I'm stunned and amazed, but somehow I removed, repaired and replaced my instrument panel/odometer and it all works. What an afternoon.

Thanks to diesel giant and all the other posts here I had some good guidance. However, there are always wrinkles. For me, I scored the shaft the number gears are on too much and I couldn't force it back in and onto the pot metal gear. Sooooooo, I had to pull the whole thing out. I put in the drill bit as directed to keep the alignment, smoothed out the shaft a bit, and in the process one or two gears moved. Trying to correct these proved impossible, and before I knew it, every number was off and wrong.

I then pulled all the gears out, as diesel giant shows. But the hard part is the little grey gears on their own shaft. In order to get everything back together I had to pull that shaft out, which required unburling one of the ends. Got the main gear shaft back in, numbers aligned, and then, and only then, reinserted the small grey gear shaft and while maintaining number alignment with tape and precision, matched the grey gears into the geared gaps between the numbers.

Almost lost all hope with how much I had to tear out and lever and bend and pull. Was sure I had ruined my speedometer with it bouncing around despite my great care.

After about 4 hours of work, I miraculously got it all to go back together, and the pot metal gear was stuck enough on the shaft to not rotate but not so tight a fit I couldn't get it on.

Just test drove and everything works perfectly. What a job.

Nothing I read here mentioned removing the shaft of the little grey gears, and but I found that indispensable in my situation, given that I had to reorder the numbers.

Biggest advice to anyone doing this is to pull the main shaft out just far enough to get access, and burl it only slightly with your visegrips or wire cutters, but be very careful not to burl it too much. If I had done this, I would have saved enormous frustration and fear!!

Happy again, and with a working odometer

__________________
Where there's a will there's a way
1978 300D

I reccomend not pulling the shaft all the way out too. Of course mine only worked for a few hundred miles before it started slipping again.

I think the green locktite is the trick, I used the red stuff.

__________________
1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

I agree, you have to be careful, my repair has lasted over 100K miles. I was afraid to use locktite or glue so I just put a couple of "burrs" in the shaft with some diagonal cutters.

So, Did you even bother to take 50,000 miles off of the car, in the process?...All that trouble, I think I might have taken atleast that much off of the thing, maybe 100k..lol. I don't know, That might be a bit un-ethical though.

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

At this point, it's more tempting to add miles than subtract them.

Ok, You lost me at add miles...

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Lots of miles is kind of an endurance status symbol.

I can't see how one can apply loctite to the area of the shaft where it isneeded without glueing it shut (to the housing). I followed Diesel giants tutorial to identify the gear that is slipping and it was very useful in that respect. But after looking at it closely I came to the conclusion that it is better and safer to not disassemble it per the tutorial. Just pull the shaft out enough to "knurl" it with cutters (to increase shaft diameter) and tap it back in and the job is done. I fixed my odo last summer and it is still working fine.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I agree. the Green loctite is SOOO permanent, and knowing exactly how much to use is dangerous! even a slight bit too much, and you destroy the odo. I'm sure it can be done, but I don't wanna try it. maybe on one of my spare speedo's.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

It looked impossible to use loctite (or any adhesive) and not end up glueing the shaft to the housing plate thus glueing it shut. This was a year ago so my memory could be clouded.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Island300D, I am surprised you couldn't get the over "knurled" shaft in. If you tapped it with a small hammer with small succesive blows I think it would have went in. You know that it will never slip again.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I agree with those saying they can't imagine getting loctite in there safely. Having gone through the hell of fully dismantling the whole works, I would highly recommend avoiding it! If I have to do mine again (Please NO) I will pull the shaft out just far enough to roughen it again and put it back. Up to that point, it is easy, just a bunch of screws and stuff.

I tried everything to get that shaft back into the pot metal gear but guess I had roughened it too much. I pushed with all my strength and tapped it as much as possible with a light hammer. Nothing doing. When I pulled the whole works apart I had to take some fine sandpaper to smooth the shaft out enough to make it work. Like I had said, I was really to eager with how I scored the shaft the first time.

No I didn't add or subtract miles. Damn, would have been SO much easier if I didn't want the miles to match what had been. The hardest part of the whole process was aligning the numbered gears with the grey sequencing gears so that the right numbers show in the window. Minute rotations make a big difference!! She is right back to 189,233 or so.

__________________
Where there's a will there's a way
1978 300D

I pulled it apart far enough to slip a needle-nose vice grip in there, clamped down really hard on it a couple of times to make some good grooves underneath where the metal gear rides on the shaft, and pushed it back together. It's worked perfectly for the last few thousand miles.

__________________
1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

That is what I'm going to do when I re-do the job. The gap is so small where the lock tite needs to go that I had to use a single layre of paper as a brush to apply it. I really don't think I got much in there.

__________________
1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine