Marck Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) The other day, I was driving my sube and I look down at my speedometer and see that the needle is pegged at 130mph . Everyone else on the road was driving about the same speed, so I know I wasn't pushing more than 45mph. What is the common problem or fix for when the speedometer reports 3 or 4 times the actual speed? The speedometer does this intermittantly and it works more often than not. When it acts crazy, you have to shut down the engine and restart and maybe if your lucky it will work like normal again. My sube is a 87 EA82T Full Time 4WD sube. BTW, it has the analog cluster. Thanks, Mark Edited February 24, 2009 by Marck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 My mom had a similar problem on her old Subey, she just laid a firm smack on the top of the dash with her hand, and it would start working correctly again, sometimes. Sometimes it took a couple smacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marck Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 My mom had a similar problem on her old Subey, she just laid a firm smack on the top of the dash with her hand, and it would start working correctly again, sometimes. Sometimes it took a couple smacks. Thats good to know. I'll give it a try next time it happens, but I am looking for a permanent fix . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Learn what speed your going at what rpm in which gear. Like 45 is 2000 rpm in 4th. That's what I do in my '85 brat. My speedo rarely works. Hasn't since I bought the car. That's my fix. Just learn your approximate gear ratio's. Twitch PS: I have a 4sp d/r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Time for a spedo cable. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Aww, c'mon nipper! Don't you have any sense of fun? First time somebody drives your car and you hear "WTH?!?" when they hit the street. Oh god that was funny seeing that, whoo boy, sorry. But yeah, nipper's right, you probably need a new speedo cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Aww, c'mon nipper!Don't you have any sense of fun? First time somebody drives your car and you hear "WTH?!?" when they hit the street. Oh god that was funny seeing that, whoo boy, sorry. But yeah, nipper's right, you probably need a new speedo cable. heheh well you want to expalin to him why he needs monthly oil changes nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Monthly? I only need to change mine every 2-3 months. Plus I run high grade oil, and almost always keep my brat at 2k or higher. Sure it may be a bit brutish, but considering the number of times people have tried to run me over this winter I like to have a little power to get the hell outta their way when their not paying any attention. I've had too many close calls and few too many accidents. And the majority of them weren't my fault. Sorry rant over. Twitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Monthly? I only need to change mine every 2-3 months. Plus I run high grade oil, and almost always keep my brat at 2k or higher. Sure it may be a bit brutish, but considering the number of times people have tried to run me over this winter I like to have a little power to get the hell outta their way when their not paying any attention. I've had too many close calls and few too many accidents. And the majority of them weren't my fault. Sorry rant over. Twitch It was a joke..... sheesh if his spedo thinks its going 130mph, then its possible his odometer is reading the same thing (very very fast). i'll go back to my dark corner now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Sorry, nip. Didn't mean to sound like a jerk. Twitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Mine does that whenever it's really cold outside. Was it cold? You may be able to get by with just re-greasing it. There was a post a while back about removing the end from the tranny and pulling out the inner cable. Clean it well, slap on some new grease, then slide it back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ed Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I think its time for a new speedo. If it wasn't reading at all or reading low then maybe a cable, but pegged, that would indicate the hair spring has come loose or broke. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/speedometer3.htm It shouldn't mess up the oddom reading. jm2c Unc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonMan76 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Cable should fix it but see if its just loose first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marck Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 I think its time for a new speedo. If it wasn't reading at all or reading low then maybe a cable, but pegged, that would indicate the hair spring has come loose or broke. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/speedometer3.htm It shouldn't mess up the oddom reading. jm2c Unc The problem is intermittant and when it is broke, it doesn't read pegged all the time. The needle starts at zero @ 0 mph and increases at a rate that is about triple that of the actual speed. So when I get going at about 45mph or faster, the needle is pegged. An actual speed of 25 mph may show ~70 mph on the speedometer. So does this sound like a speedo problem or a speed cable problem or is there a speed sensor too? Excuse my ignorance with how speedometers work and the parts of the system, but what does the speedometer cable look like and where would I find it on my car (I assume it connects to the tranny some wheres). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88RxTuner Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) Sounds to me like there's a bit of dried up goo in the friction bearing that makes the needle move. These speedos (cable driven) use a friction bearing to translate the constant roundy-round of the cable into a one way movement of the needle, the faster the cable spins, the more friction is on the needle side of the bearing, and the higher it moves in it's range. If there's dried up lube in there, it obviously generates more friction at a lower cable speed, causing the needle to read higher. This is most common on cold days, due to the lubricant being more viscous when it's cold. If the cable is binding, it will either read a tad slower than normal or twitch the needle as the cable binds, builds spring pressure, and releases, which roughly translates into the speedo needle going down, waiting half a turn of the cable, and popping up. This would translate into the above mentioned suggestion that maybe it's time for a new speedo... or a good thorough disassembly and re-lubrication of the friction bearing assy, if that's within your capabilities. Hope this helps!!! 88RxTuner Edited February 25, 2009 by 88RxTuner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abog Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 You can try lubing, but the ones that I have seen do this needed a speedo head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 This is a common subaru failure. The seal in the transmission that keeps gear oil out of the cable has failed. The cable acts like a screw and sucks gear oil into the speedo head. The speedo, cable, and seal will all have to be replaced for an effective and lasting repair. Anything less will last only a short time or not work at all. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marck Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) It doesn't do it when it is cold. It is pretty random. It started to do it again today in the afternoon, this time I paid attention to the odometer, it too looked like it is effected (looked like it was spinning faster than what it should have). I tried hitting the top of the cluster with my hand, but it made no change. I think I'll pull the cable and inspect it first. From what I understand: If the cable has oil in it, then the cable and seal needs to be replaced. If the problem persists after replacing the cable assembly, then the speedo head needs to be replaced too. If the cable doesn't have oil, then I need to relube it and reinsert. If problem persists, then I may need to repair or replace the speedometer head. How hard is it to remove the cable? Edited February 27, 2009 by Marck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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