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All: Looking for speedo cable lubrication suggestions, for my '66 F250.
Casing & cable unit p/n is C5TZ-17260-BS.
Just managed to get my 46 year old speedo cable rotating in the exterior casing.
Clamped, gently, both ends into my vice and slowly dribbled paint thinner into casing, and I think filled the space between the cable & casing.
After a couple of hours soaking, I slowly rotated the square fittings first at one end, then the other.
Lo & behold, the cable now turns freely without any "jerky" movement at the other end. So I guess it will do service again.
Reluctant to pull cable out of casing for fear of damaging or worse. (Although open to suggestions or others experience. I assume if cable was pulled it would be pulled out by clamping onto speedo end fitting)
So wondering if anyone has suggestion on cable lubrication- i.e. type of lubricant (very liquid lithium containing grease or ?) and any suggestions on how to get it into the casing and all the way thru.
Long-winded, I know. Thanks for any suggestions
Jeff(JefflLovesF250s)
Graphite is the usual lubricant. The cable can be removed from the speedometer end, and it just pulls out.
It is possible that the outer casing has allowed salt water to enter, causing rust internally.
Mine did that when it lay up against a new and custom dual exhaust and did not realize it until a few years later.
Yeah, something with graphite. Comes in a little plastic tube that's sold in hardware stores, the one that leaks far and wide once it's opened, has a solvent carrier base. Works good though.
If you can somehow pull the innards and clean all the crud out that would be best.
Banjo, Tedster, Thx for the suggestions, I'll look for graphite with a solvent carrier.
I would like to get cable out of casing to clean crud out.
Once you clamped on to the fitting on the end of the cable(Vice-grips?), did you just use "brute-force" to pull it out?
Also, did it slide back in easily or did you have to fish a wire or string thru from other end to pull it back thru?
Jeff
You may need to work it back and forth to get it out; use WD-40 or similar to keep it lubricated while working it.
It should slide right back in, unless it is damaged.
Complete replacement cables are available.
I've always used speedometer cable lubricant, with good results. As suggested above, graphite is the main ingredient, but it's a liquid. Put it in one end until it runs out the other.
Seem to recall there is a felt washer on the back of the speedo housing, either set inside the cap that screwed onto the back of the speedo, on inside the housing the cable screwed onto. Found the felt washer on the 65 lubricated so I assumed it is installed to prevent lubricant from working into the speedo housing. I added a small dab of lubricant to the felt washer, seem to quite the cable.
What about a new cable and housing? I bought this from rockauto.com, but have not installed it yet. It claims to be a replacement for C5TZ17260Y.
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Remember, that cable goes in and out from only one end of the housing. Make sure your pulling on the right end.
In the past, I've coiled them up and tied a piece of string on it to keep it together and submerged it in karosene for a few days. That stuff will soak into just about anything. Once the cable is freed up, use it like a file action, running it in & out of the housing - rinsing it out every couple times and blowing it out with an air hose.
I've done it this way in the past when working on old antique cars that they don't make parts for anymore. You work with what you have.
However, as someone mentioned, they do make complete replacement units.
All: Thanks for all the hints.
For the benefit of others facing a speedo cable refurb, here is what I did to make it "new" again, or ay least ready to re-install with a good prospect it will work.
I did soak the whole unit and managed to get the inner cable out of the housing. Soaked both seperately for 48 hours and then cleaned the housing by pulling thin gauge pipe(smoking kind of pipe) cleaners thru with a string. Replaced the perished leather washer at the speedo end with a new rubber washer of the same size.
Then coated the inner cable(except last 4 inches at speedo end) in graphite bearing cable lubricant. Re-installed the cable and it twists like new with no catching or jerking.
All the FTE member hints really helped.
On to the next refurb-transmission cooling- replacing the original rube-goldberg tranny cooling unit with lines directly to the rad and an external cooler. Jeff
'66 Speedometer Cable
