Robin W.

When I bought my '83 with blown engine the odometer didn't work (speedo/tach were good) I thought it was the usual broken/missing gear that I've read about everywhere. I held off ordering the new gear till I could pull it apart and confirm the tooth count 100%

So yesterday my new dash LED's came in and I took out the gauges to swap out the crappy bulbs so I took apart the odometer just to see what I needed. Turns out that the gear was there, it was in pretty good shape, it had just worked it's way down the shaft out of mesh with the worm gear that drives it. So I slid it back to where it's supposed to be by prying a little with a screw driver, it was pretty tight on the shaft but slid back into place with a bit of effort.

Is this a common problem??? I'm happy it was a free fix but it just seems odd that the gear would slide down the shaft yet stay 90% intact. There is some wear on the tips of the teeth where it finally got far enough out of mesh to start wearing down the teeth.

(on a side note, those LED's are absolutely amazing, the car is driveable at night now!!)

SalzundPfeffer

Ha! Exact same thing happened with my '84. I had to fix it twice. The second time I squirted a little locktite on the gear/shaft interface to keep it from backing off again.

I thought the whole process was a PITA. To make sure my fix worked the second time, I hooked up a drill to the speedo to test the gearing to make sure it wouldn't back off again. Put a few miles on that way, but it probably didn't make up for all the miles that were missed the previous years.

Glad I'm not the only one.

krystar

i'd say put some loctite, maybe find a tiny washer or spacer of some kind to provide resistance to slip

thirdgenbird

Mine did this too.

Robin W.

Good call, if I ever have to go back in I'll be using some locktite. Odd design though, couldn't they just insert a spacer or use some kind of positive attachment method to keep it from wandering.

thirdgenbird

It makes me wonder how many other VDO equipped cars/trucks/tractors suffer from the same issues.

krystar

one would think even just crimping the spindle rod so it has an ear would do the trick hehe

gregeast

I wrapped the wire from a bread wrapper around the shaft to create a spacer. Read that little tip on RL somewhere. Been working fine for 5+ years now.

Robin W.

Well I guess the extra load of running the odometer was just too much for the cable, my fiance took the car on a trip and after passing another car, no more speedo, no more odometer. Does anyone have a speedo cable? How hard is it to attach to replace at the wheel end?

b5audia4

BTW, where do you get the LED replacement bulbs?

Robin W.

http://superbrightleds.com

I'm pretty happy with them, makes the care drivable at night now. The dome light is now bright enough to read by. No idea how long they will last, there has been some people who have failures, but so far so good for me.

Ky944TurboNewbie

Clarks Garage odometer repair states the gear may have slipped and recommends a drop of crazy glue.

"6 If the gear has simply slid off the worm gear, use a small flat tip screwdriver to move it back along the shaft until it is engaged with the worm gear. place a drop of Crazy glue on the shaft where it penetrates the gear to keep it from sliding on the shaft in the future.
7 If your gear isn't broken or worn, you've completed the repair and may reassemble the gauge cluster. "