dutchboy

My rig is in my sig
Scenerio: On occasions,after starting the truck and letting it warm up. Once I start to move,emmediatly,the speedometer pegs the entire way up and around and rest on the reset stem for the trip meter.I'll then come to a complete stop and the speedo needle gradually falls to zero. I start to move slowly and the needle fastly bounces up and around again. I did do an experiment.
After one of these times of the speedo going whacko. I'd stop the rig. Shut everything off. Wait a sec or two. I'd then start it back up and the problem was gone. Temporarily.
A day later,it happens all over again...whacko. Last night I pulled over and shut if off several times and the speedo was still whacko.
I checked the Chilton manual. it says nothing of the speedometer. it mentions testing of the speed sensor,but gives no location for it.
I have a huge,3 edition factory service manual. No description of the speedometer or troubleshooting of it. Just another,very brief paragraph on the speed sensor,still...no location.

*HINT*...I am having a problem with my right front axle/wheelbearing. I just had the half shaft replaced and I noticed that the wheel bearing sounds incredibly noisy (chattering) while driving and the roads dip up and down. The noise is primarily present when the suspension is flex upwards,and the wheels are moving. making me "think"...wheel bearing,OR...could it be the speed sensor?
My speedometer problem is not all the time. But it's becoming more relavant.
Any knowledge from you Yota guru's would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Dutch

Jay351

Look at the end of the t-case, you should easily be able to identify the speedo cable or speedo wire if you have an electric speedo.

If its a cable then there might be a problem with it (rusty/old etc.) If its electric there is something wrong in the circut.

bugs1961

I have done all the work on my Mother in Law's '89 3.0 for 20 years now and have replace the speedometer cable and the speedometer itself. In a '90 you should have a mechanical speedometer cable and it will wear out. My MoL's speedometer started making noise and getting real jumpy, even after replacing the cable; so I pulled it out and found it to be very rough when I turned the input shaft. I replaced it about 8 years ago and have had no problems since. Her's is a truck and doesn't have ABS. Unless you have front wheel ABS, you do not have any sensors at the front wheels that will effect the speedometer. Probably a bad speedo or cable.

Dirksy

I've had a similar thing happening to me on my '92 4Runner 3.0 auto 4x4. At first the speedo would jump around, quit and I wouldn't see it do it again for a month or so. Recently, mine has just started locking up after driving it awhile and it's getting more frequent everyday.

dutchboy

Hmmm...
Autozone shows a part listing for a speed sensor that is located on the transmission. Tomorrow I'm gonna get under the dash and the truck t see if it's got a cable to the speedometer. About a year ago,I heard some noises from the cluster,like a bad speedo cable,but...then,no indications of any problems. Just noisy.
Now it's just plain ol whacko.
How hard is it to relace a cable? is this a dash/cluster tear down job?
Thanks all!

scope103

IF you have the electronic speedometer, it seems unlikely that you would peg the speedometer. Usually, when the sensor fails the speedometer intermittently falls to zero, and then back up to the correct speed.

But if you want to replace the part, you might check out RockAuto; it looks like their price is about $100 below Autozone, which might cover the shipping and the waiting.

IF you have a speedo cable, it stills seems unlikely that a bad cable would cause the speedo to peg. It almost sounds like a broken return spring (which I doubt would be a repairable item, so you would replace the speedometer head).

You should be able to easily tell which you have by looking on the aft end of the transfer case, and if you have a cable you should at least see if it turns freely.

Let us know what you find out.

rogerswilliamh

I have an 87 SR5 4runner which would be the cable I persume. Mine just quite working last week. I can still here noise behind the dash like it is turning but not connected. I pulled the dash and cluster out took for a test drive. Cable is not turning but everything seems to be intact even in the engine bay. I still here the noise when accelerating or rolling like a clicking sound but it seems to be coming from the engine bay. Any suggestions???

mightymouse

iTrader: (6)

my 1990 22re 4x4 pickup did the exact same thing last winter, squeeled, jumped around, and just plain sucked! I found that the speedo cable was a little buggered up and replaced it shortly thereafter. no probs. yet. The cable replacement was a snap and didn't take very long.

tj884Rdlx

speedo cables do rust and break. they then act weird. also, the gear in the trans can strip where the cable plugs into it. the jumping is often from an intermittent grab at high speed which gives the speedo a quick burst of spin but then lets go.

rock auto shows the cable is 90" indicating it's a one piece design with a screw one end and quick disc other end (speedo end) so you'll need to fish it through the firewall. $6

make sure you check your cable before ordering it. if it ops ok, it may be the gear has stripped, because that thing doesn't stop turning even if the cable rusts and seizes.

to remove, undo cluster, pull plugs, squeeze hand into space and feel around for plastic quick release to pinch and pull as your wrist gets scraped to heck. then go to engine bay and attempt to pull thru firewall. down at trans, just unscrew. good luck!

theAuthority

no help at all on your speedo cable, but one problem I am seeing is your picture for your 'girls' is extremely tiny and needs to be fixed...

tj884Rdlx

I CONCUR.

also, that splashguard you're looking for can be easily fabricated out of cheap welcome mats, table placemats, or mechanic's fender guard. make your own this weekend!
tj

theAuthority

Thread hi-jack ! left your photobucket unlocked :o

tj884Rdlx

theAuthority goes Robin Hood!

that's good stuff right there. mmmmm-mmm!

toyinhawaii

if u have the elec.speed sensor >location is right side of tail assy...3 phillips heads screws for the sensor and i believe a 12mm socket to pull out the gear housing..my 93 3vze pickup auto 4x4 160,xxx miles, is having those similar problems..yep..its the senor that is going bad..also the gear could be worn (plastice gear) i changed mine for $36 but it didnt really help..sensor is around $100..but to prolong the changing (what i did)..oil gets between the gear housing and sensor...wipe it clean >mine had a pin hole which was letting oil seep through...silicone the gear housing end (its a gray spinning disk) and put the sensor back on...on mine,my problems related to the bad sensor was :

1: in the morning it would start working about a mile down the road..and continue working ..some of the time..after noon would work 100% of the time..crazy but it seems if its cold or moisture in the air or just raining it fails...this also seems to affect the shifting..the forward senor on the tranny (left side near bell housing)cant talk to the speed senor.(cause the speed sensor is bad)..and it would shoot up to around 3000rpm in first or second gear....i just stopped mine..put it in park shut it off and restarted it..it was fine .just change it and you'll be fine..i'm cheap..after a rebuild and changing the tps,oxygen sensor etc.. i'mm gonna milk the sensor as much as i can...it works about 70% of the time...check this out though..it will help...http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/..and go to the trany section..you'll find the testing on it

tj884Rdlx

if you do have an electric speed sensor because it's an automatic, there's a service bulletin that shows the sensor has a little rubber o-ring that has to be picked out with a little hook awl when you pull the sensor from the trans. this could be the cause of that leak toyinHI is referring to. but your combination meter diagram shows a speedo cable hookup so i don't know which you have. look in here, maybe you find something i couldn't.
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/

dutchboy

tj99rdlx...I have the 1990 full fac. service manuals,like the one you had linked. The manuals only speak of how to calibrate...no troubleshooting tips at all. i was under the dash,hood and tranni and their is def. NO cable. I did see a few things plugged into trans and transfer case. Not sure which is speed sensor,but I will look again tomorrow in reference to toyinhawaii recomondation as far as location. Autozone wants $82 for a new speed sensor and he has a pic of it. So,i'll know what im looking for.
Yes,In the morning is when it acts up the most. pegs the whole way up and around,resting on the trip meter reset stem. Bouncing slighty as it goes up. No shifting problems(yes it is an automatic). A few weeks ago,it had a hard upshift(just did it once),that was it.
Once I got about 10 miles of driving. I stopped to get coffee. Came out,started up and when i moved. it was reading ok. So...I see the issue here. the cold/damp is apperently effecting the speed sensor. Maybe that o ring is bad and oil and moisture is seeping in.This friday im doing a wheel bearing replacement,so while Im wrenching. im def. looking into this problem.
Thanx for the splash guard tip. gave me an idea of using an old truck mudflap i have laying in the shop :>)

The authority....it's all good. i sometimes forget about my photobucket being open. i dont mind and my girls dont mind either. hope you enjoyed he pics...larger now :>)
I'll chime in as I make progress with this speed sensor.
thanks all!

toyinhawaii

tj884Rdlx & dutchboy.....tj8--...i took off the sensor and housing again only to find it wet with oil again....i tried ur link to find this "little rubber o-ring"..but didnt have any luck with finding the link...i did not know there was a smaller o-ring other than the one between the sensor and housing..and the one that goes around the housing these ones arent small though...so i looked more closely on the inside of the housing (where the speed gear goes) and the gray spinning disk side (that meets the sensor and couldnt find anything...so what i did was...on the inside houseing...i took a small o-ring..a little larger in diameter than the speed gear shaft (that was all i had. in my trays.i'll get the same size diameter one today though )..and stuck it into the housing and then stuck the beveled end of the gear in (theres only one way to put it in) and let it ride ,till the gear was fully seated,put on the retaining clip...then after that,after everthing was back on..i took it for a drive...it seemed worse...the dial fluxuated more..and the shifting of the gears seems a little different...crazy..what a little oil seepage problem like this can do to these sensors..anyway undoubtly mositure/wet is the culprit...i'll try the same size diameter o-ring today..the one that was a little larger,,it kinked a little going in...so i knew i wouldn't have much of a seal..

theAuthority

HI JACK

Team420

add tranny fluid!! Mine does the EXACT same thing when its low on juice. fill her up, and it goes away till its low again.

JFCruiser

this website has some hot spots and diagrams to help with this kind of stuff and they also have the parts for cheap too OEM MAN

http://toyotapartszone.com

one time i used their online manuals to install new differential at home haha