Odometer not working
 

Odo isn't working but speedo is. I found the excellent pictorial by DieselGiant on repairing it but wanted to know if there was anyone with something to add and if there is a source for the gears that might be broken (white plastic ones according to the pictorial). I haven't pulled the dash yet, I figure I'll do it this evening so if I completely wreck something, I'll have Friday to find parts. I am also assuming the odo is the same or similar across models and whether it is a diesel or gas vehicle. Mine is an '88 300TE.

Thanks

Odo repair '88 W124
 

OK, the speedo is NOT the same design as the one described by DieselGiant for his car. :mad:

However, it is very similar and appears to be an "improvement" upon the earlier design :) , but with the same results :( . The pot metal gear has been moved to the opposite end of the gear shaft, but still comes loose. You gotta love those German engineers, once they have a part, they won't give up on it. :rolleyes:
Maybe they did that so we would have an easier time applying Loctite with our toothpicks.

Anyway, the new problem is the shaft working its way out of the pot metal gear to the point the drive gear loses mesh with the worm gear at the opposite end of the shaft. At this point, everything stops and at least it doesn't get any worse. You can just press the drive gear shaft back into the pot metal gear and reassemble the dash and hope for the best. However, I went a step further which requires removing the pointer and faceplate.

I partially disassembled it to the point where I was able to score the gear just a little bit, enough so the shaft was tight on the gear. At least, I'm assuming that's what I did. It could also be a tiny piece of toothpick got stuck between the shaft and gear with the same result (maybe even better).

So I will take some pictures and post them for anyone who needs to check it out.

Bob K