Brooklinite

I took the old girl ('72) out for a rip tonight and everthing was working fine until I noticed the speedometer was jumping up and down. Within a few minutes it stopped working altogether. The odometer stopped also. Does this sound like a cable gone bad? Could it also be the gear inside the transmission?

Also, if it could be the gear is there any way to know which one I would need without removing the gear that's in there? I looked online and they seem to be identified by colour and number of teeth.

Fstdraw

Sounds like all the cable failures I've had. New cable is less than $20.00 at most auto parts stores. Sometimes a cable thats not broken will also fail. Might just try a new one.

Vettkeeper

There are two gears at the trans, one on the output shaft (inside trans tail cone, called the drive gear) the other at the trans where the speedo cable goes into the trans (driven gear) that one is easy to change or check. Your problem sounds more like a bad cable. A couple of things to check. Remove the cable from the trans and connect a drill to the wire wraped cable inside the speedo cable, run the drill slowly in reverse and watch the speedo, if nothing happens one of two things bad cable or bad speedo. If it does work then the problem is in the trans. Look at the driven gear and the drive gear.

vettecrazy88

I agree with above, but don't forget to just try re-lubing it first. Real easy and cheap. You'll have to lube a new one anyway so . . .