My 71 Centurion speedometer is making a pulsing noise when driving at a low speed like under 20 mph. The noise disappears at higher speeds. Anyone know this problem and have some advise on what I can do to quiet it down?
Me Too Hey, I have an 86 Regal limited and I have the same problem. I've thought about opening up my dash and spraying a lil WD-40 on something back there. Just haven't taken time to do it and I usually forget about it 'cuz my music is usually up.
Might be time to lubricate the cable. If it starts to bind up inside the cable housing, it'll behave like a torsional spring, winding up & releasing itself every other revolution or so, which you can hear at lower speeds. GM used to sell speedo cable lubricant, a thick grease. I don't know if they do anymore or not, sorry! Devon
It's time to lube the cable, You don't need to yank the dash or anything, you can reach it from under the hood.
Unscrew the cable from the side of the trans. Slide out the inner drive cable. Coat it with lithium grease and re-insert. All noise will disappear.
I had a new cable fail in my 82 regal after only 131 miles, inner cable was "unraveled" on both ends, seized up while driving. what caused this? should I lube the new cable I just installed?????
I had a similar problem after hosing down my dash (had a fire). It was the odometer, though. Eventually the odometer froze up (which is how I learned it was the odometer). Definitely get some lube in there.
Speedo cable lube ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . . . am I missing something Trevor ? I like Georges idea better ! :TU: . . . or is that what you meant ? o No:
Hey George,what do you do if you can't get the cable out from the side of the tranny.I've tried pulling mine out to lube it because of the same problem but I can't get it to budge. I can get the connection loose but can't get the cable out.It shouldn't be in a bind I wouldn't think because the speedo is accurate and the needle doesn't bounce.o No:
You sure lubing the cable from the side of the tranny will cure this? Mine sounds like its coming from behind the dash and my needle bounces a lil at low speedsl.
George is right. You undo the tranny connection, then you slide the drive cable right out of the outer housing (the outer housing stays in place)...lube it as he said and you have now lubed the entire speedometer cable right into the speedo itself. If you still have noise the speedo is screwed or the cable is worn out. Chances are it will be good. When re-installing you will probably have to turn it some to get it to feed back through outer housing and also to make sure the square cable end engages the speedometer properly. The noise is from the curve into the back of the speedo. As the lube wears away or gets hard, the cable binds on the outer housing...this causes noise and needle bounce.
I remember the original GM lubricant was a very heavy grease, heavier than axle grease. Almost the consistency of RTV silicone in the midst of setting up. Lighter stuff might work too, but probably wouldn't be as durable and would tend to migrate back down due to gravity. You definitely don't want to use a dry lubricant here! Devon
guess I'll pull the new inner cable out and lube it up before driving my regal maybe I'll check the cables in our van too,as the speedo in it bounces all over while driving. I assume wheel bearing grease would not work
where the 72 model cars connection of the speedometer to the cable assembly sealed or could they be separated like the 70 models ?
Speedo lube Way back in the 'good ole days' they used dry powdered graphite to lube the inner steel cable from the outside steel sleeve (because of temperature extremes) and the spinning action of the inner cable used to act like a pump and draw tranny fluid up the cable to the speedo head where it would proceed to leak after a period of time - usually on or about the lap area of whoever was driving the vehicle at that particular time. :shock: :eek2: :TU:
My speedo needle was bouncing and making noise. I pulled the inner cable out as mentioned above and re-greesed it. It looked a little beat up though. sure enough I still had the noise. New cable from Autozone was $8 Hardest part was reaching up under the dash to find the clip that holds it to the cable to the speedo. Quiet as a mouse now...
Sounds like Curtis disconnected the cable housing from the back of the speedo. There's a small spring-loaded tab back there that you have to depress to pull the housing away. Not necessary for a cable replacement, you can just leave the housing connected at the speedo and R&R the cable from the trans connection...much easier. But, if housing damage caused cable damage, then they both gatta go. Devon
