When the weather turned cold noticed my speedo needle is pulsating slightly at high speeds (65-70) and just crawling along around 5 MPH it swings between 0 and 10 mph. I know some of you have replaced the speedo cable assy. Is it possible to pull the cable and relube it or is it in there permanently? Also, does it sound like a cable problem, the drive unit in the tranny, or the speedo itself? I figure the cable since it seems temp related.

Thanks

Sounds like a cable problem. Mine is starting to make some noise, especially when cold. It not jumping yet though. The one in my 4runner did the same thing. I don't think lubing it is worthwhile- I'm just going to replace it and not worry about it again for another 10 years/200K+.

mine rumbles when it is cold, jumps around the same speed as well, priced the cables and decided to put it in the annoyance file along with my seat belts, drivers door lock motor, etc...

Speedo cables are lubed by the tranny fluid, If you look at the actual internal cable, you will note a spiral winding that when rotated pulls fluid up the cable to the dash. A gasket at the dash seals it from leaking. Usual cause of the problem is lack of tranny fluid changes, things gum up and away you go with pulsations. Cold makes things thicker. Eventually breakage. Reason I know this is back in the 60's there were a lot of GM prods that peed on you shoes because the cable seal at the dash was a POCrap. What a mess. Nothing like a carpet soaked with stuff and a set of ruined shoes and sox as well. Anyway, a fix that MAY work is to get a wide mouth container, undo the cable from the back of the dash, stick it in the container and drive away. The tranny fluid will push up the cable and hopefully blow out the thick crud that usually causes the prob.

The other cause is often a crimp in the cable - rocks, engine swaps, stupid human tricks etc. Another that used to work was the outer cable was steel wrapped and it just rusted up.

Anyway, look for damage to the cable first. Then try the container trick. If ng on that, get a replacement cable.

Uh, no they're not. At least not on these trucks. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

They are just greased and the grease eventually dries out.

Mine does sorta the same thing, at under 25 its jumps a bit and when driving it makes noise, at high speeds its fine. I just dont worry about it till it breaks.

Its not a problem for me until it goes under 45 degrees F, and then boy is it annoying.

Its back... doesnt mess with the cruise control so I ignore it.

Sounds like it is pretty universal and if it doesn't seem to affect anything I guess I will wait until it gets worse and change the whole thing out. Just wasn't sure if it might affect the cruise, shifting in an auto, or the fuel system and milage. Thanks for all the replys.

Mine's been like that for at least 50k miles (that's when I got the truck)... cold does seem to be an issue, but it's not the only one. Sometimes in the summer it'd be the worst ever. But it's just loud, turn the sterio up more. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm planning on having it replaced the next time I take my truck in (I do that for major service points, time > Money at those points).

Mine also was noisy when cold. About 50K ago, I removed it and relubed it and it's been fine every since. To lube it, I elevated the speedometer end and poured into the coupling a couple tablespoons of a mixture of Mobil 1 transmission grease and powdered graphite and left it overnite to seep thru to the other end. Periodically, I spun the cable with a low speed electric drill from the transmission end of the cable to help move the lubricant to the end of the cable. The lube job has lasted longer than the original cable. Couldn't see replacing it with a new cable that probably wouldn't last any longer than the original. Of course, if the cable is severely worn you might want to replace it.