Speedometer not working
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Cross-Country
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Speedometer not working
I have a 1983 f250 4wd, the speedometer doesn't work. I've taken the end of the cable out of the back of the transfer case and it spins on the dash but when I'm driving it just falls to the bottom and it doesn't move.
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From: Virginia
Did you pull the whole assembly with the gear out of the transfer case? There should be a flat piece of metal with a bolt that holds the driven assembly in place. Once you pull that out you will see the plastic driven gear and you can see if it's wore out. You can then also peek up in the hole with a flashlight and see the drive gear on the output shaft.
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Cross-Country
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I took it out of the transfer case and it was a pink gear that didn't seem too worn down but i don't know what I fresh one looks like. When I pulled it out it was basically just a plate that holds the bolt and the plastic gear coming out of the plate. There wasn't any metal on it like the picture you just shared. I didn't look inside to see drive gear but I'll take a look at that.
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From: Tolland, CT
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,650
Likes: 1,156
From: Tolland, CT
The colors are just for the different speedo gears for different trucks. Don't worry about the color.
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From: Virginia
If you twirl that gear in your fingers and the speedo needle jumps up and reads, then there must be something wrong at the gear end. Put some grease on the plastic gear and then install it and then pull it out and see if you can tell if it's engaging the gear up in the hole on the shaft.
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From: Virginia
Anything that you can use as a indicator. Vaseline would probaby work also. Just so it's thick enough so when you insert it and take it out, you can possibly make out if the gears are engaging.
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Cross-Country
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I put some red lithium grease on it and took it for a drive and it was gone when I came back. I just put in a new cable today and it still doesn't work. However it strangely only works in reverse and says I'm going 35mph when in just crawling.
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From: Virginia
I was thinking you would put the grease on the gear, just insert it for a second and then take it back out. You may have a problem with the gear on the shaft. Since this is a transfer case, I think it's fairly simple to unbolt the output housing and take a closer look at the gear on the shaft.
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From: Angier, NC
Are you sure the cable is pushed on the cluster all the?
It has a L shape clip that holds it to the outer shaft on the cluster and it may not be on all the way.
The other thing is to make sure the inner cable is turning when you are moving.
Might need to pull the cable down to a point you can see the end and take it for a spin.
If it spins at the cluster end then it has to be the speedo gauge in my book.
Dave ----
It has a L shape clip that holds it to the outer shaft on the cluster and it may not be on all the way.
The other thing is to make sure the inner cable is turning when you are moving.
Might need to pull the cable down to a point you can see the end and take it for a spin.
If it spins at the cluster end then it has to be the speedo gauge in my book.
Dave ----