Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Just was thinking here , has anyone ever thought about lubrication on the speedometer cable or the actual gauge ? I have in the past used like chain/cable lube on the cable but I had thought about a little squirt of spray inside the hub of the speedometer only because the way it works . I've noticed mine is typically 5-8 mph off . Maybe a little lube could correct that ?

They make a graphite lube that is recommended for the cable. Also, there is a spot on speedo head that is supposed to be lubed with light oil once every 50 years.

Yes, I recommend some lube in the speedo head itself. Kev illustrated it to me too. I never thought about it before but it turned out mine was practically seized from sitting all those decades. Just a bit of oil in the area the cable goes in freed it right up and it smoothly drops back to zero now. Not a spot I would have thought to address.
Bob J.

Yes, as noted by others speedometer cables require occasional lubrication. But your error is typical of speedometers of that era (indicating higher than actual) and is most likely not related to cable lube. Error can also be introduced by installing other than OEM tire types and sizes.

Where the arrow is pointing to on the speedo, there is a little brass cup in there. You need to carefully pry that out. Underneath that is a wick. So you can apply a few drops of oil there and hand spin the speedometer to help distribute the oil.

On mine, the brass cup was smashed in, and wouldn't come out. So I had to drill it out. I replugged it with a small set screw after oiling. It just acts as a dust cover. So doesn't need to go in very far.

You can probably figure it hasn't been lubed since it left E. Grand Ave.

Attach file:

---

  ScreenShot 759.jpg (164.92 KB)

Wheelhorse do you have the original bias plys, or radials?

I have bias ply still on mine . I'm goinna go out on a limb and almost say they are the original firestones .

Quote:
I sure hope not or if they are at least hope the car is trailered most of the time. While they may still look great, driving any distance on old dried rubber is not the safest thing to do in my book.

Wheelhorse, all,
As Kevin pointed out, the small brass cup and wick allow a lubrication point to the input magnet shaft. It is important to keep this lubed as it gets quite a bit of rotation, thousand RPM at 60 miles an hour.
However, lubricating this point will not correct for a weak magnet or other obstruction keeping the pointer from moving to an accurate speed. Also deeper inside the speedometer, the odometer geartrain also can suffer from old dry lube. Unfortunately the engineers never figured out a good way to provide lube to all those different internal points from the outside of the unit.

Regarding the cable, although graphite will not hurt it, originally, the rotating inner core was given with a thin coat of grease; you don't want to pack it in or pump it in from the bottom. I've repaired many speedometers of which somebody had pumped grease up through the transmission and and all the way into the speedometer making one amazing archaeological dig for me to explore. A little grease is all you need.

I hope this helps, Pat

Wheelhorse, all,
As Kevin pointed out, the small brass cup and wick allow a lubrication point to the input magnet shaft. It is important to keep this lubed as it gets quite a bit of rotation, thousand RPM at 60 miles an hour.
However, lubricating this point will not correct for a weak magnet or other obstruction keeping the pointer from moving to an accurate speed. Also deeper inside the speedometer, the odometer geartrain also can suffer from old dry lube. Unfortunately the engineers never figured out a good way to provide lube to all those different internal points from the outside of the unit.

Regarding the cable, although graphite will not hurt it, originally, the rotating inner core was given with a thin coat of grease; you don't want to pack it in or pump it in from the bottom. I've repaired many speedometers of which somebody had pumped grease up through the transmission and and all the way into the speedometer making one amazing archaeological dig for me to explore. A little grease is all you need.

I hope this helps, Pat