89 RHD Panel van Speedo Cable problem

[evok]

Hi Guys, My speedo has not worked for a couple of months. I bought a cable from Heritage and set aside an afternoon during the Christmas holiday to sort it out. I read all the tech info on here and studied my Haynes manual so I could do the job blindfold before I even started. I disconnected the cable from the back of the speedo (clip-on type), removed the front grille and pulled the grommet out of the hole. Dropped the spare wheel holder and removed the (flat) spare. Then it all went pear shaped. My existing cable has a knurled end which appears to screw on to the centre of a 60mm diameter x 20mm thick disc which is attached to the suspension. The other side of the disc has a similar knurled end with what looks like a short length of speedo cable carrying on through the wheel hub to the, as described, square hole in the cap with the spring clip. My replacement cable does not have this disc fitting and I can't find any mention of one on here (apologies in advance if I've missed it). Could the disc unit be some kind of gearbox to modify the rotation rate of the cable? If I delete the disc unit will my speedo readings all be wrong? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks and a Happy New Year to you all.

[kevtherev]

No speedo gearbox in the hub.
The cable just pushes through the hub and is secured in the bearing cap with a c clip
can you get a picture of this disc?

did your old cable look like this?

[aisha]

I've read somewhere that the original speedo cable was 2-piece and the replacement part is 1-piece, so maybe you don't need that bit, and it's to stop the suspension travel interfering with the speed reading?

[evok]

Hi guys, thanks for the response. I will try and get a photo if it ever stops raining. The 2 piece cable sounds feasible and suggests my fresh replacement 1 piece will not be money wasted. The picture posted by kevtherev above is similar to my original. The end connection is not a hexagon but looks like the speedo end of a screw on cable.

[kevtherev]

that cable is a syncro speedo cable

[Ian Hulley]

Unless the cable has actually snapped (unusual) the fault is usually the square drive hole in the bearing cap becoming too round to drive a square cable end. As you've already bought the cable check that the cable itself wont slip out of it's new outer sheath and slip down the old outer straight into place

Ian

[billy739]

its possible the cable has seized in the hub and has been cut / modified so the stuck part can be used

i have also seen syncros converted to 2wd with a bodge so the cable can work with the hub.

remove everything and the new cable should push through the hub . hopefully your speedo has the number '805' on the face which is the standard 2wd speedo which uses a direct drive speedo cable ie turns at road wheel speed.

presume you have standard size wheels?

[Simon Baxter]

It may have had aftermarket cruise control fitted, they sometimes have road speed sensors inline with the speedo cable.
The US spec vans with the "OXY" light also had a thing inline to count the miles and turn the oxy light on after X amount of miles.