T5 Speedo Gear help

Sounds like the drive gear is missing from the tailshaft. Or, if the speedo hole is on the opposite side from the original trans, the gears don't mesh, in other words, the drive gear is turning the cable gear backwards. There are different drive gears for this, same gears were used in the Toploader 3 & 4 speeds. I have the same dilema with my V8 Ranger. Speedo hole on the Toploader is on the other side as opposed to the truck's original 5 speed. My trip odometer turns backwards, but the speedo & odometer doesn't work.

The gear on the output shaft can move out of place - there's a clip that retains it which mostly works fine, but occasionally, inexplicably, it doesn't. The gear slides down the output shaft and doesn’t engage the speedo gear. Take the cable out from the side of the trans and stick your finger in the hole – you should be able to feel the plastic gear that engages the cable gear. If you can’t, it’s probably moved. It’s not a big deal to take the tail housing off, move the gear back where it’s supposed to be and reinstall the clip.