Repro. Speedometer cables

[suki243]

Hey guys is it me or do these reproduction cables not last... this is my 2nd repro cable and it just broke. My original one's end got cut up because i didn't fasten it all the way in otherwise it stayed intact. but i've used one from Scott Drake and another one from NPD and both have broke after about a month or two.

Anyone know what i'm doing wrong?
I haven't only replaced the housing or the cable inside i buy the whole thing, it comes prelubricated and according to the forums ppl have been fine using it as is.

It broke today it and these are the symptoms, the gauge is correct all is good till you start hearing clicks coming from behind the speedometer, then after about 10 the speed falls down to 0 and stays there. and thats the end of it.

 

[iskwezm]

where is the cable breaking at??? Is the speedo the problem???

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Sounds like it is either getting pinched somewhere or has something causing too much drag like a bad speedometer or something.

 

[suki243]

the cable breaks about an inch and a half down the cable away from where it connects to the speedometer.

 

[suki243]

i highly doubt its getting pinched i made sure this time that the it wasn't turning at any harsh angles.

Anyone know speedometers that look close to the stock ones?

 

[dennis112]

the cable breaks about an inch and a half down the cable away from where it connects to the speedometer.

I feel for you as I have the same problem. Bought a new cable and housing from a Carquest-like autoparts place and the inner cable broke about 1 1/2" from the speedometer connection in less than a month. Really weird as my housing has no major kinks in it either and I have no reason to blame the speedometer. Before I found this post, I was blaming mine on numerous 11 second runs at the track . . . . . .

Next I am going to try one of those cable repair kits that you find in the Help Section at the autoparts store.

 

[suki243]

Interesting, let me know how that works out.
I have yet to buy a new speedometer or cable housing. both are somewhat expensive and i want to know the culprit for sure before i go out and buy a new one.
dennis112, did you by any chance lube the cable before putting it in? I know they come prelubed but im just wondering if you did or not.

 

[suki243]

Also, autozone is selling it for 15$ beats all those other mustang parts places.

What kind of lubricant would you use for this? Is there a specific speedometer cable lubricant?

 

[65ShelbyClone]

There probably is, but I would use anything that isn't too thin, too heavy, or prone to drying out. I have some CV joint grease that I used in my SVO's speedo cable. The old grease was like stiff tar and was causing the speedo to bounce and make noise.

 

[10secgoal]

Honestly the quality of them just sucks. Drakes stuff used to be good. You could tell by taking it out of the package. BUt they have gone to the same company that supplies the junk to California. I took an OEM one out once, and the replacement from CA mustang bounced more than the old one. Tried it twice before getting one from Drake, that fixed it. BUt since they hav switched, we may be SOL. It may not be you.
Pull out the dash, hook it up, spin with a drill. If it does it in a straight line, cheap speado. If it doesn't, install, try spinning from under car near tranny, see if it bounces there. If it does, routing probleem. It threw me through hoops when I ran acrossed this problem. thought it may have been the speedo since the cable was new. Nope. Hope it helps.

 

[suki243]

Honestly the quality of them just sucks. Drakes stuff used to be good. You could tell by taking it out of the package. BUt they have gone to the same company that supplies the junk to California. I took an OEM one out once, and the replacement from CA mustang bounced more than the old one. Tried it twice before getting one from Drake, that fixed it. BUt since they hav switched, we may be SOL. It may not be you.
Pull out the dash, hook it up, spin with a drill. If it does it in a straight line, cheap speado. If it doesn't, install, try spinning from under car near tranny, see if it bounces there. If it does, routing probleem. It threw me through hoops when I ran acrossed this problem. thought it may have been the speedo since the cable was new. Nope. Hope it helps.

It did bounce a bit with the last one.
So i should hook up a drill straight to the speedometer and spin it? if it doesn't bobble the speedometer is bad?
I don't think i can remove or spin the cable from the tranny it got chewed up pretty bad at the breaking point and is probably frozen solid with frayed wires everywhere but i'll definitely try it out after finals

 

[10secgoal]

I mean when you ge thte new cable, to see if it's the cable itself, or the way you routed that makes it snap, or bounce.

 

[suki243]

so I got a new cable from autozone, it looks a little smaller than the scott drake one but i think it'll reach. Now i went around looking for graphite based lube and i can't find any. Do you guys know if wheel bearing or lithium grease would work or maybe even gear oil?. or is it strictly graphite based. And anyone know where to get graphite based lube?

 

[suki243]

I finished installing and lubing using white lithium spray grease and it bounces quite a bit

 

[67rcks]

I got mine from advance parts and yellowish lubricant was in the box. I had to take it apart and lubricate it. Check also for the resistance of your speedometer

 

[dennis112]

I finished installing and lubing using white lithium spray grease and it bounces quite a bit

A graphite oil that is specifically advertised for use on speedometer cables can be found on the "Help" rack of many stores or it can be ordered in. It is part #03367

 

[suki243]

Hey all, quick update: so i still haven't found graphite lube, but i have been driving the car a little bit here and there and I've noticed that the speedometer is pretty shaky till it hits 40 then the shaking stops, thenon the freeway at 70 it dead stops, no shaking at all, but if i speed up or slow down by a little off 70 it starts shaking like crazy again.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

You could probably make your own lube with door lock graphite and some thin oil.