Hi Everyone,

Well one weekend ago I was trying to change the rubber seal that covers the speedometer cable and is placed on the firewall. The current one was broke and I could literally see inside the car from the engine...

Anyway... I did not know how to change it... and probably should of asked you guys before fooling around with it. I tried pulling the cable from both directions but it seemed sort of tight... I pulled the hardest on the end that goes to a black rubber tube and stopped when I saw little bits of liquid coming out. I then said "what the heck am I doing" and tried pushing back down into the rubber tube but am not sure if I pushed it all the way down.

So after I finished working on the car... I noticed the speedometer was sort of 'wobbly' during the lower speeds...0 to 40 mph...

Any ideas on how to fix my skrew-up or should I just bite the bullet and pay for my curiosity and have a professional do it. Please advise.

SB

You will need a new cable...

After you have pulled/pushed the cable, it has (probably) been damaged and needs to be replaced to get rid of the wobbling needle.
The speedo cable cannot stand a lot of pushing/pulling.

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

I agree with Mbenz, your tug-o-war probably pushed (or should I say pulled) the old cable's limit. Check PartsShop and/or FastLane for a replacement cable. One end is attached to the back of the speedo head and the other is attached to the speedo drive on the left side of the tranny, just above the crossmember. For ease of replacement, attach the speedo head end first, then attach to the drive gear. The rubber grommet you wish to replace came already mounted on my new cable.

Word of caution: The replacement cables are the exact length, there is no "extra slack", make sure you route the cable where the old one was, you should have no problem.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Hey Mike, when are we going to get to see your '73 280 SEL 4.5?

Patsy

Patsy,

There is a nice shot of it on the opening page of the sub-frame mount DIY article.

But here is the shot so you don't have to go hunting for it.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Gorgeous! What a great color, thanks for the treat. Patsy

Thanks guys... I'll order the part from FASTLANE today. Question? to install the new cable a) is it difficult and b) do I have to jack the car up?

SB

PS: Mike you do have a very nice car.... S-WEET!!!!!

Wishing you well, SB.

Spunky cars I see.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

SB,

Either jack the car up and support on stands, or use a set of ramps, as you'll need a little room to get underneath. For a short job like this I would prefer to use ramps. If you use jack stands, be sur eand take appropriate measures to ensure the stands are secure and the vehicle solidly supported.

The job isn't that hard, just a PITA. Tight quarters coming through the firewall, alongside the brake booster and around the steering shaft. Once all that is taken care of you are home free. As for removing the old cable, you might want to remove the speedometer drive gear from the tranny housing before you remove the cable from the drive gear. The rubber crush seal might be stuck to the gear, and there isn't room to pop it out. DO NOT wiggle the old cable back and forth to loosen. I did that and promptly broke 1/2 of the split collar off the drive gear. Had I off pulled the gear first, I could have made a straight pull to break the seal. Attach the new cable to the speedometer head first and to the drive gear last, then stick the drive gear back in the tranny housing and align the bolt hole.

Piece of cake.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

I needed to unscrew the speedometer cable before to get the dash unit out and change a burnt light bulb. It was wobbly, all I did was unscrew it and rescrew it and it was fixed. But in your case, I dont think that solution will work, a replacement is probably best.

Thanks Johnson,
Your suggestion sparks another question of mine... I was trying to change my light bulbs in the speedometer and was not sure how to get them out. There are two that are mounted on the top and I didn't want to break the thing trying to lift up those tabs. Could you please advise?

Thanks again for the advice

-SB

Hello,

Ok, I am assuming your doing the dash lights in the 240 (123), my 84 300D Turbo should be the same as yours, although I cannot say for sure.

You need to gently use flat screwdrivers and pry the speedo assembly out of the dashboard. They make a special tool for this, but I managed to use screwdrivers before and got away with it. Then you would unscrew the speedometer cable to get enough room to get back there, or in my case, remember where everything went and just unplug it all.

After you get the dash assembly out, remove the light bulbs and replace them one by one. I recomend changing all of them, they are not that expensive, like 10 bucks or something if I remember correctly, it will save you the hassle of pulling the assembly out a few months later if another one was going to go out.

then reverse the process and before you decide to push it back in firmly, take it for a test drive and see if the speedo wobbles, and make sure all the light come on, etc. If all is a go, then firmly push it back in place and your set.

Johnson

SB,

Once you have the cluster pulled out of the dash you'll see how easy it is. Depending on the type of sockets you have, it is a matter of pushing in and turning or simply turning the socket. Replacing the sockets in the cluster is the reverse. The bulbs attach to the socket, simple push in type bulbs. I believe FastLane has the proper 12v3w Osram bulbs for $.50 each, should take about $6 to $7 worth of bulbs to rejuvenate the instrument lighting. Makes a world of difference. Before replacing mine, I could barely see the speedo and fuel gauge, the water temp, oil pressure and odometer were unreadable plus the clock was awfully dim.

Now my dash looks like Las Vegas at night !

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.