Help! Got a ‘74 here. I can’t get my new 914 speedo cable nut to thread on to the Speedo gear at the back of the transmission. I don’t think the cable could possible be installed backwards? Don’t remember having an issue threading it onto the speedometer at the other end.

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It appears that the nut is just not started with threads aligned, just don't strip it! Turn it backwards until you find the spot where the threads are in "agreement" when started.

@friethmiller
There were known problems with speedo cables made with the wrong threads. I think it was Gemo brand.
Make sure the threads on the speedo driv are not buggered and clean. But you may need to return it and get a new one.

This is a GEMO! I’ve tried very patiently to start this nut serval times now. Going backwards at first doesn’t help either. Going to replace it with a different brand, I guess. I love having to redo stuff. . Thanks Jamie & BDStone914

I experienced the same problem several months ago. Brand new cable. Sent it back, and the replacement worked fine. Bad batch of cables

Bummer. But an easy fix. Please be sure to clean the threads on the drive unit before you connect the new cable.

Same here. I got a bad one, and out of stock for 6 months. Then I bought a Gemo on Amazon for $46.51, worked perfect. Today it was $99.

friethmiller,

How did you get that transmission case so clean? Is it a 901 box? Mine is clean but dark stained magnesium gray.

I was thinking the same thing about that super clean case! Wish my engine and tranny cases looked that new!

Thanks for the comments! I was just looking at a photo of the tranny and was thinking "
"Damn I missed a spot!" I cleaned the engine by hand for the most part. It took a lot of hours to complete (see before/after photos). The tranny was purchased used by the PO and was in a lot better shape. Still spent a good bit of time cleaning it up, too. I used a lot of brushes, picks, and lacquer thinner, which I think helps give it "that look". FWIW, I did use a Dremel tool in some of the hard to reach spots but I don't like that "polished look" that the high-speed tools produce. You can see it in a few areas on one side of the block.

BTW, I'm working on a fix for my speedo nut. I'll post when I get everything done.

Here's the before:
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After:
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Same here. Had a bad one and sent it back. Ended up with Porsche cable from the dealership since everyone else was out of stock. FYI not cheap.

With this brand new cable (purchased 2 years ago) and already installed, I thought it might be worth a shot to fix it 'in place'. As I'm always up for a challenge (a.k.a stupid enough to try anything), I decided to remove the incorrectly threaded nut from the end of the GEMO speedometer cable. In search for a replacement out in the shed (my 914 parts dept.), I found a nut and the end of a speedometer cable still attached to one of my tail-shifter transmissions. After cleaning it up and testing the fit, I figured it was just a matter of getting the bad nut 'off' and the good one 'on.' Well, this proved a bit difficult to do with only hand tools while laying on your back on the floor under the car. However, with some patience and time I was able to get the job done. Hopefully this fix works when I get to go on my first test drive in a few weeks.

This picture shows the flared end of the cable flattened down to the point that the nut can be removed/replaced. Here, the new nut is 'on'.

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Here you can see the results of the re-flaring of the cable end. This was later cleaned up a bit with a Dremel tool.

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The following shows the 'cleaned-up' threads before assembly

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Final picture of the cable attached to the transmission

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good work, well done for accepting defeat

I don't really understand this as "accepting defeat". Actually, I call this a "win". If it doesn't work, I'll run a new cable.

yup all made wrong. Gemo The only ones that will work are the ones specifically made in Germany. We had to buy from another company to get ones that fit

Well, I hope this fix wasn't too much of a hack. Gotta lot of other stuff going on trying to get this old car road-worthy at the moment.

BTW, thanks George for getting those outboard engine mounts out to me so quickly. Was able to get the engine installed - no issues.

Hi guys , the deal with the gemo cable is the nut at the transmission is left hand thread . Someone at gemo hit left and not right hand thread . The quality of the gemo cable is great and mine was installed in the car for months prior to engine being finished and I didn't want to pull it back out if possible. My solution was to buy a 15$ m22x1.5left hand die and re thread angle drive , angle drive does need to be removed because of the dies outside diameter and took less than one minute to run over the other thread and worked perfectly .mike

Excellent!