Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

How much graphite squeezed into the speedo cable is enough? Mine is noisy and bouncing around, which makes me a bit crazier...........thoughts and advice appreciated.

Get a tube of speedometer cable grease from the auto parts store. $1.79 for a lifetime supply.

Unscrew the cable off the transmission and pull out the inner cable. If it is not rusted, kinked or worn out grease it and put it back in. Wipe off the old grease and coat the cable with fresh grease. Do not grease the top 6" or 1 foot. This is to prevent the grease working into the speedo. Feed the cable back in. You may have to spin it with your fingers to get it to go the last little bit. Put the cable back on the transmission and you are done.

This needs to be done every 25 years or 100,000 miles.

PS check that the cable is not bent or kinked. It should han gracefully in smooth curves and straight lines. If someone has bent it into an awkward position, that will increase friction and make the cable jumpy.

PPS you used to be able to buy a new inner cable, universal fit, from the parts store if your old cable is worn. You do not have to replace the whole thing.

Unscrew the cable off the transmission and pull out the inner cable.

IIRC, in Packards case there is a flange on the speedometer end so cable needs to come out from the top. I believe their instructions were to wipe cable clean and then lube the bottom third of cable with grease and slide it back into housing. The lower applied lube would rub off in the housing as it slid in and provide enough residual to lubricate the remaining length of cable. That would eliminate a large amount being present near the speedometer that could leak out. Think the graphite lube is thinner and less would rub off so probably wouldn't hurt to apply higher up on cable.

As Rusty mentioned, it would be good to check for sharp bends in the housing and for kinks or frayed wires in the cable. Another way to find small kinks is to hold the cable in the middle and let it droop while you rotate between your fingers. Watch for the ends flopping or taking a sharp movement or just lay it flat on a surface and roll it. Lube won't help either of those situations for very long.

Another thing to check while speedo end is open is to use the end of cable or make something approx the same square size to insert and rotate the cable input. The old lube inside the speedo dries out and if the turning is least bit hard, need to address that.

This Mite not apply to 55 or 56 cables. I can't remeber.:

But in MOST cases check the inner cable to be sure that it is installed correctly. Inner cables usualy are of a kind very tite spring wound cable. If it is installed backwards or "upsidedown" then it will try to unwind at higher speeds. Reverse gear is usualy low speed enuf and very internittent not to cause any unwinding.

IF it unwinds it gets longer. If it gets longer it binds.

IIRC there is a lube port on the speedometer HEAD itself. Consult the service manual i believe it is covered there.

Advice taken. Found that pesky lube port ONLY after locating it on an extra speedometer cluster I had here at the house. A royal pain to lube the head while it is in the car! Speedo has now quieted down and is smooth again. Thanks much!