noisy speedometer in very cold weather

[Ace]

I drive a 1983 Tercel 4x4 DLX with 128,000+ miles, owned it since 1984. It has never needed major work, just routine maintenance for the most part.

One current quirk is a noisy speedometer at highway speed during very cold weather, but only if the car has sat overnight in temps below 20F or so. A loud scraping noise that sounds like something really serious, proportional to vehicle speed, seems to be in the dash. It goes away when the interior warms up. Originally I thought it was the speedometer cable but I've greased that twice with lubriplate. We don't routinely get temps that cold, and I don't drive every day, so I have experienced the noise only a few times. Speedometer and odometer work normally.

Curiously, the very first time this noise happened (2002?) was after prolonged driving in heavy rain, in milder temps. It stopped after a while and after slowing down. I suspected that water had infiltrated the speedometer cable so I removed and greased the cable, didn't experience the noise problem again for some time, and then only when it was really cold.

I live a mile off the paved road so the car experiences more dust than average, and I've had to re-lube the driver's door window mechanism a few times - possibly revelant?

I had a noisy and erratic speedometer in a 1956 Jeep years ago, and had to replace the speedometer head, the bearings were worn.

Wondering if the Tercel speedometer needs attention, maybe some lube in the right spot? It's a bit of a hassle to access and take apart so it would be helpful to have some info that hopefully helps fix it the first time.

Ace in Oregon

[dlb]

hey ace, welcome to the forum. funny you mentioned this, a few of us have experienced it but i don't think anyone has managed to fix it yet. here's the thread:

tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6215

i think petros' post near the bottom of the first page sounds the most logical. giver 'er a read.

[Ace]

Thanks for that link, I didn't find it previously with a search on speedometer (should have tried "speedo" - are you all Aussies?). My old Jeep developed this type of "speedo" problem with squealing noise and pegged needle at road speed, even in mild weather. I took that all apart and could see that bearing wear had allowed the magnet-shell to physically drag on the outer rotating shell part that drives the indicator needle. It got that way even in mild temps. On the Tercel "speedo", perhaps the metal shrinks or distorts enough when cold to close what is supposed to be a slight air gap.

I would be reluctant to replace my Tercel speedo with a junkyard item that would probably have more miles and wear on it, perhaps the same problem. It's not real hard to take the speedo out, but it would help to know ahead of time what to expect, which is probably replacement. I'll probably let it go until it gets worse. Maybe I'll get a junkyard speedo to experiment with ?

[dlb]

it's one of those small problems i don't really care enough about to bother with. if i had my dash cluster off again and thought of it i would check it out but as it is, it doesn't happen often. and i agree about using a junkyard speedo.

just a few aussies here, most forum members seem to be in the PNW of the US. there are lots from all over though. lots of scandinavians joining lately, it seems.

[rer233]

if you're thinking of replacing the speedo, i'd consider swapping out the whole cluster with an sr5 unit. strictlly a plug and play operation, and you'll gain a tach and digital clock in the deal! just my .02.

[takza]

Thanks for that link, I didn't find it previously with a search on speedometer (should have tried "speedo" - are you all Aussies?). My old Jeep developed this type of "speedo" problem with squealing noise and pegged needle at road speed, even in mild weather. I took that all apart and could see that bearing wear had allowed the magnet-shell to physically drag on the outer rotating shell part that drives the indicator needle. It got that way even in mild temps. On the Tercel "speedo", perhaps the metal shrinks or distorts enough when cold to close what is supposed to be a slight air gap.

Had one on a Nisan 4x4 where the trans case oil would move up thru the cable and into the speedo and cause the same problem...where the oil would bridge that gap and cause a high reading. In your case if it fairly easy to get it out...then some light oil in the right places might help? Probably best to avoid messing with the ODO part if it works OK.

[Highlander]

I swapped the SWMBO's speedo over because of this problem, it helped, but it didn't cure it, I THINK that its related to the broken tabs on the speedo cable housing connector. Both of the cars that I've had that do this had/have one of the plastic retainer tabs broken off at the speedo head. If one of them is broken, the cable can apply a side load to the main shaft in the speedo head-Just an idea since I haven't had a chance to replace the speedo cable yet, but since its been better with the new speedo head (though it now shows 107k instead of 236k miles) but not perfect, its gone on the back burner.

[Petros]

Ace,

Welcome to the list. Mine occasionally does this too, and I too drive 4 miles of steep gravel road daily to get in and out from our hose. I suspect the clearance is so small that when cold it makes slight contact. Might be worth taking the speedo apart and clean with key board cleaner and than blow it out. Might get any dust out of it.

I can get you a DX speedo from Seattle area just for shipping cost (it is in a rust buck 2wd Tercel that is going to get junked), has about the same miles as your car as I recall. I also have an extra SR5 cluster (with tach) I will sell you if you want to up grade. These speedos are usually fairly reliable so a used one is a good bet.

[Ace]

Many Thanks for all the input. Takza's comment about oil moving up the cable is something I have wondered about, because the cable is a spiral wire, I think. In my first case of speedo noise during driving rain, perhaps water migrated into the speedo bearings? I was also interested in Highlanders comment; since I have had the instrument cluster out occasionally, I'll look out for possibly broken retainers next time I work on it.

This speedometer problem is a relatively minor and infrequent nuisance, but it is an alarming squeal when it does act up. An electronic speedo seems ideal, but I suppose they have their own problems and expenses and not feasible to retrofit. For a 28 year old car, my Tercel has done very well overall.

[hberdan]

I had this problem, a noisy, jumpy needle, rattly sounding speedometer, for the first time in December. I pulled out the cable from the transmission end, took about 3 minutes, cleaned and lubed the cable, and reinstalled it, altogether a 15 minute job. After wards, the noise subsided over a day or three of driving and totally disappeared and has not resurfaced, not yet, anyway, after another 30 days of driving it every day in cold weather.
At first, I thought it might have been the broken tabs at the head as mentioned by Highlander, but thankfully it seems to be cured and I have not had to pull the cluster.
Fwiw, after reinstalling the cable I reached down and gave the speedo cable sheath a bit of a tug, lightly, where it entered the firewall, as it was at a bit of a slight angle, as opposed to coming straight out. Seemed to help.