo unit itself can wear out. This normal, it just happens at different ages depending on how well the speedo was made. When it is worn, the spinning magnet in there can rub the casing that rotates the needle, resulting in the needle drifting up and down above the actual speed. The hiss could be the noise of a dry input shaft bushing, or the noise of a cable that is running in dried up rusty grease inside the cable outer sheath.
Our 92 Escort has 215,000 miles on it, and is beginning to do that 'drifting' at highway speeds. It can wander back and forth drunkenly between 70 to 90 - when I am going 65 mph.
I have several older cars with high mileage; and have had to either replace or lube the speedo cable, or lube the speedometer, or replace the speedometer with a newer one. I have had good luck with speedometer from junkyards, where I put a very tiny amount of light grease on the input bushing, and clean the dust/crud out of the mechanism using a spray can of brake cleaner.
Its also important to have the speedo cable firmly inserted in the back of the speedo, and firmly pushed down into the socket on the back of the tranny.
If you need to replace the cable, you can either buy a repair 'kit' with just an inner cable that you cut to length, or buy the entire cable and its outer sheath. If you only buy the inner cable, be sure to pull out the lower end of the outer sheath and drip some solvent down it from inside the car - to clean out the rusty muck at its bottom end. You get at the cable by removing the instrument bezel, then the cluster. Have to reach behind it to un-clip the speedo cable collar. Then detach it from the bottom end at the tranny, and work it out somehow.

[AzTumbleweed]

Mine did this once and the cable had come loose from the back of the speedometer. Probably because I had it out once and didn't get it back in good

[chrisanthony]

Originally Posted by denisond3

It could be a couple of things. With time and miles the speedo cable can wear and its lubricant get stiff, resulting in the cable not turning at a steady rate. The result is the speedo needle wobbling at lower speeds. This is usually worse in colder weather. Eventually the cable will break.
Also, the speedo unit itself can wear out. This normal, it just happens at different ages depending on how well the speedo was made. When it is worn, the spinning magnet in there can rub the casing that rotates the needle, resulting in the needle drifting up and down above the actual speed. The hiss could be the noise of a dry input shaft bushing, or the noise of a cable that is running in dried up rusty grease inside the cable outer sheath.
Our 92 Escort has 215,000 miles on it, and is beginning to do that 'drifting' at highway speeds. It can wander back and forth drunkenly between 70 to 90 - when I am going 65 mph.
I have several older cars with high mileage; and have had to either replace or lube the speedo cable, or lube the speedometer, or replace the speedometer with a newer one. I have had good luck with speedometer from junkyards, where I put a very tiny amount of light grease on the input bushing, and clean the dust/crud out of the mechanism using a spray can of brake cleaner.
Its also important to have the speedo cable firmly inserted in the back of the speedo, and firmly pushed down into the socket on the back of the tranny.
If you need to replace the cable, you can either buy a repair 'kit' with just an inner cable that you cut to length, or buy the entire cable and its outer sheath. If you only buy the inner cable, be sure to pull out the lower end of the outer sheath and drip some solvent down it from inside the car - to clean out the rusty muck at its bottom end. You get at the cable by removing the instrument bezel, then the cluster. Have to reach behind it to un-clip the speedo cable collar. Then detach it from the bottom end at the tranny, and work it out somehow.

Hey thanks, i tried getting the cluster out to replace a blown bulb and it was insane and i still didnt get to change the bulb. Anyways i'll try gettin a cable and speedo from the junk yard a lil later and try with the cluster once more..

[chrisanthony]

Hi. What type of grease would i use to do this?

[AzTumbleweed]

I've been told white lithium grease.

[chrisanthony]

Originally Posted by AzTumbleweed

I've been told white lithium grease.

thanks i'll pick one up from canadian tire