Speedo cable lube
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,511
Likes: 684
From: Folsom Ca
Speedo cable lube
I recently bought a new Speedo cable from Deluxe, and I don’t recall reading anything about needing to lube it prior to use. I made the assumption it was pre lubed.
anyway, last Sunday I was out for a drive , with about 40 miles on the new cable…. I heard a few random noises (sounded like something slapping the floor or firewall), then the speedometer quit working, but I still heard a whirrng noise coming from under the floor. I figured the Speedo cable must have been binding and then snapped and the whirring was probably the frayed end still spinning inside the casing.
Nothing I could do so I continued home (another 10 miles). By the time I was approaching home, the whirring had subsided almost completely…
So time for a new cable…
This morning, I took my car to the local Cars & Coffee event ( about 6 miles away), and to my surprise, the Speedo worked the entire time, with no noises!
not sure what’s going on.
but I figured perhaps I should lube the cable ( and the replacement tach cable).
what should I use? Is there a readily available cable lube? Or some other product? Lube from the bottom okay? Or do I need to pull the cluster again and lube from the top?
I have heard I don’t want too much lube, but how much do I need?
anyway, last Sunday I was out for a drive , with about 40 miles on the new cable…. I heard a few random noises (sounded like something slapping the floor or firewall), then the speedometer quit working, but I still heard a whirrng noise coming from under the floor. I figured the Speedo cable must have been binding and then snapped and the whirring was probably the frayed end still spinning inside the casing.
Nothing I could do so I continued home (another 10 miles). By the time I was approaching home, the whirring had subsided almost completely…
So time for a new cable…
This morning, I took my car to the local Cars & Coffee event ( about 6 miles away), and to my surprise, the Speedo worked the entire time, with no noises!
not sure what’s going on.
but I figured perhaps I should lube the cable ( and the replacement tach cable).
what should I use? Is there a readily available cable lube? Or some other product? Lube from the bottom okay? Or do I need to pull the cluster again and lube from the top?
I have heard I don’t want too much lube, but how much do I need?
1967 Pedal Car Champion
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 9,205
Likes: 4,295
From: US-PNW
If you do use any lube, go easy on it – doesn't take much, just a light smear between the fingers. If too much it can migrate up the cable as it spins and contaminate the speedo head.
