Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkenvol
Well I repaired my odometer. The shaft running through the center of all the numbered wheels had one of the gears become loose on one end. I slid the shaft out and a like sized drill bit in from the other side to keep everything in line. Once out, I scored the slipping end and reinserted pushing out the drill bit. Had to tap it back into the other gear that was slipping so I assumed a firm connection.
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1988 190E 2.3, identical loose gear problem. Odometer sometimes ok on cold days, but really slips on warm days and numbers stand still. Purchased car recently and suspect actual mileage is much higher than indicated. Saw one suggestion using careful application of super glue, but didn't want to try that in such a closely fitted mechanism. Scoring the odometer shaft looked like a much better idea. Small conflict on chasing the shaft out with a drill bit. Rather than risk further disassembly, I filed a little notch in the odometer frame to allow axial access. See photo. #33 drill bit (0.113 inch) worked fine, just barely long enough at 2.75 inches.
Wasn't sure what sort of 'scoring' would work on the shaft, so I just took the vise-grips to it, figuring no material would be removed, merely rearranged. See photo. Evidently that was overkill, since aggressive tapping was required to force that deformed shaft back into the drive gear. Solid connection now.
Electric drill test looks good. I use a short length of 1/4-inch nylon zip-tie to couple the drill to the odometer cable fitting. Kind of loose and eccentric but not likely to do any damage (wear eye protection). My variable speed drill goes up to 75 mph (turning counter-clockwise). Real test will be an 800 mile road trip this weekend. I may finally get some valid miles-per-gallon data.