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Seems the speedometer needle in my ’54 has decided to be especially fond of 50 mph. It will stick at that value until I come to a complete stop, so the near term plan is to add a bit of lube to the needle’s support bearing/bushing. A search of the web on this subject revealed that a lot of people recommend 3 in 1, or mineral (baby) oil. I’ve got those covered as well as typical multi-viscosity engine oils, gear oils, high sulfur cutting oil, ATF, jack oil, tap magic, and a limited supply of Panther pee.

I’ve found quite a bit of service information about lubricating the cable, but not so much for the speedometer head. The lubrication section of the ’54 shop manual recommends 2-3 drops of 10W engine oil at 10K miles or 1 year interval at the cable flange. I suspect this is for the bushing at the cable interface, not the needle. Is there a consensus on which lubricant should be used for the speedometer needle support bearings/bushings?

dp

I don't know of a specific recommendation. One of the several vendors who services speedometers could probably advise. A watch or clock repairman might have good information.

Can't see why 3 in 1 oil would not be appropriate. Just don't use WD40 lol

I agree, any light oil will work. As it is sticking at a specific spot carefully examine the mechanism for all reasons that this may occur. Some sort of dirt/debris on the shaft, in the bushing(s). Any kind of misalignment of the axle to the housing. A bent/deflected pointer can cause binding at a specific point on its sweep too. By moving the needle pointer by hand to the 50 MPH mark and carefully feeling how it is binding will tell you a lot about the cause. These are very light parts and the return springs are equally fine so it does not take much to overcome them and have the needle stick. Oil will help, but it may not tell the whole story.
Happy snooping!
Bob J.

Thanks for the oil recommendations guys.

I spent a good part of the day looking at videos on how speedometers work, and how to service/repair them. One of those was for a Smiths unit, which featured an animated assembly of what looked like 3D CAD renderings of the individual parts . . . quite interesting. I also looked into the oils available for clocks and such, one of which was a liquid that evaporated and left a Teflon dry film behind for lubrication. I think I’ll postpone the speedometer task for a week to stock-up on these specialty lubes, which are bulk liquids, not aerosol cans. After a few of the videos I believe I’ve narrowed the areas that could produce a sticking needle as the only symptom. I appreciate Bob J’s comment on manually moving the needle to 50 mph to confirm the fault . . . it will surely be used to indicate whether the servicing has a chance of being successful. I’ll post a follow-up.

dp

Oils that gum up or creep can cause problems. Oil will tend to attract debris which will cause problems. I'd consider one of the specialty oils which are supposed to resist creep, gumming, or drying out. Any dust, lint, paint flakes, or rust powder present inside the speedo will likely cause problems sooner or later. The odometer drum and odometer drive can also need cleaning or lube or both.