I am finally going to try to lube my speedo cable. It has been making noise for quite some time now. Recently, it has changed pitch. I hope I have not gone too long. I crawled under the dash, and it looks a bit tight to get at it. I also saw what appears to be wheel bearing grease around where the cable meets the guage. Can I get at this thing without taking the dash out? Is the only way, to reach it from underneath? I could possibly get it out, but putting it back in looks to be a bear. (There is not much room for my hands.) Can I remove some pieces under the steering column and get some more room? I have a 1970 GS, auto trans, column shift car. If anyone can give me some step by steps, I would appreciate it. Regards, John. o No:
You might have better luck fromm the trans end. No wheel bearing grease . There is a special lube or I believe graphite may substitute. I would get the correct lube made just for this.
best lube I ever used for a speedo cable was good old vasaline! you cant pull the inner cable out from the trans end. you have to unhook it from the speedo, pull the inner cable out and then lube it and slide it back into the outer cover. its tough to get at without pulling the cluster but... with allot of patients, and a skinny arm , it can be done.
Thanks Jim. It looks like someone has already put some in there. I will not use it, when I lube it. Regards, John.
Unclelar, how do I pull the cluster? Do I have to pull the dash out from the firewall? or does it come out as a seperate unit from the dash, while leaving the majority of the dash in place? Would an assembly manual tell me? Where is the best place to get such manuals and which ones do I need, or want? Sorry for being so ignorant. Thanks for your help. Regards, John. o No:
I use lithium grease and never had a problem with one chirping/singing after that grease application. I "think" the original was non-graphite as evidenced by many originals I have removed and it had dried grease. As for cluster removal.....you really are making more work than you need. Just lube the cable from the trans end and feed it back inside the sleeve. If you want to remove the cluster....be prepared for some work: http://www.buickperformance.com/cluster.htm
Sometimes when the internals in the speedo are "chirping" it is because the speedo cable is just a tad to long. Make sure the the drive portion of the cable isn't "loading up"the head unit because it is maybe a 1/16" or 1/8" too long.-Mike D.
George, thank you for responding. I looked at the link to your site, and it does look like a lot of work. Are you telling me that I can pull the cable out from the trans end? I did not think that was possible, I thought that it only came out from the speedo end. Do I have to remove anything from the trans end of the cable to do this, or will it slip out like at the top? The trans end is much easier to work with. Thanks again. o No: Regards, John.
