Odometer going KAPUT. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

lietuviai · #1 04-29-2004, 04:49 PM

Yesterday I thought I was getting some terrible MPG's on my 300D but then I noticed that my odometer wasn't moving. I clicked the trip reset knob a bunch of times and it got going for another 49.9 miles and it stuck again. My speedometer itself looks likes it working OK. Is there something broken or does something need to be lubed for it to work again.

Eric Eliel · #2 04-29-2004, 04:55 PM

This was discussed about 4 or 8 weeks ago. You'll need to pull instrument cluster and pull out offending shaft. Rough it up and re-insert it. Do the search, I just did this although I went the long way about it.

lietuviai · #3 04-29-2004, 05:05 PM

Thanks for the clue Eric. What key words did you use? I tried a search on it but got too much other stuff to try to filter out. I only have very slow dial up internet so clicking back and forth between the threads exhausted my patience.
Anyway, I'll pull the cluster and try what you suggested.

rickg · #4 04-29-2004, 05:14 PM

Another thing I recall form a discussion awhile ago, was it was hard on the odometer drive gears to hit the trip odometer reset button while the car is moving. (I know Audis don't like that a bit, and I think they got their speedos from the same source as Benz)

Eric Eliel · #5 04-29-2004, 05:14 PM

Since I tried to copy and paste the thread from the IP address, it was too long.

I think its thread #90607?

Search "drill bit", exact phrase, diesel discussion.

I started the thread and Frank Mulone had a better way to do this with a drill bit.

#6 04-29-2004, 07:56 PM

Search for "odometer digit misalignment" in the "Tech Help" subforum. It was an easy fix. The center pin pulled out, probably when my wife reset the trip odometer while the car was moving.

lietuviai · #7 04-29-2004, 08:24 PM

Thanks guys for the clues to finding the threads I needed. It looks like it'll be a simple fix once I get the speedometer out of the cluster. My best bet will be to carefully get some epoxy on the shaft without gumming up the works.
I've never reset the trip meter while driving down the road before. In fact it stopped at 129.9 miles. I only did it this time to see if the odometer would start working again and it did until it was just about to turn past 49.9 miles which I guess it got loose again.

P.E.Haiges · #8 04-30-2004, 11:48 AM

liet,

JB weld will fix your problem.

P E H

FrankM · #9 04-30-2004, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lietuviai
My best bet will be to carefully get some epoxy on the shaft without gumming up the works.

best way is to knurl the shaft so that it fits very tight into the metal gear..
I knick the shaft with a small pair of wire cutters..
If the knurled area is to big and extends beyong the metal gear, you will have the other digits/gears turning as fast as the white digit..

if you have glue there then it is most likely ruined at this point.

lietuviai · #10 04-30-2004, 05:41 PM

PEH and Frank, appreciate the tips .

dieseldiehard · #11 04-30-2004, 06:00 PM

While having my speedometer calibrated at Palo Alto Speedometer (http://www.paspeedo.com/about.htm) I asked if they could clean the odometer wheels. My odometer was so dirty that some of the digits were almost impossible to read especially at night (thanks to MB's poor illumination)
They said cleaning seldom works on hi-milers (mine was at 260K) but for an extra $35 they said they would install a new set of odometer wheels, which sounded like a lot but as long as I was spending big money to get the calibration done (I had swapped a different differential into my 300TD) I said go for it. It looks like brand new and doesn't slip either.
I don't know if Phil can get VDO parts or not that would be a way to save $ if you wanted to pursue this approach.
DDH

lietuviai · #12 04-30-2004, 06:08 PM

I actually have a couple of extra odometer tumblers from other types of cars and I'm going to see if they might fit for the heck of it.

lietuviai · #13 04-30-2004, 08:06 PM

I took the speedometer out and I made the mistake of removing the pin for the trip meter. It had a couple of brass spacers which decided to play hide and seek with me. I found one and the other is MIA. I thought this was the one you guys had meant because it was the easier one to remove. I was thinking that the odometer shaft was not the one to remove because it has a pressed on brass retining ring. SO I next fought with the brass retainer on the odometer shaft. I got it off. Then I tried to slip a piece of copper wire the same diameter as the odometer shaft. I got it in but I had trouble with the tumblers which now I'm having trouble realigning correctly and the star gear fell out that drives the trip odometer. I'm too big of a klutz to work on something this delicate. I'm going to try to put it back as best I can so at least I can have a working speedometer.
I wish the speedometer face was removable but I can't get the needle off. It would be real easy to realign the numbers then.
I guess I'm going to have to keep a look out for another speedometer now.

lietuviai · #14 05-06-2004, 08:00 PM

After repeatedly trying to put the odometer numbers back I was successful. It been running for nearly a week now and I seem to have done it right. It just took the right amount of patience and sitting on the couch while in front of the TV to do it. The hardest thing was to get all the numbers to align the right way.

dieseldiehard · #15 05-06-2004, 10:11 PM

now you appreciate why those shops charge what they do for this kind of work, at least I do. precision, persistence and patience that pays off
DDH