I'm wondering if anyone could help me out. I have '90 Ford Ranger 2wd standard cab long bed. A few days ago the speedo stopped working. What is the more likely cause? The gauge itself or a relay/cable. And if it is the cable/relay are they hard to remove & replace.

 

the truck is a 90 so the probable cause is a broken cable. That being said the fastest way to check is to go underneath the truck, and at the rear of the transmission on the tailshaft housing there should be a black cable coming out at a right angle to the transmission. It attaches either by a small screw and a 'Y' shaped piece of steel or a round nut that screws on. Use some power blaster or WD40 or some sort of penetrating oil on whatever means it attaches, and let it sit. Then use a wrench, or socket or a pair of vice grips to gently loosen...be careful it will be tight though. After getting it out you can pull the cable assembly off and there should be a gear on the end...be careful pulling it out too, so you dont break anything. Now you will probably need someone to be in the vehicle and you underneath the vehicle and spin the gear as fast as you can. If the speedo needle doesn't move then try the opposite direction. If still no movement the you have a broken speedo cable. Now the fun part starts.....(lol) actually not that bad really.... just pull out the piece of cable out of the tube. Now you need to go into the truck and remove the instrument cluster and carefully remove the cable assembly off the instrument panel. Now you can remove the remainder of the cable out of the sheath. Now go to your favorite place to get a new/used cable and insert from the bottom of the truck. Use a liberal amount of grease when you install the new/used cable.Also before you go and get a new/used cable check the sheath for kinks, abrasion, or any other problems with it. You may need to replace the whole cable/sheath assembly

Ken

2008 F150 FX4