Speedometer on my 1964 Buick Lesabre convertible is jumpy. I assume its a cable drive, can I just put a new cable in? Where do I get cable? How do I put it in?
I fixed this in a car one time by unscrewing the cable from the back of the speedo and shooting lithium grease down the cable/tube.
Yup, GM actually specified heavy lithium grease as speedometer cable lubricant. Still got a tube somewhere. Devon
The other end is at the trans. I used lithium that was in a spray can. Shooting don into the cable. Gravity and the spinning of the cable probably helped move it down.
X2, spray with the little red straw is the easiest way to do it. I used the thick stuff in the tube. I knew it wouldn't "travel" very well, but cable and sleeve were out of the car...so I removed the cable from the sleeve, coated it, installed in the sleeve then installed the assembly in the car. And made a mess the whole way. But it solved my jumpy speedometer problem! Worst case, sometimes the inside diameter of the sleeve wears, then the lubricant may only be a temporary fix. Devon
Pull the speedometer from the dash, which can be done without removing the entire dash. Then carefully clean the old dried lithium grease from between the gear's teeth. It will likely take a small scraper with a sharp point. I used gun cleaning tools. Once the old lube is removed relube with a little white lithium grease. Before reassembling, lube the cable from the top down to the bottom. Removing the cable from the transmission will let you know when the cable is fully lubed. Reassemble and it should be very steady at all speeds. Lube alone without cleaning won't cut it...I tried it myself
Thanks all! I'm going with 64 wilcat conv's advice. Funny, derek244, I thought the same thing, but after driving it quite a bit still jumpy.
