Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Electrical and Instruments => Topic started by: georgem on October 26, 2008, 18:33:22
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I have a speed related squeek which appears to be coming from the speedo cable (the squeek is not continuous - just a chirp but it gets faster as the car speeds up and vice versa). The speedo is working fine and not jumping. Is it possible to remove the cable inner from the outer cable from the gear box end - obviously I am trying to avoid the terrors of getting into the back of the instrument cluster as described so well in the forum manual.
Before I do anything I intend dissconnecting the cable from the gearbox and taking her for a drive to confirm. If I can just slip the inner cable out, a bit of grease on the cable might do the trick. :?:
Cheers
George
230 SL
Brisbane
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If it's the cable and not the gauge itself.
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John,
Point taken, however if it stops squeeking with the cable disconnected at the gearbox, at least it narrows it down to 2 probable options; cable or speedo itself. Greasing the cable would be the lesser (and cheaper) of two evils, esp it it can be slipped out from the gearbox end. Its the one I`ll do first in the spirit of a true optimist.
Cheers
George
230SL
Brisbane
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quote:
Originally posted by georgem
John,
Point taken, however if it stops squeeking with the cable disconnected at the gearbox, at least it narrows it down to 2 probable options; cable or speedo itself. Greasing the cable would be the lesser (and cheaper) of two evils, esp it it can be slipped out from the gearbox end. Its the one I`ll do first in the spirit of a true optimist.
Cheers
George
230SL
Brisbane
As an amateur, lay, shade tree mechanic, I don't know why you couldn't pull it from the tranny end. But, I'm sure someone with far more experience can confirm for you.
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George,
I had a similar issue several years ago. When I disconnected the cable from the speedo itself (with the cable still attached to manual transmission), the noise stopped. Once I had the speedometer serviced, the noise was gone.
I had the speedo serviced by Overseas Speedometer here in Austin (listed in our database), and the owner Rick Borth informed me that parts of the mechanism had run dry of lubrication.
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Hi,
Same problem here with the noise.
How do you pull the cable out?
There is a protective plate under the transmission with maybe 7 or 8 bolts? Is that all it takes? Since I have never done this before, I have some concerns about my own safety while being under the car. What exactly holds the transmission box in place?
I hope it's not that plate I mentioned.
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In my case lubing the cable didn't cure the problem entirely but did quiet things down a little and lessen the corresponding slight needle flicker for a time. Then my tacho started doing the same a matter of weeks later, so I pulled them both and sent them out to Palo Alto to be rebuilt. They recommended replacing both cables when I re-installed the instruments, which now are totally silent with dead steady needle movement.
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I forgot to mention that the speedometer needle has a tendency to jump sometimes.
Any idea about how to reach the transmission end of the cable? (unbolting the protective plate, I mean).
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Hey Guys,
An interesting run on the thread but still no answer to my original question, can I pull the inner speedo cable out from the gearbox end without pulling it off the speedo? :(
Can anyone help?
Cheers
George
230SL
Brisbane
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done it on my 230 SL Manual
naj
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Is your tranny auto or manual?
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Thanks Naj. Mike its a manual.
Cheers
George
230SL
Brisbane
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Ok. I have an auto box and have watched at close quarters while a friend and M-B technician uncoupled the speedo cable from the tranny, shot some lube up the speedo cable housing and reconnected it. There are a couple of steps that are probably germaine to an auto box only, like disconnecting the shifter rod from its lever to gain access to the pinch bolt, so I shouldn't cloud the waters with a total "step by step."
What may be common to both boxes is that the pinch bolt that secures the drive end of the cable is a metric allen headed bolt and needs an allen socket with at least a six inch long shaft to reach in tight quarters. The allen bolt must be removed completely to allow the cable end to be withdrawn, and there should be a rubber boot on the cable end to prevent debris from entering the connection. Withdraw the cable end, pull it up into the engine compartment so that you can shoot some engine oil into the cable sheath and patiently allow it to penetrate down the length of the cable. Then lower the cable back down the same path to the tranny where it formerly ran, and patiently allow excess fluid to drain out of the cable. You are not trying to drown the cable, just lube it up a bit!
Then carefully re-insert the cable end into its socket on the side of the tranny, being careful to seat the rubber boot and carefully hand-thread the allen bolt back into place. You can't thread the bolt if the cable end is not inserted fully or pushed in too far, but you can thread it in if the cable is not inserted far enough into the socket for the square drive tip of the cable to engage the drive gear in the transmission, so you need to check to see that you can't pull the cable end out if its socket after you have the bolt fully threaded but not tightened down. Don't use the socket drive handle until you are ready to snug up the threaded bolt.
That's it! I don't know the size of the allen head, maybe one of our tech gurus can chime in?
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The protective plate underneath the transmission box should not be a major concern to me? Like nothing can fall on top of my head?
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My comments were intended to give a general idea of what needs doing to lube a speedo cable. There was no need to remove the plate to access the pinch bolt on the auto box on my 230SL. I can't speak for a manual. Anyone with specific knowledge about the manual box is invited to chime in.
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Yes, Mike is right.
No need to remove the plate or anything else.
Just follow his guidance on removing/replacing the outer cable.
In my case, I removed the entire inner cable as I wanted to cut off a piece of outer cable to insert a Rally Trip meter sensor.Worked for me!
naj
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georgem,
if get the cable out, let me know please how you did it.
I tried today and I had to give up. It is an extremely narrow place to work there. I think the assembly next to it (maybe the shifter linkage) needs to be out of the way in order to gain access to that bolt.
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The first trick that my friend (who is also an M-B service tech) showed me is to pry the shift linkage off of the selector lever on the side of the auto box. The end of the linkage has a nylon clip pressed into it that will snap onto and off of the fitting on the end of the auto box selector lever. (He also recommends keeping a spare of this inexpensive nylon clip in the glove box for emergencies because its failure is notorious for stranding folks without notice!)
The second trick is to have a pair of loooong needle nose pliers handy to use when working with the cable end because the average three year old doesn't have the strength and motor skills to deal with its removal and reinstallation and hands much larger than a three year old's just won't fit!
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thanks.
I didn't notice the nylon clip. Only about 3 bolts on that linkage.
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Guys,
Just to finish this story off with a happy ending - it started with a squeek in the speedo cable and my question to the group was; can the speedo cable inner be removed from the outer cable from the gearbox end; I am pleased to add to the collective knowledge by saying YES. and it is simple!
Step 1 car up on ramps chock etc etc.
Step 2 On my car, a 65 230SL manual, the outer cable is secured to the housing on the side of the gearbox by a 10mm bolt. You can get at this without taking off the plate below the gearbox, although having double jointed wrists and two elbows each arm would make it slightly easier.
I used a short ring spanner (one from an old Sears Ingnition set) which was only about 100mm long. Once the bolt is out, the cable comes free and all is needed is to twist the cable inner and pull at the same time. Once out, I smeared the cable with multi purpose grease.
Reinstall is the reverse but be prepared to jiggle the cable initially to get it to seat into the back of the speedo, and then to play round a little to get the gearbox end to seat into the slot in the housing.
Result - no more noise
Time taken; 30 mins inc putting the car up on the ramps.
Cheers
George
Brisbane
230SL
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Good report, George - glad it worked out! Now you know what I meant by only enough room for the hands of a three year old... ;^)
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Congratulations!
I swear, I couldn't get to that 10mm bolt.
Is it safe to remove the plate under the gear box? I have no clue if something will fall on me in the process, that's the reason I asked.
I mean, the gear box won't fall off or anything like that, right?