Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

[Richard M.]

Below is clear evidence of what happens when speedometer or tachometer cables are over lubricated or lubricated with improper materials.

I received this 1967 cluster from a friend. He said the speedometer gets stuck at various speeds and won't return to zero. It's a speed minder speedometer so I thought that function was possibly jammed. I had never worked on a speed minder unit before so I was uncertain what to expect, as well as parts availability.

What I found was a totally grease encased speedometer cup and gearbox. Because the grease was so thick and aged, it lightly jammed up the rotating needle shaft cup and magnetic main shaft.

I am convinced this was caused by cable overlubrication over time, and likely using a chassis grease or possibly even a grease gun at the transmission end of the speedo cable by a prior owner or technician. I've never seen one this bad.

Proof of what happens if the cable is lubricated improperly. It took me about a hour to dissassemble and using my parts washer, spray cleaners, brushes, q-tips and various pick tools, to clean all of the grease and embedded dirt away from everthing, and then reassemble and test the speedometer. The grease was so thick and gooey it took a fine wire brush to clean it out of the gear teeth.

After cleanig and reassembly the unit worked flawlessly. I even learned how to fix the speed minder function that wasn't working properly. Interesting little mechanism that is.

Lubricate cables wisely. Use a light lubricant specifically made for these cable systems. Never use grease.

Rich

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[Ray G.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Rich;
Is it possible some 80-90 migrated up the cable ?

[Duke W.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

"Lubricate cables wisely. Use a light lubricant specifically made for these cable systems. Never use grease."

I recall GM used to sell a specific speedometer cable grease, but it's long discontinued, and IIRC the shop manual says to only apply the grease to the lower two-thirds of the cable.

What specific lubricant - manufacturer product name/number - for the speedo and tach cables do you recommend?

Duke

[John H.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Corvette Central sells "Kable-Ease" - I bought this tube many years ago, and it's a lifetime supply.


KableEase.JPG

[Duke W.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Is that a grease or an emulsion of spherical graphite in a petroleum distillate like motorcycle cable lubricants and Lok-Eze?

Duke

[John H.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Is that a grease or an emulsion of spherical graphite in a petroleum distillate like motorcycle cable lubricants and Lok-Eze?

Duke

Duke -

It's a graphite emulsion in a light carrier; similar to Lock-Ease, but slightly thicker.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

We had a graphite based lube that we would put on the inner cable (lightly) by pulling the cable thru our fingers.
In my teens I made the mistake and used grease that was in the heated garage, (midwest). All worked well till the car cold soaked outside and I drove it.
The grease thickened and the spedo needle went from 0 and pegged the needle twice breaking the cable.
After that I learned about the graphite.

DOM

[Robert S.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

I was told by a speedo technician that the graphite lube acted as an abrasive and caused long term damage. He recommended a speedo lube made by Ford. It is a light grease w/o graphite.

[Jim D.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

I was told by a speedo/gauge repairman to simply use a light coat of Vaseline on the cable. That's all I've used for decades and never had a single problem.

[Michael M.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

I'll second the recommendation for Kable-Ease. I get it at my local Ace Hardware in a 1/2 once tube for $2.79. It's pretty much a one use tube, once you cut the tip, anything left in the tube will leak like crazy even with the cap installed tightly.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506024

[Richard M.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Because the mess inside this head had a consistent black texture and had no rancid odor like 90W gear oil, I'd think it's plain chassis/wheel bearing grease.

In the past I've used a CRC product called Power Lube.


It's made for many things including speedometer cables. It's a light slightly foaming spray that leaves minimal residue. I remove the cable from the housing and lightly spray it on the entire length and let any excess run off the end. I've never had a problem using it for cables. What I also really like is that it's a low pressure spray that comes out very slowly, unlike that messy high pressure jet spray like WD-40.

After cleaning things up it looked a little better and works properly. Testing it with a spare cable and drill, the needle now rests at zero mph and returns there from speed.

Rich

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[Paul K.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Has any body used white lithiumPaul Klemetson

[Richard M.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Has any body used white lithiumPaul Klemetson

Paul, IMO I wouldn't use it. It has a tendency to become hard and dry over a long time period and may be too thick for the application.

Rich

[Domenic T.]

Re: Speedometer Lubrication and Overlubrication - Cable Grease

Robert,
Graphite is not an abrasive, many think that but it is a very good specialty lubricant.

DOM