Is it possible to remove the speedo cable insert and lubricate it? If so, what is the procedure? Mine is squeaking so irritatingly, especially on acceleration, that I have disengaged the cable at the transmission connection, just for some peace and quiet until I figure this out. Help!!!

Ansbacher
74 2.0L White

I take it out of the car and toss it in the trash can. Then I put a new one in the car.

It may not be your cable, it could be the speedo. For grins, just put another speedo in the car and see if it still makes noise.

The squeaking sound is definitely coming from underneath the car, not the speedo itself. When I disengaged the cable at the transmission the squeak went away as the cable insert was no longer spinning inside the cable sheath. Guess what I am asking, if I now disconnect at the speedo end, will the cable insert now just slide out of the sheath?

Ansbacher

They are fastened at both ends to the sheath, it won't just slide out when disconnected. Do you have any kinks in your cable? That can cause noise....
I'd just buy a new cable.

Thanks Java, I will look for kinks in the cable.

Ansbacher

I decided to bump an old thread instead of starting a new one.

I installed a new cable and am getting needle bounce. The cable routing is pretty straight. And the angle gear is good/not leaking.

What's the procedure for lubricating a speedo cable?

You don't lube the cable. You just replace it. They are cheap enough to be disposable.

Most of the time the cable gets melted from engine or heat exchanger heat anyway.

Dead on Clay, the heat kills the cables, we sell many many many Easy to install as well, and you can clean up the interior at the same time when you remove the center tunnel carpet and the center plastic tray (hopefully you do not have a three gauge center console installed!!!!

Apparently you didn't read my post.

This is a NEW cable.

So do I buy a third cable? Or is there something within the speedometer itself that could be causing it to bounce around?

Speedometer needs to be sent out for service.

Sorry.. I missed that. IF the cable is new, it is probably the speedometer. If you really want to keep the original one, send it to North Hollywood Speedometer or Palo Alto Speedometer. Both can fix it. Or just buy a used replacement.

Good luck.

My brand new cable is squeaking as well. I don't remember the speedo making any noise before I replaced my cable either.

Here is an ANSWER to your original post: Remove the cable and push the speedo end into the bottom of a plastic bag. Wrap it with rubber bands to seal it to the cable. Put cable lube (or engine oil) into the bag and hang it vertically until lube comes out the transmission end of the cable. Remove the bag and let the excess drip out.

With the recent dry wheel bearing issues, I wouldn't be surprised if the new cables were shipped dry to save a buck.

@Optimusglen

I had this same issue a few years ago in my bus, new cable bouncing around, and someone on thesamba mentioned that they had stopped prelubricating them at the factory, that you have to lubricate the new part yourself.

I used a combination of lacquer thinner and motor oil, turned the cable in the chuck of a hand drill as I filled the cup-like end of it repeatedly with a syringe, waited for it to get drawn down into the sheath. Took forever to see any oil come out the bottom end, but that's when I stopped.

I don't know if this is the recommended procedure or oil to use, but it's been good so far.

Putting oil in the cable seems like a technique to have lubricant slung into the speedometer itself.

I recently lubed some control cables with a “dry” bike lube. The lube has a carrier that keeps it wet in the bottle but dries pretty quickly once applied, leaving just the dry lube on the cable. I stand on a chair holding the cable vertical. I drip lube on the inner cable until it exits the bottom. Then just let the cable sit horizontally for a day or two. Done.

I'm sure it's a possibility. It would depend on the direction of rotation and the spiral of the inner cable. You're talking minimal amounts of lubricant, so I wouldn't think you would have to put a drain plug on your speedometer.

In my case, I had just taken the speedometer apart to repair a broken odometer. The mechanism was cleaned and lubricated, so the new cable was the prime suspect.

BTW, disconnecting the cable from the angle drive still leaves you with 2 possible sources of noise. If you remove it from the back of the speedometer, and the noise goes away, you know it's the speedo head.

Used a similar method to lubricate my 46 year old cable.

Hung it in the garage and sprayed Kroil in the little cup a couple times until it leaked out the bottom.

Have used this same method on motorcycle cables over the years.

Aero-Kroil is the real deal. Magic stuff.