After removing all under dash panels it is possible to get at the backs of the
instruments. They are affixed to the dash with two knurled nuts each. Each nut
sits on a tab sticking out at right angles to the body of the instrument. The
tab has two "steps". If you loosen (do not remove) the nuts, you can turn the
instrument counterclockwise about 1/2" of motion at the outside edge of the
instrument and remove it toward the front of the car. The problem is that you
can really only get one finger, sometimes one and a half, on the knurled nut. Do
what you can.

You will also need to remove the small lights that are in the back of the
instruments if you want to completely remove an instrument from the dash. These
are simply press fit into the instrument back. A good fingernail or teeny
screwdriver helps here. I found a spare bulb hanging from the harness. It's wire
was too short to get to the instrument, so Fritz just left it off. It is worth
the time to add wire so that all bulbs can help to illuminate the instruments.

Start with the easy ones, the combination guage on the left. take it out and let
it hang somewhere among the wires. move to the next easy one, the clock. Then do
the tach. The speedo is the most difficult. You must remove the drive cable
first. If you remove the other instruments first and just push them back far
enough to get at the speedo nuts you'll make it. Getting the speedo out from
behind the dash was an excercise in fuzzy logic.  Getting the instrument out
from behind the dash can't be explained, you have to just keep turning it
sideways, upside down, backwards and every other which way until you get it out.
Take your time, a beer helps. Ditto for all other instruments. Now you are most
of the way through a six pack. Stop and wait for tomorrow.

The odo drive attaches to the 1 o'clock position on the back of the speedo. It
is a press fit little white plastic thingy with the drive running axially
through the center. Make shure its in before you put the speedo back, unless you
are really thirsty. The speedo drive can be disconnected (knurled nut axial to
cable) before you remove and after you install the instrument. Do not cross
thread this as you put it back on!

I had speedo and clock repaired by North Hollywood Speedometer. They did a great
job, including a complete cleaning of the dial and glass.

Installation, as they say, is the reverse of the above. Start with the speedo
and work out to the ends, using the instrument holes to tighten the nuts. I foud
that the left hand speedo nut was impossible to get a finger on. I tightened
that nut before offering up the instrument so that once it got a 1/2 inch twist
clockwise it seated the nut/tab and simultaeneously seated the bezel in the dash
hole. This required several tries to get right. Then tighten the right hand nut
by reaching through the tach hole. Etc, Etc.

Take you time, it can be done, don't get frustrated. If you know a contortionist
this can be fun!

Ken Olsen

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrey Yurovsky [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2001 10:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: lets talk about removing the speedometer : (

Sorry if this was covered somewhere already (if so, please point me to it)
but I was hoping to get some information on removing my speedometer
instrument.  My speedometer works fine but the odometer does not work, and
the trip odometer reset cable is not connected to the instrument.  I don't
really mind, but in the spirit of correctness and being able to cry about
bad gas milage, I'd like to use the trip odometer, so I want to remove the
instrument and get it fixed and reinstall it (this time with the reset cable
connecetd).  There's a VDO shop near here that could fix it.

I opened up the lower panels and climbed into the dash with a mirror and a
flashlight and it looks like there are two screws, one per side, holding the
instrument.  Looks like I can unscrew the speedometer sender and the
instrument is removed from inside.  However, there doesn't seem to be any
room to push it back that way, so I'm curious about how I'd remove it.
Also, I was hoping to find where it is that the odometer reset cable plugs
in... I got a pretty good look at the back of teh speedometer but I didn't
see any hole where it could go.

Not having service manuals makes this kind of a challenge... I appreciate
any advice : )  Thanks,

   -Andrey