In my 72 olds, my speedometer was " bouncing and ticking" at lower speeds 0-40. I lubed the cable with graphite which did not seem to help. I then added some small dabs of graphite to the speedo components, now it is way worse and stuck on 120????

Any thoughts? Did I ruin the speedo...

 

Graphite lubricant works wonders for the speedo cable.

 

Are you saying that you took the speedo out and put graphite lube right on the speedo head mechanism?

Baaaad idea. Sorry.

 

Wow! So now your car is doing 120 all the time? Cool!

I bet that'd make my car go even faster than those chrome valve covers would.

But seriously, the internal mechanism of the speedometer is essentially the same as a clock - unless you rebuild watches for a hobby, you shouldn't mess with it.

If you put graphite inside of it, a professional instrument restorer can probably get i cleaned up like new, but it may be cheaper to just buy another unit.

If lubricating the cable doesn't correct speedo chatter, it's usually time for a new cable or core.

- Eric