DupermanDave

A few weeks ago I lubed the speedometer cable with some grapghite lube I found. It was some very VERY thin stuff (got it all over my face and lips and it was so light I never noticed it until I started to taste it.)

Well, that fixed the speedo bounce and noise for about 2 weeks. Now the speedometer is off by 15 miles per hour and it's not working properly. I'm guessing I'll need to lube it again, but I don't want to get under the truck again to pull up the speedo cable.

Where the cable goes into the firewall, there's a robber boot. Would anyone recommend me splitting open that boot and making a small hole big enough for me to squirt some other lube in?

I've been doing some more research on different lubes, and I'm seeing a lot of people recommending different kinds. I'm still stumped on what I need. I originally bought graphite chain lube. But that was a failure. Referencing this thread https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...22/index2.html people recommend "Bel Ray chain lube." How is this different than the thin stuff I've already tried?

RBX

i had the same issue on a 90 Integra.
It would usually bounce and misbehave in the winter, so i would add some lube to it. After adding lube a third time when the temperatures were consistently in the 80*s, it seemed to be remedied. My theory is that the lube actually works its way down the cable over time, gravity, spinning, heat...etc. I wouldn't recommend splitting the boot, i fear you would create an issue with contamination over time, and replacing a cable can't be fun.
Not sure why you are off by 15mph, is that faster or slower? Is it possible the connection is screwed up, and not rotating properly?

So add it a few times over the next couple months and see how that goes, it worked for me, but your results may very.

Hope that helps,
RB

DupermanDave

It's 15mph fast. Sometimes more. Say I'm going 20 miles per hour, the speedometer will indicate I'm still going 50.

After I split the boot, I plan on patching it back up with some rubber or RTV and taping it back up. Should be fine I would think.

It was fine the first 2 weeks, but after that it got worse. I'm guessing the lube didn't distribute properly and it probably seeped to the bottom of the cable.

RBX

you are probably right about the lube not distributing properly, i know when i did mine i could only get so much in the cable. each time i took it apart, i could only get the same amount in. But after the second or third lube it was working as normal agian.

hilandfrog

It was my understanding the speedo cables were Teflon on the inside??

Perhaps a good cleaning and drying, then adding some dry graphite powder and "sucking" it through w/ a shop vac.

I know removing it sucks, but what to do...

Repo

betelnut

I need to do the same to my own. I'm going to try this PJ-1 chain lube I've had sitting around, but it's kinda gummy, so maybe I'll end up having to replace the cable.

Without having seen it yet, I'd guess the 'boot' is really a grommet to prevent the cable being cut where it goes through the firewall. The cable won't have a break underneath the grommet.

Places like harborfreight sell 'cable oilers', usually meant for motorcycle control cables. Not sure if these'll fit onto a speedo cable, but they essentially work by sealing around one end, and they have a place to insert the straw from an aerosol can, forcing the spray into the cable.

DupermanDave

Removing the cable isn't too hard. It's just threading it through the engine bay and getting all greasy. I have to constantly wash my hands so I don't contaminate other components with greasy and oil, which will make the job even harder.

Jay351

I used synthetic chain lube to do mine. Worked like a charm! No noise and its very smooth now.

Just unhooked it and routed the t-case end up and out of the engine bay. Then I poured the lube down the cable untill it reached all the way to the cluster end.

I liked the chain lube because it has a watery consistency so it really gets in there..

DupermanDave

That's the way I did it, as it was recommended by other users on Yotatech.

How much lubr did you use? Maybe I'll just try rethreading the cable through the bay. It may have gotten a little tangled.

Jay351

Im not sure, I added it till it filled the end of the cable up, then I turned the cable by hand till it drained into the cable casing. I did it till I saw oil coming out the cluster end. I was able to feel the resistance lessen as the lube got in there.

make sure you let some of it drain out when you route it back down to the t-case, the dirty lube that came out of mine was pretty nasty...

sb5walker

Be aware there are now two main types of motorcycle chain lubes: the old wet sticky viscous slippery kind, and the new dry wax kind. It's the old kind that people report good results with, and it's getting harder to find. The new waxy type of Bel-Ray is called "Super Clean" - that's the wrong type:

http://www.belray.com/consumer/product.fsp?pid=1296



The old kind is just called "Bel-Ray Chain Lube" - that's the kind that has been reported to work well.

http://www.belray.com/consumer/product.fsp?pid=1294

If the chain lube label says "dry" or "wax" it's the wrong type.

Another product I think would be worth considering (I haven't yet tried it) is Permatex "81950 Ultra Slick Engine Assembly Lube" which people use for all kinds of lubrication tasks. Nothing works better for ratchet wrenches, for example. It's VERY slippery stuff, but is probably a little thicker than Bel-Ray, and so might take some effort to work it into the cable. Also it's red and messy and tends to get everywhere. Did I say it was slippery?


http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81950...dp/B000HBNVSK/

Jay351

I used synthetic chain lube meant for mountain biking. Very good stuff!

skiranged

Long time lurker, new member....

By synthetic bike lube, do you mean something like Finish Line or Tri-Flo? It seems to me if the lining on the cable is teflon, Tri-Flo would be a good choice (that's what I was going to try).

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Here's a dumb question:

Where does the speedo cable attach on the bottom of the truck? I've removed it several times from the back of the cluster but never from the other end....and mine bounces like mad.

I thought I found it once, attached to the pass side of the tranny, but when I removed it, a ton of gear oil started to spill out so I put it back quickly.

Anyone have an exact location and tips for best removeal for this job (without leaking all over)?

toyota4x4907

Should be towards the tail end of the transfer case, on the passenger's side towards the top.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Thanks!

Dauntless1971

My newly acquired 4runner's speedometer would hit about 100 mph while still in second gear. I thought it was the cable also. Just after removing the cable and checking it with a cordless drill it seemed fine. So I sprayed the connection on the speedometer with penetrating oil. Now the speedometer seems fine except it reads about 10 miles fast all the time. I guess that should be expected because it sits at 10 mph when not moving.

corax

buy new speedometer cable (just the cable, not the sheathing - try NAPA), disconnect the cable from the transfer case, pull the old cable out and cut the new to match the length of the old, crimp the appropriate end on and feed it into the original cable sheathing . . . I've done this on 4 of my previous vehicles and it fixed the bouncing speedo every time.

I think when there's some resistance in the sheathing it starts to unwind the cable itself. So the cable gets longer, presses against the inside of the sheathing and the resistance increases - lube helps sometimes, but the cable is < $15 and has fixed it every time for me

corywhitt

How do you get the lube to go into the casing of the cable? On the cluster end, the end of the cable is covered with the white plastic clip that connects to the cluster. Does that come off? it sure seems tight... on the other end, at the t-case, the end is covered with the the piece to attach to the drive. Even if I could get the whole cable out, how would the lube get into the casing? I can see the needles on both ends, but the lube just seems to sit and not get into the actual cable... Any help out there??

a51young

Did you get this figured out? I'm running into the same issue.