driving car without speedo cable?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
driving car without speedo cable?
Is this doable with a 4 speed or will the transmission dump out the gear oil? And yes, the gear is installed, just thinking about driving without the cable connected.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
I should explain. I have been doing a frame off for the last 5 years. If I do some bare minimum things I think I can finally have the car ready for a little test drive during Thanksgiving break. I want to surprise my son who will be home from college. I don't even have the dash in the car so a speedometer or tach cable can't be installed. Once the first snows fly the streets will get salt. That means the car sits till May next year. So I have this small window of time for just a few days to get a little hint as to what this project will be like when it is done!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,548
Likes: 379
From: Woodinville WA
It will probably leak a bit out of the housing if the housing isn't screwed to the cable housing. The fluid isn't pressurized back where the gear is it, so it won't be terrible. That said, screwing the housing to the gear would solve all of those issues. You don't need a cable in the housing, or have the cable attached to the speedometer
But to be clear.... if you leave the entire gear/housing out of the transmission, it'll leak quite a bit.
But to be clear.... if you leave the entire gear/housing out of the transmission, it'll leak quite a bit.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
So if I attach one side of the cable and just tie the other end down it won't come to life and fly all over the place when I drive?
It will probably leak a bit out of the housing if the housing isn't screwed to the cable housing. The fluid isn't pressurized back where the gear is it, so it won't be terrible. That said, screwing the housing to the gear would solve all of those issues. You don't need a cable in the housing, or have the cable attached to the speedometer
But to be clear.... if you leave the entire gear/housing out of the transmission, it'll leak quite a bit.
But to be clear.... if you leave the entire gear/housing out of the transmission, it'll leak quite a bit.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 15,036
Likes: 79
From: central FL, near the beach.
my 69 M-21
cable dis. 2 yrs ago when i changed clutch. using electrnic speedo that uses a magnet on wheel.
so i looked just now and it is DRY around gear. But my m-21 leaks fom side cover. so it is wet on bottom, oil from opposite side.
So you are OK imo, but there are other places that can leak.
cable dis. 2 yrs ago when i changed clutch. using electrnic speedo that uses a magnet on wheel.
so i looked just now and it is DRY around gear. But my m-21 leaks fom side cover. so it is wet on bottom, oil from opposite side.
So you are OK imo, but there are other places that can leak.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 15,036
Likes: 79
From: central FL, near the beach.
how long has your cable been off?
mine is off 2 years and it is DRY.
Do u have the retainer and screw holding in the gear? Without it, it could leak.
mine is off 2 years and it is DRY.
Do u have the retainer and screw holding in the gear? Without it, it could leak.
Last edited by Matt Gruber; Nov 4, 2012 at 08:06 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 139
From: Syracuse NY
Dont do it. The test drive. Your going to cut too many corner and rush things and break something. I live in upstate NY, I know too well how you feel. Every time I try to sneak the car out early spring or late fall after Ive done major work, I forget something. Its always something little, a loose wire or bolt and I wind up regretting it. (read several trips to the parts store or junkyard later.....or even worse, I have to mail order and wait longer)
Your son wont miss a 1 minute ride in a gutted Corvette. Do this correctly, the first time around.
Your son wont miss a 1 minute ride in a gutted Corvette. Do this correctly, the first time around.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
At least on my cars the cable has never had a seal between it and the gear adapter so it'd leak with the cable on if it was going to leak with the cable off.The other thing to consider. If your gear adapter leaked into the cable then the cable would "screw" the oil up into the speedo. How many people have speedo's full of oil???
