Recs for Mail Order Speedo Repair

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

If anyone knows someone good who doesn't charge an arm and a leg, I'd like to know who they are. I've got a speedo that probably needs the head rebuilt, the odometer has slop in it and needs the numbers adjusted higher, and the needle is broken of the shaft. I took it to someone local in Mississippi who swore up and down they could fix it up for me, and they made it worse. This guy has known my family well for probably 25 years, but he's dead to me after that stunt. He wrenches in the town I'm from and lies like a politician. Only reason I ever got involved with him is because my parents don't/didn't touch their cars and took them to him. Bob's Speedometer quoted me appx. $300-$400, which left my mouth agape after hearing that. The closest person to me who I know that touches mechanical speedometers is in Jackson, MS. He mostly deals with electronic speedometers through stealerships and independent mechanics, though, and I don't know how good he'd be, especially with the needle issue. Any recs or tips would be greatly appreciated. My speedometer working like crap has gotten very old.

 

[Blue Ox]

Since nobody's answering, I've heard good things about Lauderdale Speedometer. Don't know what they charge and haven't used them myself, but at least this will bump the thread and maybe someone else with a better answer will see it.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I’ll look them up and shoot them an email. Thanks!

 

[bucket]

I'm curious to see how this goes.

The speedo needle needs calibrated in my '78. Just the needle, as the odo reads correctly. But the gauge lense is clear, the print on the gauges looks great, and all the needles are still bright orange. Honestly I'm afraid to take the damn thing apart. It would suck to risk damaging things, just to have some guy make it worse.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I did that on mine. I just took note of the difference in actual speed using a cell phone app to get it and the indicated speed, pulled the needle off with a fork, and reset it in a different position relative to how much change I needed. It wasn’t a big deal and nothing broke. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. My speedo sounds like a loud clock ticking and today it was making chalkboard screech sounds.

 

[Blue Ox]

I've don't it on mine too. At least on the ones I've done there is a mark on the face where the needle should point when it is at rest. I've had okay results, but I think a specialist could do much better than me.

 

[bucket]

Mine actually needs calibrated. The needle reads fast proportional to road speed. Like it's the wrong gearing or the wrong size tires. But the odo is correct, within 1%.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Ahh, I see what you’re saying. You may try emailing Bob’s Speedometer. They’re expensive, but they also do very good work. Maybe it won’t be such a daunting estimate for one thing.

 

[Obwonkonobe]

It may sound pretty sketchy, but what i did she, my needle broke off was grab a spare from my junk yard finds pile, and use a fork to pry the old one off. Then i stuck the new one on and drove around, when i could see how off i was via a phone gps Speedo, i took the needle back off and stuck it on where I thought it would work, i got it within a couple mph

 

[Blue Ox]

Mine actually needs calibrated. The needle reads fast proportional to road speed. Like it's the wrong gearing or the wrong size tires. But the odo is correct, within 1%.

Is it a percentage of road speed or a consistent number like 5 MPH fast? I got the wrong drive gear when we added the overdrive and the speedo read 10% slow. Like 6 MPH low at real 60 MPH. It would have affected the odometer too. So the truck probably also has about 20K more miles on it than it shows.

OTOH, if it's constant you can probably reposition the needle.

 

[bucket]

Is it a percentage of road speed or a consistent number like 5 MPH fast? I got the wrong drive gear when we added the overdrive and the speedo read 10% slow. Like 6 MPH low at real 60 MPH. It would have affected the odometer too. So the truck probably also has about 20K more miles on it than it shows.

OTOH, if it's constant you can probably reposition the needle.

It's off by a percentage of road speed. The faster you go, the more it's off. By the time you get to an actual 70 mph, it's shows about 81 mph. But the odometer tracks miles correctly. It only gains one tenth of a mile every 10 miles, according to highway mile markers. I've tested it several times. Actual road speed is determined by gps.

The air gap probably needs opened up on that spinning weight thing on the back of the speedo.

 

[Blue Ox]

I see what you're saying. And you're lucky that yours reads high instead of low.

When we added the overdrive they supplied a gear that was supposed to correct for the different drive ratio. We didn't give it a lot of thought, we just followed the directions. Remember this was before GPS was common.

Anyway, we thought it was all good until a helpful government official checked it with a calibrated instrument and issued a document indicating that the vehicle speed was, in fact, higher than the indicated speed.

In hindsight we should have realized that the speedo gear only reflected the axle ratio and tire size which hadn't changed so there was no reason to fiddle with it because of the overdrive. I put the original one back and verified it with GPS. It was all good until recently. Now, for some strange reason the needle doesn't park on the calibration mark and the speedo reads 3-4 MPH high. B@lls.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I called Lauderdale, and they left me feeling ambivalent. They seemed eager to do the job but not eager to do the work if that makes sense. He wanted me to send the speedometer and a VIN number so he could send for a replacement from the factory. And if not, “he may have some spare parts lying around.” So he’s trying to tell me that he can get a 30-35 year old NOS 9C1 speedometer from GM. I don’t really buy that, and if it’s true, I’ll bet it ain’t cheap. Thoughts?

 

[Blue Ox]

Unfortunately as I said, no firsthand experience. I only mentioned what I'd heard. Mostly it was to bump your post.

It may turn out to be one of those things where the labor outruns the cost of replacement. LMC is selling new speedometers for $100. How much time can somebody afford to put into fixing one?

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Unfortunately as I said, no firsthand experience. I only mentioned what I'd heard. Mostly it was to bump your post.

It may turn out to be one of those things where the labor outruns the cost of replacement. LMC is selling new speedometers for $100. How much time can somebody afford to put into fixing one?

Oh, I wasn’t calling you out for your rec by any means. And this is actually a 9C1 Caprice speedometer that I picked up from RetroC10Sport.