can you fast forward an odometer?

[shaks 442 clone]

since im going to be rebuilding my motor and trans and doing the differential soon after i was wondering if i could fast forward the odometer to zero without damaging the unit

i've heard of people trying to rewind the odometers and damaging something insdie which stopped its operation

but i have never heard of anyone fast forwarding them

and i was wondering if any of you guys new anything about this

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone

........ i've heard of people trying to rewind the odometers and damaging something inside ........

Possibly newer ones, but not yours. If you spin the cable backward, it will be the same as driving in reverse. Nothing would happen.

Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone

........ i have never heard of anyone fast forwarding them ........

Probably because it is not too practical. If you used a drill motor to spin the cable at 3600 RPM, the odometer would turn 60 miles per hour. I use a 3" cable, to calibrate speedometers, at that speed.

Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone

........ if any of you guys new anything about this

I know it's illegal to turn it back.

One legal way, would be to purchase a new odometer unit from your GM dealer. Just be careful to reposition all the numbers, so they show the actual mileage, before you lock them into position.

The above procedures would also apply, when replacing the one you already have, if you happened to remove it for any reason.

Norm

[Olds64]

It depends on your state's laws regarding mileage on an older vehicle. I know in MO vehicles are exempt from odometer readings during safety inspections after a certain year. When my car was registered in MO the mileage section of the title said "exempt."

If you want the odometer to read "00000.0" then you can always purchase an aftermarket speedo / odometer. I would think you would pay an arm and a leg for a GM unit. Plus, I doubt you could even purchase one from your GM dealer (since it is so old).

[ozoneblue]

Dont know about Calif.Like 64 said about MO. Its your car take it apart & re set it where you want it.carefully one # at a time so you keep the even.Learned this after using a air powered speedo cable lube gun .forgot to use regulator & trashed a customers speedo ! Had to get a used one & re set it. They are not hard to do just delicate.

[88 coupe]

OK. I will play your silly game.

Originally Posted by Olds64

It depends on your state's laws ........

Do you know what your state's laws actually say?

Originally Posted by Olds64

........ When my car was registered in MO the mileage section of the title said "exempt." ........

Exempt from a safety inspection or exempt from Federal odometer tampering laws?

Originally Posted by Olds64

........ you can always purchase an aftermarket speedo / odometer .........

You can. Then you would set the numbers, to reflect the actual mileage of the car, in the manner I described above, so it would be legal.

Originally Posted by Olds64

........ I would think you would pay an arm and a leg for a GM unit .........

I would think you could not tell us what I paid for the last one I bought?

Originally Posted by Olds64

........ I doubt you could even purchase one from your GM dealer (since it is so old).

I doubt you could even tell me when I bought the last one (since it was still available).

Norm

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by ozoneblue

Dont know about Calif ........

I don't either.

Norm

[shaks 442 clone]

im not to worried if its illegal or not the state of california only cares if you keep track of the actual mileage if you ever sell the car so somewhere in my notes i would record what it was at right now then clock it back to 0

but i was only wondering if it was possible to reset them and what is involved in doing it

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone

........ im not to worried if its illegal or not ........

Ignore the thread hijack. It has nothing to do with anything.

........ but i was only wondering if it was possible to reset them ........

Read my first post carefully, this time, start after "I know it's illegal to turn it back".

........ and what is involved in doing it

First you'll need to take the speedometer out of the dash.

Norm

[Olds64]

Do you know what your state's laws actually say?

Yes. They say...

Exempt from a safety inspection or exempt from Federal odometer tampering laws?

It was exempt from...

You can. Then you would set the numbers, to reflect the actual mileage of the car, in the manner I described above, so it would be legal.

Or you could reset it to...

I would think you could not tell us what I paid for the last one I bought?

I imagine you paid about...

I doubt you could even tell me when I bought the last one (since it was still available).

I bet you bought it in...

[joe_padavano]

I'll wade into this thread. First, it is VERY easy to disassemble the speedo and manually reset the odometer drum. I've done it on several of my Oldsmobiles when I've rebuilt them. There is a very thin plastic shim between each of the individual sections of the odo drum. This shim is what breaks if you incorrectly force the drum to reset. If you do it carefully by disassembling the speedo, there's no problem.

Second, let's get serious here. There is absolutely no difference between resetting the odo to zero and installing a new one. For that matter, you can also install a whole new speedo with a different odometer reading. ALL of these are perfectly legal, since repair of the odometer is allowed by law. As with VIN tampering, the federal laws only address odometer tampering WITH INTENT TO COMMIT FRAUD. The VIN tag issue should be the topic of a different thread, however.

State laws do vary. Here in Virginia, you must note odometer inaccuracies in the appropriate space on the title. Do that and it's perfectly legal.

[shaks 442 clone]

yeah that same law you have in virgina on odometers and noting the actual mileage applies to california aswell joe

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by joe_padavano

........ There is absolutely no difference between resetting the odo to zero and installing a new one ........

Isn't that what I said in my first post?

[The_Jeremiah]

LOL, I hope your questions were answered

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by 88 coupe

Isn't that what I said in my first post?

Actually, not exactly. You said this:

Originally Posted by 88 coupe

I know it's illegal to turn it back.

One legal way, would be to purchase a new odometer unit from your GM dealer. Just be careful to reposition all the numbers, so they show the actual mileage, before you lock them into position.

The above procedures would also apply, when replacing the one you already have, if you happened to remove it for any reason.

Norm

My point is that (at least here in VA), you DON'T need to reposition all the numbers to show actual mileage. You install the brand new odo at 00000 and you make a notation on the title that the odo does not show the actual mileage. This is perfectly legal. I went on to make the case that doing this with a new odo drum is no different than doing it with the original drum reset to zero. The whole legality issue is the intent to commit fraud. If the reset is properly noted on the title, there is no fraud and it's all legal.

And not that I necessarily pay much attention to Click and Clack but ironically the covered exactly this topic in their column on Sunday - with the same answer.

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by joe_padavano

........ You said this ........

Yes I did. It had nothing to do with Shak's question, and should have been ignored.

I also said:

Originally Posted by 88 coupe

........ Just be careful to reposition all the numbers, so they show the actual mileage, before you lock them into its position ........

If one can easily change a new one from 00000.0 to 65432.1,

Originally Posted by 88 coupe

........ The above procedures would also apply, when replacing the one you already have, if you happened to remove it for any reason ........

wouldn't it be just as easy to change an existing one from 65432.1 to 00000.0?


Shak: Start at the highest number and work down. Should take you less than 20 seconds.

Norm