Toyota Corolla speedometer cable

donegal__road

hi guys, Im having bother with a Toyota Corolla speedometer cable. The lights on the instrument panel on the dash have fused so I was removing the speedometer from the dash to replace the bulbs, to realise that I also need to disconnect the speedo cable from the gear box under the bonnet. I located where the speedo cable connection nut is but I cant seem to be able to disconnect it. When I go to unscrew the threaded connector in the attached image, it seems to be spring loaded and just returns to its original position. Any help appreciated thanks.

CJhaughey

donegal__road wrote: »

hi guys, Im having bother with a Toyota Corolla speedometer cable. The lights on the instrument panel on the dash have fused so I was removing the speedometer from the dash to replace the bulbs, to realise that I also need to disconnect the speedo cable from the gear box under the bonnet. I located where the speedo cable connection nut is but I cant seem to be able to disconnect it. When I go to unscrew the threaded connector in the attached image, it seems to be spring loaded and just returns to its original position. Any help appreciated thanks.

Have you tried holding the hex under the knurled part with a spanner and undoing the knurled nut?

donegal__road

CJhaughey wrote: »

Have you tried holding the hex under the knurled part with a spanner and undoing the knurled nut?

yes, I did try that but the knurled nut kept reverting to its original position.. there must be something jamming it. How are these cables normally removed?

dooroy

What year car is this ?
I remember some of the older ones had the speedo cable in 2 sections - they were joined somewhere around the bulkhead .
Probably no help:)

donegal__road

dooroy wrote: »

What year car is this ?
I remember some of the older ones had the speedo cable in 2 sections - they were joined somewhere around the bulkhead .
Probably no help:)

its a 98.. and the cable is in two sections, the nut in the photo is approx 8" from the gear-box. The nut where it joins to the gearbox looks hard to reach, its probably this one I should be disconnecting?

dooroy

Found this pic of the 2 parts - may help

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Corolla-E100-AE100-AE101-AE102-speedo-meter-cable-NEW-speedometer-/160855658203?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1998%7CMake%3AToyota%7CModel%3ACorolla&hash=item2573be8edb&vxp=mtr

Looks like you just unscrew the knurled nut while holding the lower section .
Did you get much of a turn out of the knurled nut - sometimes they tend to stick and after a half turn or so will become free.
Was the speedo working OK ? have you disconnected it from the dash

donegal__road

dooroy wrote: »

Found this pic of the 2 parts - may help

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Corolla-E100-AE100-AE101-AE102-speedo-meter-cable-NEW-speedometer-/160855658203?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1998%7CMake%3AToyota%7CModel%3ACorolla&hash=item2573be8edb&vxp=mtr

Looks like you just unscrew the knurled nut while holding the lower section .
Did you get much of a turn out of the knurled nut - sometimes they tend to stick and after a half turn or so will become free.
Was the speedo working OK ? have you disconnected it from the dash

will give it a go in thge morning dooroy, thanks for the bit of advice..

dooroy

Just another thought - the knurled nut is probably stuck to the casing of the cable and when you turn it you are in effect turning the cable and this is why its turning back.
Hold the casing just above the knurled nut and see if you can turn the nut on the casing - once you break the grip the nut should then turn freely. A shot of penetrating oil between nut and casing would also help - and give it a little while to work .
Hope this makes sense:)

Cogsy88

Can you not disconnect it from d gearbox?

dooroy

You could have the same problem with the knurled nut there (stuck to the casing) and its harder to reach .

CJhaughey

I'd say the rubber sealing washer is stopping it from turning, OP you need to hold the knurled part with a vise-grips carefully making sure not to crush it, and turn the hex once it goes beyond 360 degrees it should come free and start to undo.

PADRAIC.M

The right way to do this job is to actually remove the cable from the clocks! Not the gearbox, I usually just reach in around the clocks and disconnect speedo cable by pushing down the clip on cable...

dooroy

Removing the speedo from the clock is the usual way but I thought the OP may have had a reason for wanting to disconnect from the gearbox end .Can be difficult to disconnect some cables from the back of the clock if you can't see what method is used to retain them .
If you turn the hex through 360 you may damage the outer casing of the cable going to the box ,

joujoujou

Speedo cable in this particular model is too short to allow you to reach a clip behind cluster without disconnecting cable in the engine compartment.

donegal__road

bingo.. the knurled nut was stuck alright, managed to free it after spraying WD40 on it, and holding the hex part underneath with pliers.

There wasn't enough slack on the cable for me to be able to reach around the back of the instrument panel and disconnect the speedo cable, so my only option was to disconnect it at that connection point, 8" up the cable from the gearbox.

I replaced the bulbs, reconnected the cable and everything works fine. Its not the brightest dash in the world but its better than darkness.

Many thanks for the tips!

dooroy

Great result - the problem with the knurled nut seizing on the outer housing is common ; but once you know how it should work it can be freed usually