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Post by varmit on Mar 6, 2014 9:47:43 GMT -5
My Smith's speedo needs to be replaced, it bounces at slow speeds, is about 6 mph off at 65, and the trip odo is broken for the second time. I am planning on replacing the mechanical speedo with an electronic. Anyone have any experience in installing this type of gauge, and how do I get the old one out??
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Post by SPF131 on Mar 6, 2014 13:05:24 GMT -5
There's nothing wrong with a mechanical speedo, just the "Smiths) ones that come in our care are kinda cheaply built... Nisonger will rebuild them for you: nisonger.com/The speedo is reading "off" because you need to change your tranny's speedo gear to match the rear-end ratio/tire size. here's a formula. Sorry I only have the one for the Tremec trannys: Speedo gear formula for SPF Cobras For our cars with the TKO use this formula, 141.177 x diff ratio / tire height That will give you the tooth count for the speedo gear. So 3.27 and 27" tall tire gives 17 tooth. No problem. Any t-5 based tranny that is setup for 3:xx series rear gears will have the correct drive gear in the tranny for that formula to work. The gears are stock Ford items at any ford parts dealer. I have a couple part #'s. 21 tooth red C4OZ-A 20 Tooth black C1DZ-A 17 tooth white C3DZ-C 16 tooth wine CODZ-A These are recent part numbers. Manual Transmissions with 7 Tooth Drive Gear All Tremec Transmissions Part Number Description C0DZ-17271-A 2.73 Gear Ratio / Maroon 16 Speedo Gear C0DD-17271-B 3.08 Gear Ratio / Yellow 18 Speedo Gear C0DZ-17271-B 3.27 Gear Ratio / Pink 19 Speedo Gear C1DZ-17271-A 3.55 Gear Ratio / Black 20 Speedo Gear C4OZ-17271-A 3.73 Gear Ratio / Red 21 Speedo Gear |
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Post by SPF131 on Mar 6, 2014 13:31:45 GMT -5
Oh Yea, how to get it out!
Get upside down in the floor-pan or lay across the car/tranny hump and look underneath the dash. You'll see the speedo cable going into the back of the gauge. This is a heavier cable with a threaded collar which keeps it on the cable-stud on the back of the gauge. Unscrew the threaded collar and pull that out of the back of the gauge. next you'll need to loosen up the remote knob which works the trip odo. Just loosen the collar which attaches that to the dash board flange it is attached to, so that will be removed along with the gauge once you get that loose.
Then, you'll see a U shaped metal bracket/metal strap on the back of the guage with the open-end of the U pressing against the back of the dashboard panel and the bottom of the U which wraps around the back of the gauge body itself. There is usually a couple plastic (could be metal) knurled finger nuts which are threaded onto the studs which come out of the back of gauge and go through that U shaped piece. Hold the gauge into the hole in the dash (from the front side) and loosen/remove those finger nuts.
Then, you can remove the U shaped piece of metal which holds the gauge into the dash hole (wiggle it a little; they often get hung-up on the threads of the studs coming out of the gauge). Now the guage should come out of the dash from the front/coskpit side of the dash.
There is also a slip-fit socket (or 2? can't remember) for the the speedo gauge night-light(s) which can now carefully be pulled out to allow the guage to come completely clear of the dashboard...
Install the new/repaired speedo in reverse...
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Post by varmit on Mar 6, 2014 15:40:57 GMT -5
131
That is what I have been looking for.. Nisonger says it will take about 6 weeks for the furn abound and get it back to me. Cost I think was around $187 plus shipping
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Post by goopie on Mar 8, 2014 8:47:21 GMT -5
Major rip off with Nisonger. Odometer has broken gear which can be ordered from Cobra Valley (call them, its not listed on web site) $30ish. Can do it yourself. Nisonger will not sell the individual part.
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dana
New Member
Posts: 6 
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Post by dana on Mar 9, 2014 14:58:33 GMT -5
When my speedo started failing at around the 200 mile mark (hanging up and reading slower than actual speed), I contacted Nisonger about a repair. They wanted over $200, plus shipping, plus six to eight weeks for repair. If I wanted it done faster, they would need more money for expedited service. I had my speedo repaired locally, in one day, for $45. It's been working fine for several thousand miles now. Since it is a Smiths speedometer, I'm sure it will fail again.
Back to the varmits' original problem: the bouncing needle is probably a cable issue. If the indicated speed is off the same amount throughout the range, that sounds like a speedometer drive gear issue(wrong tooth count). If the speedo reads correctly at slower speeds and reads low at higher speeds, that would be an issue with the speedo. The inoperative odometer is a speedo issue. Any competent local instrument repair center should be able to repair your speedometer-they are not that complicated. |
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Post by varmit on Mar 10, 2014 9:19:22 GMT -5
Thanks guys, found a local business that will do the rebuild very cheap. May just wait and install a Speedhut electric
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