Worst fears: T5 Worm Gear problem, need advice

[omarECD]

Worst fears: T5 speedometer drive (worm) Gear problem, need advice

My speedo/odo stopped working on my 89 GT so I thought it would be a simple fix to replace the speedo cable and/or the speedo gear. The old speedo cable was definitely shot because it got melted by the exhaust.

Did that, still didn't work. I even turned the speedo gear by hand and the cable was turning with it. So I looked inside the tranny where the speedo gear is inserted and noticed that nothing was there. All I saw were the metal walls inside. I even put my finger inside and all I could feel was smooth metal inside, there was also a hole on the side of the wall and I could feel what I thought was the outside of the worm gear but I'm not sure, it might have been it because it moved when I put some pressure on it, but it was pretty much impossible to get it back into the correct position.

So I'm guessing this is gonna be a huge job for a stupid little worm gear right? Remove and disassemble tranny, nice. How did this even happen? I can't do this myself so I'm gonna have to bring it somewhere. How much do you think a job like this will cost me, should I bring it to a regular mechanic or to a transmission (specialty) shop?

Here is the gear I think I need:

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/iwwida.pvx?;item?item_no=LRS-17285B 1&comp=LRS

This really sucks because I was just about to sell my car and its got 78,000 original miles- but who is gonna believe that when the odometer is broken? The car is otherwise in excellent shape. Am I better off fixing the worm gear (could cost alot) or selling the car the way it is?

Thanks for your help.

 

[trbkrb]

I have heard of it shifting position before. It is held in place by a pin or clip. Someone that is experienced can fix it with the tranny still in the car since it involves just removing the tailshaft housing, but the trick is getting the housing back into position, easier done with the tranny out of the car.

My guestimate, probably $200 -300 or so to have someone fix it would be within reason. I'd just call around and tell them what you need, the speedometer worm drive gear on your T5 output shaft has moved out of position. Most likely a tranny shop could do it pretty easily and cheaper, I would think.

If the car only has 78,000 miles, a carfax should reveal that fact to a buyer. But of course if the speedo works, that would be better.

Good luck!

 

[omarECD]

How many hours of labor do you guys think it would take a tranny shop to fix it?

Also, what parts might I need besides the speedometer drive gear, I've heard the clip that holds the speedometer gear might be broken, where can I find that?

I wanna have all the parts ready for the shop to hopefully make this quick and painless...

 

[mikemustang289]

What did your speedo gear look like when you pulled it out?

That seems odd that the drive gear would move. They are a pretty tight fit onto the output shaft, usually takes a hammer to get them on/off. The clip that holds the gear on is fixed to the main shaft by a bent tab that goes into a small hole drilled in the shaft. I've tried pulling the gears off not knowing how the clip worked and they will not budge unless you depress the clip.

Is your trans rebuilt? perhaps the guy who rebuilt it didn't install the clip. I would get a flashlight and see if you can see the gear, it sits pretty low in the bore so it may not be visible depending on the angle you're looking from under the car. You should be able to feel it though if you wedge your finger in there.

 

[DeadLifter]

It's not hard to take the tail shaft housing off just take the drive shaft out and unbolt it. May have to take cross member out it's been quite awhile since I've did it, but if you have a jack, jack stand, and some wrenches it's not hard at all.