1991 fj80 speedometer/ speedometer cable or instrument cluster issues. (1 Viewer)

[Roastchestnuts]

Today the temperature dipped and my speedometer went all kinds of crazy and did not get better when it warmed up. It seems it works fine until I get to about 20mph then it jumps to usually 20 - 50mph over what I am actually going. Makes a lot of noise too. I feel like it could be one of 2 things. 1. the actual speedometer could be broken in witch case I will have to replace it I think. any thoughts? 2. I think My speedometer cable could on its last legs and Its just in need of replacement. I HAVE GREASED IT SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS and I would love to just replace it. Does anybody know if the fj62 cable will fit? or any aftermarket ones that will fit? I know the one for my 1991 is no longer available. Any help or input would be great!

some notes:

I don't have cruise control from factory. (I don't know if that effects weather I have a speed sensor or not)
I don't know if there is a gear in the transferase that could be broken?

 

[leonard_nemoy]

It seems like this issue is popping up on this forum more often.

I believe this problem is most commonly caused by the cable housing itself, not the actual cable. Someone on here posted once that they ordered a new cable and housing from Australia for a right hand drive and it worked fine.

I would recommend removing the entire cable and housing assembly from the back of the speedometer unit and the rig entirely. Remove the cable from the housing and spray parts cleaner through the housing from the speedo side until the parts cleaner comes out the other end clean. Clean and lube the cable and reinstall. If this doesn't fix your issue than start looking for a replacement.

It is my understanding that the cable housing gets full of old degraded grease and dirt. This makes the cable bind up in the housing and it will make some really weird noises. Simply pulling the cable and re-lubing it doesn't really help because you still have all the old junk in the housing.

Goodluck

 

[Mixelplix]

I bought this one, and it worked on my 91:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Roastchestnuts]

I bought this one, and it worked on my 91:

Pardon Our Interruption...

I am probably going to order one of these. I am hoping its not the speedometer. I really don't want to put a new cluster in.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

It seems like this issue is popping up on this forum more often.

I believe this problem is most commonly caused by the cable housing itself, not the actual cable. Someone on here posted once that they ordered a new cable and housing from Australia for a right hand drive and it worked fine.

I would recommend removing the entire cable and housing assembly from the back of the speedometer unit and the rig entirely. Remove the cable from the housing and spray parts cleaner through the housing from the speedo side until the parts cleaner comes out the other end clean. Clean and lube the cable and reinstall. If this doesn't fix your issue than start looking for a replacement.

It is my understanding that the cable housing gets full of old degraded grease and dirt. This makes the cable bind up in the housing and it will make some really weird noises. Simply pulling the cable and re-lubing it doesn't really help because you still have all the old junk in the housing.

Goodluck

Yeah I have actually have not fully taken the cable off the back of the cluster. I will give that a go this weekend. I am just hoping its not some gear or somthing in the cluster that has broke. It really felt like somthing broke though. we will see I guess

 

[BILT4ME]

What grease are you using for the speedo cable?

There is a specific grease for it, and if you don't find that exact thing, then white lithium grease would be the first go-to.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Yeah I have actually have not fully taken the cable off the back of the cluster. I will give that a go this weekend. I am just hoping its not some gear or somthing in the cluster that has broke. It really felt like somthing broke though. we will see I guess

What are your symptoms. I would bet your actual cluster is fine.

On my 91 the speedo cluster was fine. The issue manifested for me as a speedo needle that was jumping all over the place and reading way to fast. Like 70 when going 20. It also made a horrible noise and was worse in the cold.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

What are your symptoms. I would bet your actual cluster is fine.

On my 91 the speedo cluster was fine. The issue manifested for me as a speedo needle that was jumping all over the place and reading way to fast. Like 70 when going 20. It also made a horrible noise and was worse in the cold.

That actually sounds a lot like mine. Mine has always been a little jumpy until I pulled the cable and re greased it. Today it all of a sudden went to 70 or 80 when I was going 20 and kind won't stop doing that now though. it sounds like the way you described yours. just somthing I have not seen before on mine. it is Making more noise than usual. I am driving it to the garage to try and clean the cable real quick and see if it will make a difference.

 

[BILT4ME]

That actually sounds a lot like mine. Mine has always been a little jumpy until I pulled the cable and re greased it. Today it all of a sudden went to 70 or 80 when I was going 20 and kind won't stop doing that now though. it sounds like the way you described yours. just somthing I have not seen before on mine. it is Making more noise than usual. I am driving it to the garage to try and clean the cable real quick and see if it will make a difference.

If you are using too thick of a grease it will act the same as if it doesn't have enough grease until it has been driven long enough for it to warm it up. Unfortunately, you may break the cable before it warms up enough to work smoothly.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Here is a new one for me. It seems the cable fitting was loose by the transfer case (nobody to blame but myself for the looseness) and when I pulled the cable a little bit of what I think is water came out. We have had lots of rain here lately so maybe that got in there and caused some irregular movement in the cable? Idk but I sprayed some break clean all through the line and greased the cable up with white lithium grease again. the speedometer seemed much better with only the siltiest bounce. I I did purchase a new aftermarket replacement from Australia that I will replace it with once I have more time when school lets out in the summer. That teacher life!

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Side note: while I was under there I noticed the oil pain gasket replacement that I did last weekend is holding and seems to have fixed the bad oil leak. I actually had been told by a mechanic it was probably the rear main seal. thank goodness I did some research on Mud!

 

[jonheld]

Just as a reference point, when the inner cable wears through the outer jacket because it's 30 years old, it makes a fantastic mess until it pulls out of the drive gear on the transfer case.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Just as a reference point, when the inner cable wears through the outer jacket because it's 30 years old, it makes a fantastic mess until it pulls out of the drive gear on the transfer case.

What do people do when they do wear out? I am going to try this part from Australia but would have rather have bought somthing from the US. does anybody carry aftermarket spedo cables in the US?

 

[jonheld]

What do people do when they do wear out? I am going to try this part from Australia but would have rather have bought somthing from the US. does anybody carry aftermarket spedo cables in the US?

I have no idea. When the one in my 91 broke I was able to get a replacement from Toyota. The drive gear is going to be on the same side of the transfer case, so I would assume the cable routing through the floor would be the same. Hard to say until you compare them side by side.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

That actually sounds a lot like mine. Mine has always been a little jumpy until I pulled the cable and re greased it. Today it all of a sudden went to 70 or 80 when I was going 20 and kind won't stop doing that now though. it sounds like the way you described yours. just somthing I have not seen before on mine. it is Making more noise than usual. I am driving it to the garage to try and clean the cable real quick and see if it will make a difference.

The key is to get your cable housing off the truck and clean it thoroughly before the old dirt and grease cause the cable to bind and wear through the housing. If you can get it cleaned out well and re-installed I bet you could get another 100,000 miles out of the assembly.

Also, I believe there are some companies out there that can make custom speedo cables and housings. But you have to send the old one in for them to you copy.

Speedometer Cables USA- Cables and Housing Assembly - https://speedometercablesusa.com/cables_and_housing_assembly.html

 

[xlx]

Mine ended up being the drive gear in the transfer case. I would start with that before you tear everything apart.

 

[chkn]

The speedometer cable on my 91 snapped so, for anyone still looking for a speedometer cable...

The factory speedometer cable uses the typical Japanese M22 / clip connectors and is 71.5" long.
After some searching, you can use the speedometer cable for a 79 Toyota Pickup. Same Japanese connectors and is 74" long.

Napa BK 615-1676. Total for me with tax was $18.48