Re: Speedometer/ power steering/ oil leaks on 1955 Caribbean

Posted by 39SixSedanMan On 2017/9/20 10:02:54

Regarding the speedometer: if by stating the cable turns when the wheels are turned, you mean the cable end at the speedometer turns, there may still be an issue if the cable is too short and does not engage the square fitting inside the speedometer. You may need to make sure the transmission end is fully seated and tightened.

Can you spin the copper colored collar on the input to the speedometer to see if the pointer moves (spin the collar counter clockwise as viewed from the rear). The collar should spin easily, with consistent low torque through each revolution.

Quite often, as I've written before, the lubrication in the speedometer begins to fail resulting in high torque that the cable tries to turn. Eventually, the cable will twist and finally break. The owner then repaces the cable, which is new and strong and solves the problem for a while. But the speedometer continues to put a load on the cable and it will fail again.

I can't recall whether your Packard carried a King Seeley or Stewart Warner speedometer, but the failure modes are the same.

I see this quite often when repairing and calibrating speedometers. As I said, the cause is usually lack of grease on the odometer gears and occasionally lack of oil on the magnet shaft. The magnet shaft is typically externally accessible, but the gears are not, requiring opening the speedo case.

Late add: I just say HH added some great advice. As a calibration reference, most American speedometers used a ration of 1000rpm=60 mph.

Hope this helps.
Pat