Speedometer

[jbuck1975]

My speedometer broke. Is it a cheap and easy fix?

sent from my EVO in my Festiva

[Bert]

"Speedo" could be many things. Most likely the cable broke in which case you will have to try to track down a used one that is complete sheath and cable, or cable only. A very long extension and 10mm socket will allow you to undo the sending unit at the very back of the engine so that you can get at the cable connection. I had the nylon gear wheel on the unit inside the transmission split at one time. Have also had situations where the actual instrument panel developed a jumping indicator. A replacement instrument panel (which is not a big job) fixed that.

[GenevaDirt]

My speedometer broke. Is it a cheap and easy fix?

sent from my EVO in my Festiva

Need more info....what broke? What are the symptoms?

[Damkid]

Well there's really only 3 things to go wrong... the gear in the tranny (worst case senario)... the cable.. or the cluster itself

[jbuck1975]

All I know is i was dribing and the speedometer went to zero. And the odometer doesn't work either

sent from my EVO in my Festiva

[Damkid]

The odometer works off the cable as well......... first thing i would do is remove the speedo cable from the car, spin the gear on the transmission end of the cable and see if it spins at the cluster end of the cable, that'll tell you if the cables good or not

If the cable is good, you'd be able to stick your finger in the transmission where the cable goes and feel the speedo gear, if you can not spin the gear with your fingerand the teeth on the gear are good, then thats not the problem

If the cable and gear turn out to be good, then chances are you need a new cluster

[anomoly40]

Cable most likely broke. Get a new/used one from a junkyard, spray some lubricant down the new tube and install the reverse of removing the old one.

[5.0zone]

^What Damkid said.

[jbuck1975]

Cable seems to be stuck inside the tranny

sent from my EVO in my Festiva

[anomoly40]

Did you try to take off the 10mm bolt right beside the cable end?

[jbuck1975]

I unscrewed the cable. Is the bolt beside it part of the cable

sent from my EVO in my Festiva

[91_festy_Gl]

When you remove that bolt you should be able to pull the whole speedo gear assym. out with the cable.

[kellen302]

When I removed mine I had to soak it repeatedly in liquid wrench, then let it sit for a day or so

[htc]

Also, know that the tab that the bolt goes through is very susceptible to breaking away from the gear assembly.

[Oren09]

Here is a picture from the Haynes Manual.
The view is from underneath and behind but it can be accessed from above just as easily.
The bolt is to the left of the cable when standing in front of the car.
It will take a lot of force to remove the cable from the transmission but make sure you don't pull on the cable sheath or you may break it. I made this mistake once..



Here are some Festivas in the area.
Speedo cable is about $12 if you need one.

http://www.picknpull.com/check_inventory.aspx?Address=76065&Lat=32.480463&Lng=-96.963862&Make=Ford&Model=Festiva&Distance=100