| Author | Message | ||
     Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 53 Registered: 2-2004 |
B14BH is making noises behind the speedometer. I hope it's the cable not the head. I haven't been able to remove the inner from the gearbox end (don't want to pull too hard) and the bottom flange will not allow it to come out the top. Do I remove it and feed lubricant down? I want to avoid oil in the head and the last 300mm is downhill from the firewall. The speedo needle is steady and not flicking as I would have expected. I can't hear it very clearly but seem to feel it in the cable outer. Any clues? Thanks Carl | ||
| NORMAN GEESON Unregistered guest Posted From: 82.6.223.129 |
Carl Sometimes these cables have been reconnected, after dashboard removal, and the threaded knurled nut has not been screwed up or engaged correctly in the speedo head. From the underside, draw out the radio if needed, try checking the knurled nut, and outer cable for firm engagement. The inner cable cannot be removed from either end. I would avoid using lubricant but it might be worth removing the cable and repositioning it slightly so inner and outer are in a different position relative to each other. As a matter of interest, does your speedo have a main beam warning light at the 12 o'clock position? (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 54 Registered: 2-2004 |
Thanks Norman, I will certainly check and adjust the cable though I have not disturbed the back of the dash for at least 30,000 miles or 6 years. I does or course leak water in through the vent in extreme weather, of which we have a lot here. I wondered if I could soak lubricant through the flexible outer by building a well around it. I assume there is a lining between the inner and outer. The speedometer does not have a hi-beam indicator position so I have removed a blanking plug at the rear and fitted a red bulb so the entire speedo is lit red on hi-beam. Interestingly all the instrument needles including the clock are red also. On another tack, in a couple of weeks I will be collecting B229FU which was dismantled in the '70 and left outside with the doors and the head off for, I think, about 10 years. The body is not beyond recovery but I have bought the body from B27AJ which (I am assured)is in good useable condition in and out. So that will give me a task for a few weeks! There, I have admitted it. The madness continues. Carl | ||
| Norman Geeson Unregistered guest Posted From: 82.6.223.129 |
Carl Nice way of getting around the lack of a high beam indicator. I only asked because this type of speedo is not too common. If you really get stuck I have one that has not been used since 1968.Presently I am using it as a pattern to produce re-calibrated speedo faces with high geared axles. I am fairly sure you cannot soak lubricant through the cable otherwise water would enter during the cable's path under the car. Try temporarily disconnecting the cable on the firewall at the engine side and repositioning it slightly in the hope that it will alter the inner cable tracking. Please be sure to do something about that bad weather for me. I am due in Sydney on two occasions on my way to/ from NZ in 8 and 11 weeks time, I want none of it! (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 55 Registered: 2-2004 |
Well after taking the radio out (modern) and getting my hand up into the wiring, I found the cable did have some movement. Managed to tighten it up and test drove. It did seem to have stopped the noise. But between deafness, noisy roads and noisy car (it's had a hard life), very difficult to be sure. Then this afternoon I opened the right side bonnet only to see the broken bonnet hinge bracket on the firewall. Weld, weld, grind, grind, Bob's yr aunty! Haven't tested but I bet that noise is gone and a few others. By the state of the outside of the cable I dont think lubrication is a problem! Many thanks Norman and I will keep you posted. | ||
| Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 56 Registered: 2-2004 |
Well the 3k drive home again was so much quieter. The bonnet support bracket must have been broken for some time. I had noticed an increase in noise levels for months but had attributed this to the general condition and road surface. (My sub-standard ears make noise location extremely difficult). I open the bonnet at least every week as I don't drive without a check of fluids first. I am disappointed I missed the clues. | ||
| Bill Vatter Frequent User Username: bill_vatter Post Number: 56 Registered: 9-2004 |
Perhaps your modern radio is very easy to remove. The original radios are a bit cumbersome. With the original radio and possibly with a modern radio it is easier to get at the speedo and cable by going through the front of the fascia. First remove all knobs. The small ones with push-pull function all screw off. The large ones that turn (Heater and demister on some models) have a grub screw. Usually the grub screw goes through the shaft not just against it so you will need to take the screw completely out. The push buttons and indicator lights need no attention for removal of the fascia panel. Four or five screws hold the flat instrument fascia in place. Two of the screws are at the bottom projecting upwards from underneath and clamp the fascia in place against some structural hardware. I am unsure which direction you turn the screws because the coachbuilt cars have a similar scheme but the screws don't all turn to loosen in the same direction. Some turn left and some right. Just be aware you may need to turn them clockwise to loosen. Note these screws at the bottom do not come out. They just loosen where they clamp so the panel can move away from its mounting. There are 2 or 3 screws at the top edge of the flat instrument fascia. (Again some confusion between coachbuilders; some have 2 and some 3.) Now the instrument fascia should move away. The cigar lighter may be still hanging on by a wire. You can let it hang or remove the wire. Under the bonnet, loosen the ground wire clamp on the speedo cable to allow slack cable to be drawn into the car through the grommet. You may need to loosen another speedo cable clamp lower down also. There is enough length in the cable to allow the speedo to be drawn out if its mounting far enough to get at whatever you want, but those mounting clamps may restrict its movement. The speedo is fastened to the structural framework with three cheese-head screws that are directly accessible. When the speedo is loose, it will still be hanging on by the cable and also the illumination wiring. Spring clips hold the wiring and bulb holders in place on the speedo, but they can be moved sideways to free the wire and bulbs. Careful don't lose the bulbs. Remove the speedo from the cable by turning the knurled cable attaching nut counter clockwise as you look at it from the back side of the speedo. Now with the speedo out of the car, you can run it up to speed with your variable-speed electric drill. Chuck up something in your drill that will engage the square hole in the speedo drive. You can see if the fault lies in the speedo in this way. The cable should be oiled. You can't pull the inside piece all the way out, but you can extend it enough to get oil in there to run down inside and get everything lubricated. Extra oil will just seep out at the bottom. Hold the cable up so the oil you put in runs down inside the cable. While you have the speedo out, it is worthwhile opening it up to lube the odometer gear shafts. After time, dried out lubricant results in sufficient resistance to create enough drag that the fibre gear wears and eventually strips its teeth. Then one or both of the mile counters stops working. I have no idea where to get a new gear, so take care of the one you have. The speedo drive system is of the irresistible force type, so if something is stuck, something breaks. That will be the fibre gear. Put a drop of sewing-machine oil on the gear shafts. To get inside the speedo, turn the black ring that holds the glass until the gaps line up with the tabs allowing it to come away from the speedo. Take off the glass. There are two (three?) screws on the back of the speedo that attach the case to the innards. Then the case will come off the speedo allowing access to the gears. |
