Speedo Repair

[Classicvibe]

I had been putting off the fixing of my speedo for a LONG time. The mileage was way off anyway, so I did not care much. My speedo issue appears to be what is typical, where the mileage counter has dropped back from its flush mount, and no longer spins as the miles go by. In this case, the fix is easy, so I thought I would just give a little push to those who may be having the same problem.

Keep in mind, this is a good time to do a few things:
* clean the black and clear plastic (your friendly plastic cleaner will do fine, and some high fillutin' glass cleaner)
* protect and polish the black housing (I used Meguires Natural Shine Protectant, which is an amazing product). Not greasy, not too shiny, UV protection...all good!).
* Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs (read the 8+page "LED CLuster" thread)
* I am sure others will have solutions for other things you will find broken as well.

So, for me, the solution was painfully simple. Here is what it looked like before the repair:

It is difficult to see, but the round drive for the mileage counter has worked itself out of the housing, and no longer connects to the spindle that is driven by the speedo cable. The mileage counter numbers rotate around the pin you can see centered in the round drive wheel, so when it backed out, the entire counter was displaced from the face, looking like it "falling" down and away. It was very easy to re-align that pin and push the drive back so that it was contacting the spindle to get that speedo face working again. As you re-align the pin, you will be able to feel how loose the pin is, and you may decide at this point to fix it in a more permanent manner. Alas, I have no freaking idea how to do this...mine was OK.

I took this opportunity to use Meguiars on the face as well, being VERY careful around the print. Anyway, the rest is history. Not a big deal, and perhaps hardly worth the thread. I just saw how much the new speedos are (HFS!) and the repairs are not much cheaper.

Ahh, I forgot to mention getting to it. It seriously takes like 2 minutes. Grab the back of the cluster shell and gently pull forward. Unscrew the 2 screws securing the black cluster down near the windshield. From the back, lightly pop out the switches (brake/belt lens, headlights, defrost, hazards). List the cluster up, and from the bottom, pop out the harness connection pin cartridge thinger and finally, reach the the left and separate the speedo cable from the back of the speedo. Newer ones just hook on with a little clip. I think earlier models may screw on?

Clean inside and out
replace bulbs
repair broken plastic with some plastic weld

You may also want to take this time to reinforce the plastic barrier beneath the cluster, and some of the environmental lights are easier to get to as well.
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1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter