Jim Grant's Tech Tips
88
Chevy Nova, Noisy Speed-O-Cable
Q: I have an ‘88 Chevy Nova (actually it's a Toyota Corolla in
Chevy clothing). My speedometer is making a racket when moving. At first
the needle was jumping a lot but now it has settled down but the noise
is still there. Is there a way to remove the speedo cable from the transmission
end to lubricate it? I know this was possible with earlier cars but can
it still be done to front wheel drive cars? Thanks. You may save my hearing.
Wm. Horn.
A: In
the old days the speed-o-cable was inside a metal wrapped cable housing.
If this type of cable got noisy, removing and lubing the cable was usually
the fix. The housing on newer vehicles is a plastic type housing, which
does work more quietly. But, when the cable goes dry inside the plastic
housing it damages the housing. Oil just doesn’t cut it because the
plastic will have burrs on it that just never seem to go away. Save yourself
the aggravation and install a new cable and housing.
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