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Wed Dec 03, 2003 2:52 pm

Hey guys... anyone help me out on how to remove the guage cluster from our '79 bus. The odometer quit, and I'd like to get in there and see if I can either repair, or replace it. I've had the 4 screws out, and it seems the heater controls are what's holding it back...don't see an easy way of getting it out... At help is appreciated!

Thanks!

Ron

Wed Dec 03, 2003 3:44 pm

After the screws are undone the clips behind the dash simply fall off. After that, pull all 3 heater levers and undo the speedometer cable from the back. You will probably need wide-jawed pliers to undo the speedo cable especially if it's the first time. Just twist it loose and then undo the speedo cable by hand.

Now the cluster will be free and will only be held in place by the wiring harness attached to the instruments. Don't do anything without disconnecting the battery first or you'll risk everything going up in smoke.

Rather than remove all of the wires and put them back in right, you can just unscrew the backing plate.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:05 pm

Thanks Richard...I figured you'd be the first to reply!!
The heater levers are what gave me fits last time. I wound up breaking the tip off of one of the red levers... how to you remove the levers without breaking them??
Can you replace just the little plastic gear that drives the odometer, or is it required to replace the whole speedo?

Thanks!!

Ron

Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:10 pm

Ron,

I had to use a small screwdriver to encourage the heater levers to give up the handles. They had been a team for a long time apparently.

Weren't you getting weird action from your fuel gauge? Don't forget to check your fuel gauge "vibrator" (a 5 watt resister) while you are back there. There is a post here somewhere on how to do that.

If you don't plan to be back in there for a while, check all of the dash lights also. Hell, you can replace them all for about $2.

I don't know where those clips go when you drop them, which is why mine are still lost. Don't do that.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:22 pm

AZ_Ron, I've never broken a handle but I don't doubt it can happen as the sunlight weakens everything. I usually split the handles (one slight up, one slightly down), pull the right one a little over to the left and yank. Vice versa for the other one. Only the blue handles are available new; red ones have to come from the junkyard. I'll send you a spare red handle if you can't locate one.

The little odo gear is held in place by a metal crimp. You probably could file it, remove the gear and replace it if you could find a matching gear. A VDO repair shop will have boxes of old gears and parts. I would just swap in a completely new unit after matching the odometer value

Randy, the clips either just fall on the floor or lay on the ledge below the instrument panel that is part of the dash. I'd fish them out so you don't have an unwanted shorts if they shift. Too much wiring behind the dash is "VW style" and unexposed. If you cup a magnet loosely in your hand they'll appear.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:50 pm

Thanks for the help guys... I'll try the levers again.
I've managed to get my big paws up under the dash and been able to hold the metal tabs, and then just pull them out after I loosen the screws, then do the reverse to put the cluster back it. I'll have to see if I can locate a speedo... anyone know what all years are compatible with '79?

Randy, yes, it was me that was having gas guage probs... I plan on checking out the guage while I'm in there.... I truly hope it's the guage and not the sending unit.

Ron

Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:57 pm

I have even more wiring back there than most people (gauges, lights, and tach), so I will be back in there looking for them. There is a good possibility for shorting wires back there even without the clips lurking just behind something.

I have to do the sending unit/recondition the tank in the spring when the engine comes out. I am going to do the same thing Richard did and it looks like messy work.

I had to stop and replace the clutch on my Jeep Camanche due to a leaking clutch slave cylinder, so that has consumed a fair amount of my time lately + it is getting cold here. It could be winter any day now.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:10 pm

Here's the test procedure I used to discover my vibrator was at fault. I'd use 1Q resistors because they get pretty hod when the virbrator is broken and shorted out. Don't let the gas gauge needle peg either. I also have several vibrators taken from junkyards and pre-tested on a bench setup with a bus fuel gauge and sender. I'll mail one out for $10 including shipping because they weren't "pocket parts"; had to pay for them.

The hardest tab to get back in is located in the lower right corner. I usually take out the radio and glove box. It seems like more work but unless you've got thin arms and fingers it's hard to reach for some.

The black faced speedo come with 75-79 busses. Based on the part numbers for the cable I beleive any speedo will work but only the black will look nice in your dash and I'm not 100% sure about mounting.

Cleaning the tank with acid is not fun but it sure is nice knowing it's a permanent fix with PO-15 looking back. I was lucky a friend allowed a mess to be made in his backyard because all of his grass had already died. I don't know how I would have fixed it otherwise living in an apartment.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:40 pm

That test procedure says from '73-'77... Is it still valid for '79s??
I'll give it a shot.
Richard, any idea where to locate a speedo, and about what the going rate for one is?

R

Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:54 pm

Not sure why it ends there. Trust me it's the same for 78-79 (I used the tests on my 78).

Junkard/Samba classifieds right now.

I bought an entire cluster for $9 off Samba. I'm not sure what the local Junkyard rates are. My old junkyard in Texas wanted $50 for working speedos and $10 for broken ones. I thought $50 was too much but they specialized in VWs and knew there were the old source for used part for miles. A mixed yard should have a much lower price.

Wed Dec 03, 2003 6:00 pm

Rat, I disagree. Working with acid is FUN!!!!!!!!!

Wed Dec 03, 2003 6:15 pm

Bottomend wrote: Rat, I disagree. Working with acid is FUN!!!!!!!!!

Working on acid is funner and better yet it makes the religio-sociological aspects of the planetary alignment shop quintuply divided in the House of Aquarius which we all know is the hair hit squad against the Establishment.
Dig it, man.
Colin