Gear change affected my speedometer

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Old Oct 12, 2010 | 12:16 PM
  #1  
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Gear change affected my speedometer

I changed the gears in my rearend and now my speedometer is way out of wack. What can I do to correct? Thanks
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 12:20 PM
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Speedometer shop can easily fix that or you can change plastic gears and the cable.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 01:11 PM
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There is a plastic drive gear,inside your transmission,that is calibrated for different gear ratios.You just need to get the correct one for the rear gear that you have now.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 04:19 PM
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I need to do this too, so I got a question too.

This site here shows the formula for picking the proper trans gear for the speedo.
http://novaresource.org/speedo.htm
Gear ratio x 20.2 divided by tire height = Gear size
So 3.73 x 20.2 = 75.346 / 27" = 2.79

Small Speedometer Gear (3/4" diameter) = 22 (closest to 2.79)

Large Speedometer Gear (1-1/2" diameter) = 39 (exactly 2.79)

So I'm not sure which I need??? Is it the grey gear #22 (small) or brown gear #39 (large)??
http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Tech...eedo_gears.asp

I have no idea what this means.....
Buick, Oldsmobile & Pontiac transmissions use a 2.078" diameter driven gear housing. Two housings, each made from either aluminum or plastic, are available for driven gears with 34 or more teeth. One fits gears from 34 - 39 teeth and the second one fits gears from 40 - 45 teeth.

Last edited by Aceshigh; Oct 12, 2010 at 04:21 PM.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Aceshigh
I
I have no idea what this means.....

One fits gears from 34 - 39 teeth and the second one fits gears from 40 - 45 teeth.

This is the "housing" that your speedo cable is connected to.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 04:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Aceshigh
Small Speedometer Gear (3/4" diameter) = 22 (closest to 2.79)

Large Speedometer Gear (1-1/2" diameter) = 39 (exactly 2.79)

The one you needs depends on which drive gear you pick to use with the driven gear.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 04:48 PM
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I had a cop clock me w/radar as the speedo said 60 - he said 66 which was 10% slow on the speedo!
Pulled the small [driven] gear, counted teeth, [20 I think] went to the dealer and got an 18 tooth, installed it, and was right on!!
4-speed w/a 3:08 I think!!
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Boldsmobile
One fits gears from 34 - 39 teeth and the second one fits gears from 40 - 45 teeth.

This is the "housing" that your speedo cable is connected to.
Originally Posted by Boldsmobile
The one you needs depends on which drive gear you pick to use with the driven gear.
Bear with me here, I'm kinda a newb to this dept.

Using this pic for reference.
The Drive gear is the internal green gear correct??
The Driven gear is the white side gear I can remove correct ??



So are you saying I have to pick BOTH a Drive gear AND a Driven gear to get my speedo to function correctly or can I just buy a Driven gear ??

I have no idea how I'd change the Drive gear if I had to.

Last edited by Aceshigh; Oct 12, 2010 at 06:12 PM.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Aceshigh
Bear with me here, I'm kinda a newb to this dept.
No problem.



Originally Posted by Aceshigh
The Drive gear is the internal green gear correct??
The Driven gear is the white side gear I can remove correct ??


Correct


Originally Posted by Aceshigh
So are you saying I have to pick BOTH a Drive gear AND a Driven gear to get my speedo to function correctly

Correct


Originally Posted by Aceshigh
or can I just buy a Driven gear ??


Only if the drive gear you have is the one you need.



Originally Posted by Aceshigh
I have no idea how I'd change the Drive gear if I had to.
Pull the drive shaft. Pull the four bolts on the transmission tail shaft. That silver clip on the drive gear is what secures it to the tail shaft. Those clips are know to break.

The bolt in the pic next to where the speedo hooks up holds down a clamp. When you remove the bolt and clamp you can pull the driven gear housing and the driven gear. There are two types of housing to choose from and the one you need is based on which driven gear you have. I dont have sample of both otherwise id take a pic and show you.

Hope this helps.




Old Oct 12, 2010 | 08:02 PM
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THanks,

Okay so now I need to determine what the stock tire size was for a 1970 Olds Cutlass.
I have 14" OS III rims and SVNT442 says they were 225/70/14's.
I already know my gears were 2.78 from the factory.

So if I use this Bowtie Overdrives calculator to see what my drive gear is
It says my Drive gear is a 13 tooth, and my driven gear is a 28 tooth most likely.
Final # is 2.1538462

So with 3.73's and a 285/40/18 rear tire using the Bowtie Overdrives calculator
I will need a 10 tooth Drive gear, and 28 tooth Driven gear.
SO naturally......I have to take off the trans tail housing to swap the driven gear. Figures......
Speedometergearchart22.jpg

Last edited by Aceshigh; Oct 12, 2010 at 08:16 PM.
Old Oct 12, 2010 | 11:47 PM
  #11  
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I think the more important question is, which transmission do you have?

If you have a 200r4, it's better to just get a slow down or speed up adjuster
Old Oct 13, 2010 | 09:25 AM
  #12  
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Using the example above:
60/66 = .909
18/20 = .9
Do the ratio for your situation and if a gear with the needed number of teeth is offered by GMPD, you are good to go with just the driven gear.
Old Oct 13, 2010 | 04:00 PM
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^ ^ ^ No idea what any of that is from.....^ ^ ^

Originally Posted by Redog
I think the more important question is, which transmission do you have?
If you're asking me, Th350
Old Oct 14, 2010 | 02:24 AM
  #14  
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OK then thats easy enough to figure out.

What gear did you have in the rear? What new gear do you have in the rear? What plastic gear is in the tail housing? What color is the gear?

Take it out of the housing and count the teeth. Then I can look up what the other gear is inside the tranny and figure out which little tranny gear you need. Keep in mind you'll lose a bit of tranny fluid doing this
Old Oct 14, 2010 | 03:21 PM
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If you go the route of trying to figure out exactly which drive and driven gear you need based on tire size, etc, you will go through a lot of hassle and probably get it wrong the first time and have to try again.

If, on the other hand, you go the route of adding an "adapter" (gear reducer) between transmission and speedo cable, you will get it right the first time. Just measure what percentage slow or fast your odometer is (use mile markers over 10 or 20 miles on the highway) and get a reducer which corrects that percentage. Done.
Old Oct 14, 2010 | 04:10 PM
  #16  
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Is there any place that offers an adapter at a reasonable price?
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