Does it just pull off? How do you keep it oriented correctley? Mine is broken in half around the pivot point. I saw one catalog that said they might have them. I've pulled on it some but it does not just come right off. Even if I get a new assembly how do I make sure the needle starts at "0"? Will it be keyed or splined in a fool proof way?

 

DO NOT JUST PULL THE NEEDLE OFF!!!! Take a guess how I know that :withstupid: It will just pull off, but don't do it. Without knowing any better, I just pulled mine off to repaint the faded orange, and stuck it back on. Now, at about 60 mph my speedo reads 20mph :sad:

You will probably get better advice on here than mine, but you might try taking a very small pair of needle nose vice grips and see if you can very gently clamp them onto the needle shaft under the needle if there is room, and just let the vice grips there without moving them, and then stick the new needle on. Or, if you have the new needle, take a very small pair of regular needle nose and grab the shaft, then hold it while you remove the old needle and push on the new one. Whatever you do, you will have to be very, very, careful and gentle.

I'll get around to fixing mine someday, and I'm gonna try to reorient the needle on the shaft like I described above. I just can't bring myself to pull the cluster out again!! Although my ammeter is broke too, so maybe if I loose one more guage, I'll pull it :lol: :lol: Good luck, and let us know what you do. Brian

I just went back and reread your post, and if it's broken off at the pivot point, it may be too late anyway :cry :cry I have the info at home, but there is a company that can set your speedo up for you. I got the info from here, so you may send your speedo and new needle to them and let them calibrate it for you. That would probably be best. If not, you'll be doing the "trial and error" method getting it set yourself by driving it, and then reorienting the needle. You may also try a search on here to generate the company name. It's something like, "speedometer services, inc." or something like that. Brian


[Modified by Brian Matheis, 10:22 AM 3/12/2003]

 

The needles pull off fairly easily. A new needle will just press on, use a magnifying glass. It's easy to see how far to push it on. If using an old needle you will need to squeeze the pivot point hole down a little to get it to grip. If you don't you run the risk of the needle slipping and getting a low reading. I just painted my needles with them attached, it's do-able. :thumbs:

Oh, and Brian I too hated the thought of removing my cluster again so I tried to think of a way to do it with the wires and such attached. This is what I came up with and it worked great. (1) remove steering column. (2) unhook tach, speedo and oil line. (3) unplug headlight switch (4) get a skinny cardboard box. (you'll see) (5) straddle the cardboard box, which is resting on the floor and is the same height as the ign key on your dash. (6) remove the dash screws and just rotate the cluster out and down resting it on the box face down. All the wires stayed in except the upper dash ground blade connector. I was able to remove all the gauges, clean & paint and had the darn thing back together in a couple hours time. :yesnod:


[Modified by MasterDave, 9:34 AM 3/12/2003]

 

...yup, GENTLY put a pair of needle nose vise grips on the back of the speedo shaft to set the reference point

 

You musy pull firmley with a twisting motion to the left. a shot of jacks helps prior to service :thumbs:

 

If you have a local speedometer shop handy you might enlist their aid. If nothing else they can check the calibration prior to reinstallation.

 

Take Ed's advice. Buy the needle then take everything to a local speedometer shop. Have them clean, calibrate, and install the new needle. An experienced speedomter guy will have the right tool and technique to get the job done without screwing it up.

Duke