Honolulu
Well-Known Member
Despite reading years of horror stories about instrument and dash removal, and how most ship their speedo's off to faraway places for professional attention, I had to get the odometer fixed or I won't pass Hawaii safety inspection, thus no registration, etc. I was mentally ready to ship but had to have a go at it anyway, so....
Read everything I could online, and went into the garage expecting a long bloody afternoon. It helps that I already had the center-left trim under the steering column off, and a spare cluster to reference.
Surprisingly the removal was over in fifteen minutes, by unscrewing the leftmost gage set and letting it hang by the wires, then reaching behind to unscrew the speedo. It took just minutes to pop out the three little bulbs, unscrew the speedo cable and the one ground wire. Next rotate the unit, still up in the dash, pop out the odo reset cable, and voila, it's free. Pry up the cluster hood, fiddle and fumble until the speedo head came out.
Opening it up was assumed to be a hassle, but a small screwdriver gently un-crimped the chromed brass bezel that holds the glass in. Once that was off, undo the big thin nut and you have it in your hands.
The biggest discovery, once the glass was off and the innards exposed, was that as I hoped/expected, the innards are just like the 2002 speedos that I've been into before. AND, (this is the important part) the fix is well documented on the 2002faq.com list, with pictures and instructions. As expected, the odo didn't work because the aluminum gear was slipping on the shaft, so out comes the shaft, a couple light taps on the shaft with the ball pein hammer, and back together she goes! If you want the number face off, use two teaspoons to lever it off after marking the at-rest position of the needle. Careful, it takes some force to do this, and the needle is fragile. The shiny bit at the center is glued on. Clean the instrument face and glass before putting it back together. Re-crimp the chromed bit, but it need not be crimped all the way around.
Now for reinstallation, which may be a long and bloody task for one with big hands.
Read everything I could online, and went into the garage expecting a long bloody afternoon. It helps that I already had the center-left trim under the steering column off, and a spare cluster to reference.
Surprisingly the removal was over in fifteen minutes, by unscrewing the leftmost gage set and letting it hang by the wires, then reaching behind to unscrew the speedo. It took just minutes to pop out the three little bulbs, unscrew the speedo cable and the one ground wire. Next rotate the unit, still up in the dash, pop out the odo reset cable, and voila, it's free. Pry up the cluster hood, fiddle and fumble until the speedo head came out.
Opening it up was assumed to be a hassle, but a small screwdriver gently un-crimped the chromed brass bezel that holds the glass in. Once that was off, undo the big thin nut and you have it in your hands.
The biggest discovery, once the glass was off and the innards exposed, was that as I hoped/expected, the innards are just like the 2002 speedos that I've been into before. AND, (this is the important part) the fix is well documented on the 2002faq.com list, with pictures and instructions. As expected, the odo didn't work because the aluminum gear was slipping on the shaft, so out comes the shaft, a couple light taps on the shaft with the ball pein hammer, and back together she goes! If you want the number face off, use two teaspoons to lever it off after marking the at-rest position of the needle. Careful, it takes some force to do this, and the needle is fragile. The shiny bit at the center is glued on. Clean the instrument face and glass before putting it back together. Re-crimp the chromed bit, but it need not be crimped all the way around.
Now for reinstallation, which may be a long and bloody task for one with big hands.