My speedometer works pretty well other than being a little fast. It occasionally will make some noise and act erratic. I removed the inner cable which looks fine and added a little light grease. During a 50 mile drive it still would occasionally make a whirring sound and the speedometer would bounce. Any ideas on what is causing this? I was thinking maybe dry gears inside speedometer.

 

I would have guessed the cable. Did you pull it all the way out and lube the entire cable?

 

Yes, pulled it completely out of the housing and wasn’t really dry. Put a light coat of some light grease on it and slid it back in.

 

The 1955 Oldsmobile Shop Manual has a procedure for lubricating the speedometer cable on page 2-10, which includes cleaning old grease from the casing and lubricating the lower 2/3 of the cable. Your description makes me think that it may be a problem in the head. If you're good with delicate mechanisms, you may want to tackle it, or send it to a speedometer shop.

 

Mine was doing exactly the same thing, then the needle fell off! Sucks. Anyway, did you ever figure out the culprit?

I'm in the middle of putting in a new speedo cable.

 

Anyone have a recommendation on where to send the speedometer for rebuild?

The SF bay area places no longer have parts.

 

Give these guys a call:
http://www.zepco.com

They are in Dallas and do good work. I am not sure how much they are doing on older cars these days, but they worked on my son's Cherokee. They did very good work.

 

Thanks.

 

I just had my speedometer repaired at Redline Gauge and Clock Repair in Greenbush, Mi. John services all GM's from the 30's through 80"s. He has parts on hand and does good work.

 

Thanks. Palo Alto Speedometer recommended a place in LA, Redline Gauge Works. Sent it off yesterday to be rebuilt. I don't know if the companies are related.