Speedometer cable lubricant
 

W124 1995 E320.
What would you guys recommend as a lubricant for the speedometer cable?
Sometimes the speedo needle flickers.

If you're going through the trouble of removing the cable to lubricate it, you're probably better off just replacing the cable with a new one. Pennywise, pound foolish applies to this, I believe. Fastlane has them for under $40

There actually is a speedo cable lube that is sold in auto parts stores. I believe the active ingredient is graphite.

But speedo needle flicker is usually caused by a kinked cable. Make sure the cable travels through the various areas unimpeded and there are no sharp curves (or kinks).

It's a bit early in the car's life to warrant cable replacement unless it was damaged in some fashion...

I used a couple of drops of EP90 put in from the speedo end after removing the instruments. No problems since.

I have found that a liquid graphite suspension is good for this, if you can find it in liquid form. Even if the oil gets depleted over time, the graphite will remain.
Some manuals I have seen for various cars have suggested using ATF, or a very thin oil that is capable of soaking down the cable.
With persistance, you can usually get in to start dripping on the tranny end, which indicates you really got it.

I usually put a wrap of electrical tape around the jacket end to form a 'well', then keep filling it until oil runs out the other end.

I once saw a tool that clamped to a cable end, had a zerk fitting, and would allow one to pump grease into a cable. Thought that was a great idea, but did not buy it at the time, and I have not seen one since. Web search came up empty. Anyone who has seen such a tool, let me know...

Can the actual drive cable be pulled out from the cable housing on the Mercedes? On some of my old English cars, I would just pull out the inner cable from the trans end, wipe it off and grease it with some lightweight grease. I think I used white lithium grease, iirc. Then it's just a matter of feeding it back into the housing and twisting it till it engages the speedo. I did this every couple of years and I never had one break or wear out.

Gary

On the old English cars, the ENTIRE driveline may come out if you pull on ANYTHING!