Odometer woes

[cwcarpenter98]

I think it's been about 2 years ago now, but the original odometer in my 63 stopped rolling and caused the speedo to do the funky bouncing thing. At the time, I needed my speedo back, so I just pulled out the odometer roll.

Fast forward to last weekend, I put the new to me cluster in the truck, but the speedo is broken. The odometer looked to be working ok though, so I stuck the odometer roll in the speedo from the original cluster. Worked great for about a mile or two and guess what, the odometer roll stopped rolling.

I really don't want to spend over 100 bucks for a entirely new speedometer when the odometer roll seems to be my only issue, but if I have to do that, have any of y'all used the aftermarket ones?

Also, the plastic gears that turn the odometer are a little chewed up from the old odometer roll sticking, but I did put some grease on them to at least have some hope

Any suggestions on getting the roll rolling again?

[The Rocknrod]

Did you check the trans side gears? Drive and driven.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Did you check the trans side gears? Drive and driven.

I didn't physically pull them out, but I do know that they are working. Before swapping out the clusters, I was running the good speedometer with no odometer roll, and it worked just fine. I put the odometer roll from the broken speedo (that came from the new cluster) into the old speedo that works well and it started rolling for a little bit, then stopped. There was no chattering or annoying noise from the speedo when the odometer stopped rolling, but the speedo needle started bouncing back and forth by about 5 mph each way beyond the actual speed I was going

[The Rocknrod]

So you've been thru two speedometer clusters, neither work well. And you are concerned about buying a third before you check the trany side. Is that what I'm reading? Also cables cost about 10 bucks at rockauto just FYI.

[Mack B]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

So you've been thru two speedometer clusters, neither work well. And you are concerned about buying a third before you check the trany side. Is that what I'm reading? Also cables cost about 10 bucks at rockauto just FYI.

If I'm reading him right the speedo works but the odometer doesn't. I'm stupid, explain to me how the transmission side will effect one but not the other.

[The Rocknrod]

I'm reading neither speedo works well.

[cwcarpenter98]

I put a new cable in the truck back when I had the first odometer roll stop spinning. Plugged new cable in, and the speedo would bounce around, but the odometer was still stuck. Pulled odometer roll out and the speedo worked great with no bouncing around.

Since then, I've put a new transmission in the truck. The speedo with no odometer still worked great with the new trans, so I decided to try a new driven gear to get my speedo to be more accurate with my tire size. The driven gear I need also requires me to replace the drive gear in the transmission to mesh right and work properly. I don't want to pull the trans apart just for that, so I put the driven gear back in the trans and the speedo worked as before. Before swapping the clusters, the speedo in it worked just fine, but there was no odometer in it.

It probably doesn't help that some of the plastic gears inside the speedo that spin the odometer are chewed up a small amount from the odometer rolls stopping, but I have no idea where to source those if they are even available.

All that to say that I am confident that I have 2 odometer rolls that are sticking.

I hope my reply does not come across as rude. I appreciate y'alls input, and I am just trying to continuously make my truck better

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

I'm reading neither speedo works well.

You're half correct. One speedo is broken, but that one is not in the truck. The one in the truck is the good speedo from the original cluster, but it has just the odometer roll from the broken speedo

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

... the speedo to do the funky bouncing thing. At the time, I needed my speedo back, so I just pulled out the odometer roll.

Fast forward to last weekend, I put the new to me cluster in the truck, but the speedo is broken.

Also, the plastic gears that turn the odometer are a little chewed up from the old odometer roll sticking, but I did put some grease on them to at least have some hope

Any suggestions on getting the roll rolling again?

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

and it started rolling for a little bit, then stopped. but the speedo needle started bouncing back and forth by about 5 mph each way beyond the actual speed I was going

Just reading. I was merely making a suggestion. I screwed up. Unsubscribed.

[cwcarpenter98]

With the odometer roll in, the speedo does that. When I pull the odometer roll out, the speedo no longer bounces around. It reads properly across the entire sweep (well at least up to 80 indicated as I haven't gone faster than that )

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Just reading. I was merely making a suggestion. I screwed up. Unsubscribed.

Thank you for suggesting that, as it required me to have a more thorough explanation as to what was going on. I apologize if my responses seemed like I was trying to belittle your suggestion. If it came across that way, that was not my intention.

I see this as a learning experience to explain all the information when asking a question even if that means a really long post

[Mack B]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

I'm reading neither speedo works well.

I read this part and the rest of the post that explained that he's had 2 failures of odometer nature, and when those failures happened the speedometer bounced.

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

....I was running the good speedometer with no odometer roll, and it worked just fine.

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Just reading. I was merely making a suggestion. I screwed up. Unsubscribed.

So this below was just a suggestion and not intended to come off as condescending as it did? I buy that, I'm stupid as I mentioned previously.

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

So you've been thru two speedometer clusters, neither work well. And you are concerned about buying a third before you check the trany side. Is that what I'm reading? Also cables cost about 10 bucks at rockauto just FYI.

[cwcarpenter98]

To close out this thread, I found my solution.

Got my speedo back from Classic Gauge and Cluster today! Tom went above and beyond to restore my speedo and odometer to working condition at a great price that any college student can afford.

Tom replaced the old odometer roll that had stuck with a good, working one, replaced the gears inside the odometer that were chewed up, repainted the speedo needle, and checked to ensure the speedo was calibrated correctly. He also repainted the back of it to make it all look nice.

Check out Classic Gauge and Cluster on Facebook or TBONE1964 on here for all your cluster repair and restoration needs. Tom does great work, and I'm stoked with how it turned out.

I haven't had a working odometer in Frankentruck for years
It's so nice to have the entire cluster back to working condition.

[curvedglass]

My previous owner changed from 3.73's to 3.08's. I bought a new speedometer from Tuckers (f*ckers). Even with the TCI gear reduction unit the odometer and the speedo were WAAAY off. I tried to return it but was told there were miles (90) on it. How f'd up is that. How else can you tell if it works without driving the truck. I have put roughly 8k miles on the truck since replacing it. I use a speedo / GPS app on my phone. The odometer on the new speedo just turned 5k. The speedometer is off my 12 mph. My original speedo was within 2-3 mph with the tci gear unit. Highly recommend the tci product. I have three of them on my other cars

[jdl71]

I’m glad to hear you got it resolved. I’m having a similar issue, my speedo will also “bounce” as in shoot up to 70 or so and bounce between that and about 30 when I’m actually going 55 or so. There’s also a “clicking” each time this happens. Is that what you were having? I didn’t think to look at the odometer as I just put in a new speedo cable and this is the first time it’s worked since I’ve owned the truck. Sorry for the hijack but this looked just like what I have going on.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by jdl71

I’m glad to hear you got it resolved. I’m having a similar issue, my speedo will also “bounce” as in shoot up to 70 or so and bounce between that and about 30 when I’m actually going 55 or so. There’s also a “clicking” each time this happens. Is that what you were having? I didn’t think to look at the odometer as I just put in a new speedo cable and this is the first time it’s worked since I’ve owned the truck. Sorry for the hijack but this looked just like what I have going on.

That's actually pretty much exactly the issue that I was having. I'm confident that Tom can fix it up right for you

[jdl71]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

That's actually pretty much exactly the issue that I was having. I'm confident that Tom can fix it up right for you

Thanks. I’ve also got a spare odo roll I might try that first

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by jdl71

Thanks. I’ve also got a spare odo roll I might try that first

Definitely worth the try. Most likely though, the plastic gears inside have been eaten up, so it's possible that the other odometer roll might not work right as well

[jdl71]

I’m just dreading taking this cluster out yet again. The oil pressure tube needs an arm with 2 elbows and 3 wrists to get undone.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by jdl71

I’m just dreading taking this cluster out yet again. The oil pressure tube needs an arm with 2 elbows and 3 wrists to get undone.

Yikes, that doesn't sound fun