I used light motor oil to lube the speedometer in my truck and it seems to have locked it up. I got it freed up, and want to clean it out and try something different. What is the best to use? 3 in 1 oil? WD 40? Lithium grease? ATF? Something else? Need help from someone who KNOWS what is best! Thanks Guys
check with a locksmith they use a lub call houdini to free up tumblers in locks .it works good on small moving parts without any build up like wd40 or 3in1 oil
Do not use graphite, it will cause more damage than good. (Graphite is good for the speedometer repair guys like me) Sewing machine oil or mineral oil will work, I use Liquid Bearings, you can get it on eBay or Amazon. Hope this helps. Like HRP and blacktop said white lithium is best for cables. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
You can get speedometer cable grease at any good auto parts store. Do not grease the last 6" to a foot at the speedo end, the grease is not good for the speedo. Disconnect the cable at the transmission end, pull out the inner, wipe it clean and coat with grease, put it back in and reconnect the cable. Do this every 10 or 20 years and your speedo won't get jumpy.
Not matter what the lube of choice, a cable that's a bit too long can cause enough binding and drag in its jacket to give erratic behavior esp at low speeds and eventual cable failure. Jack E/NJ
Well, thanks guys. I am trying to decide on the best way to lube the speedometer, NOT the cable. The speedometer is 'dragging", and I have it out of the truck. It has 89K showing on the odometer, which means 289K actual miles. (I have owned this truck for most of its life) I
E1956V, You do speedo repairs, I take it? Are you talking about mineral oil like used in cooking? (That is something I could pick up locally and quickly)
Yes it will work in a pinch, don't know that its used for cooking though. Sounds like you may have more troubles than that but give it a try. If you need the speedo repaired just PM me or check our website from my signature.
First things first, you should remove the head unit and thoroughly clean the bearing with a solvent like WD-40, but don't just lube it with the WD because WD dissipates in a short time. I like 3-n-1 oil for stuff like this.
3in 1 is a true lubricant so is mineral oil ( baby oil) , wd40 is a water dispersant and protectant and when it drys it forms a gum . . sewing machine oil is what vw reccomended to use back in the old days . its baby oil ( mineral oil )
Oh, BABY OIL! OK, Thanks guys. For mineral oil, I was thinking of the oil they used for making pizza dough back in my first job at a pizza parlor as a teenager. That was probably vegetable oil...... And that would have been in 1975. LOL
I used a light synthetic oil (Techlube, I think was the name of it). Got it at the local hardware store, and it came in a dispenser with a long snout on it for getting into tight places. Worked well on the speedo in my 48 Plymouth. It had seized up, and broke the cable. A couple drops of Kroil to free it up, followed by the Techlube, and a new cable, and it works great now. Your results may vary. Wayne
Thanks for the helpful replies. I decided to try the baby oil first. It is very cold here now, and as an experiment, I bought a small bottle and left it outside last night. When I went out this morning at 7AM, it was 14 degrees, and the baby oil was still liquid and slick! The oil I lubed the speedo with before has become thick and gummy. I will clean it out and use the baby oil next!
Never EVER use WD-40 to lube any kind of cable.It will seize the shit out of it. I never would have believed it,until I found out the hard way. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I like to use gun oil for these types of jobs. I did my 59 Elky speedo just recently, although I haven't re installed It yet. I had great luck using it for the speedo, and vacuum wiper motor in my 59 Ranchero though, when I lived in a cold environment, with good results.
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