Help...revisiting the speedo cable bounce???

Bottomlesspit

I started the longest tech thread in the known uni
Founding Member
Jan 1, 1999
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Del Rio, TX
Hi all,
Still trying to piece this 92 hatch back together inside.
The speedo needle had been bouncing real bad at speeds below 30. I pulled the old cable out and replaced the entire thing...sheath and cable. I did the search thing here and got a mixed amount of suggestions on proper lube of the cable. I tried using graphite first. Got it back together and yes, the low speed bounce was gone, but then it was doing a high speed drift...above 40mph the needle would just float around +- 30mph!
Yuck, so I pulled the cable out and cleaned it off, then tried regular all-purpose grease. This time it was smooth as silk...for about a week. Now it's back to bouncy needle. Each time I drive it seems to bounce at a different speed...sometimes around 20, sometimes around 45, etc. At times it's smooth as silk, then after starting out from a stop it starts to bounce/wiggle at whatever speed.
There is a new driven gear that is in excellent shape going into the transmission.
Is there a grease i can use to solve this issue once and for all? I am nearing the point where I put the instrument cluster and housing all back together, so I would like to get this thing done right.
Thanks for helping out again,
Ken
 
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It usually means the speedo gear is toast or not correct. Never heard of special greasing. somemtimes the low speed bounce you may have to get used too pending on the numerical gear and the type of speedo gear you have.
 
Mine always does that once it starts to get cold out, It started doing a few weeks ago. I tried some oil one time and it fixed it for a while but came back every year. I was thinking about getting a new one, they're pretty cheap from what I remember. I don't think it's a gear issue just because mine's fine till it gets cold out. Anybody know where I can get a good cable?
 
Yeah, I know the 3.73 gears and speedo gears aren't a perfect match. I do, however, know that this particular setup has worked in another mustang just fine...in terms of a steady needle.
What I noticed is after greasing up the cable the last time the needle really worked great for about a week, then slowly started it's bouncing routine. It was like the lube dried up and let the needle start to bounce again...getting worse each week. Since it can go a week being nice and steady at all speeds, it leads me to believe it has the potential to do the job. I'm just hoping I haven't done the lube with the right stuff yet and there is still hope for me!
I did think about the weather temps, but we have been pretty consistent here running in the 80s.
Any other ideas or thoughts?
Thanks,
Ken
 
This may not be helpful, but here's what I know.

The cable uses a graphite based grease on the lower half of the cable. The idea is that the lower half gets greased so that the lubricant does not work its way up into the speedo head. If the lubricant ends up between the rotating magnet and drum that moves the indicator needle, the speedo head is toast.
 
Thanks JR.
I don't find any lubricant high up on the cable end, but also don't know the history of the car either. I just find it funny how the cable works great for about a week after being lubed, then starts to get the wiggles after that. I'm going to pull it one last time and take a look.
Thanks for the info,
Ken