1933beer

Ok I have a 1990 s2 with air bag. my odometer has stopped working (i have 98000 miles on the car) I looked at clarks g right up and itsays I need to remove the steering wheel to remove the rest. Is this true? I don't realy want to mess withthe air bag. I would like to fix this before winter but if I have to remove the air bag I will.
what are the odds the gear just slide on the shaft and not a broken gear?

thanks

Van

Yes.


Very, very slim.


The air bag is really easy to remove. It's just 2 screws behind the steering wheel spokes (torx, I believe), then it lifts out and you unplug it. The harder part of the process is getting the 24mm nut off the steering wheel.

931guru

Well, not to contradict Van (who knows all), you can remove the instrument cluster without removing the steering wheel. It's a tight fit, but it can be done.

Once you have the instrument cluster out, disassemble the cluster and remove the speedo from the cluster.

At that point, you can figure out what is broken in the speedo.

catamount

It's a whole lot easier with the airbag removed. If you follow the procedures to remove the airbag then you'll be fine. Otherwise you risk tripping the airbag warning light which is a pain to reset.

Darwantae951

Disconnect the battery and wait 30 min for the capacitor to discharge before disconnecting the airbag.

mytrplseven

Also, make sure that whatever odo gear you buy, it's the RIGHT one for your model and year. The spoke ratio is different for different cars. There's good videos out there on line for doing the gear replacement.

1933beer

wow thanks guys I will find the video. I may wait so I can take it apart and order the right gear

Van

LOL - to be honest, I removed my steering wheel when I did mine... so that's my only data point.

dave1192

On my 86 NA, I have had the cluster out and in like a yoyo -- I have never removed the steering wheel. As noted above, it's a tight fit and I just twist the cluster aroud a bit until the right end starts out, then I spring the dash up a little to get it to release. As I say, I've done this several times and it works OK for me.

Dave

culture

just did this last month on my s2. no removal of the wheel necessary, but it would prob be easier. just take your time. the actual dash and surround are flexible to pushing/pulling/prodding isnt a big deal. and be sure to count the teeth on the odo gear...repeatedly. they are obviously very small and dont assume that you can just order by year/model. thankfully i was able to change my order before it shipped.

also took the time to install guage bezel rings...while i was in there.

1933beer

what are the gauge bezel rings? Thans to all for help

chris87944

I didn't remove the steering wheel on my 87 N/A when I took the instrument cluster out... my car doesn't have an airbag though. It was definitely a tight fit getting the cluster out with the wheel in place. You have to angle it out just right, and I still ended up scratching the wheel leather a bit.
When my odometer stopped working, the problem was that the teeth on one of the gears had worn down. I sent the speedo/odometer to Palo Alto Speedometer (http://www.paspeedo.com/) to be repaired, rather than purchase a new or used one. I forget what I paid for the service, but it seemed reasonable at the time, and I haven't had any problems since.

BReif61

I've done it both ways, and the 5 minutes it takes to remove the wheel is well worth it. Not only does it make getting the cluster out easier, removing the wheel makes unplugging the connectors on the back of the cluster child's play. It's a PITA to do with the wheel still in.

william_b_noble

I do this without removing the wheel, but I've only done it on 85, 86, and 87, not on something with an air bag. if you remove the wheel, make a mark to align for reinstallation. Count teeth on the old gear (both the big and small parts of it) to be sure you get the right gear. Be sure to remove all the broken teeth, I destroyed one new gear (but it took 10K miles) because a little piece of the old gear was wedged in one of the drive gears. Note, I have seen one gauge cluster fail due to a bad IC, I don't remember if that cluster had only a dead odometer or if both the odometer and speedo were inop. I do have a spare IC if that is your problem. Be careful pulling the pointer off the shaft.

Dougs951S

Also, you dont have to scribe the wheel to get it back on straight. I've had the wheel off my 84 and my 951 1000x and every time I've done it I've just rolled the car forward first to let the wheel come back to center and ensure its dead straight, then just pop the 24mm nut off and when you put the wheel back on as long as you dont move the car, the wheel will be dead straight.