07-25-2015, 05:05 AM
WOW! It's been over a year since I asked the question about the speedometer. I can say I bought it but I never installed it thanks to fixkick (see below).
I had originally bought the cable to replace mine that began squealing during the winter of 2013-14. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to snaking that cable through the firewall bending it behind the aftermarket head unit and finally making its way to the cluster. I would plan on doing the job but knowingly schedule something else in its place.
Finally, after tackling another maintenance issue and having it up on stands, I decided to try lubricating the cable first instead of replacing it -- thanks to a post by fixkick on another forum. I unscrewed the knurled nut and removed the cable from the transfer case. The cable pulled out of the sheath with relative ease. It was a little bit rusty and extremely dry. Didn't seem to be damaged so I cleaned it and used super lube starting at around 8-12 inches below the speedometer cable end. The only problem I had was pushing the cable back up the sheath. It would get stuck at the the last two inches. After trying unsuccessfully for 20 minutes, I figured I would need to remove the cluster but it was actually a lot easier than that. All I needed to do was remove the cluster screws and ease the sharp bend of the speedo cable by slightly lifting the cluster upwards tilting it towards the front of the car. The remaining two inches of cable slid back up with a final slight counter-clockwise turn and the transfer case side of the cable was seated against the ferrule.
Just wanted to say thanks to fixkick and offer my experience to someone else looking to do this job. My Tracker is a 1990 so I'm not sure if all years can be pulled from below like mine or not? If so, it's worth trying before replacing the entire cable when dealing with the cold weather squeal.
I had originally bought the cable to replace mine that began squealing during the winter of 2013-14. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to snaking that cable through the firewall bending it behind the aftermarket head unit and finally making its way to the cluster. I would plan on doing the job but knowingly schedule something else in its place.
Finally, after tackling another maintenance issue and having it up on stands, I decided to try lubricating the cable first instead of replacing it -- thanks to a post by fixkick on another forum. I unscrewed the knurled nut and removed the cable from the transfer case. The cable pulled out of the sheath with relative ease. It was a little bit rusty and extremely dry. Didn't seem to be damaged so I cleaned it and used super lube starting at around 8-12 inches below the speedometer cable end. The only problem I had was pushing the cable back up the sheath. It would get stuck at the the last two inches. After trying unsuccessfully for 20 minutes, I figured I would need to remove the cluster but it was actually a lot easier than that. All I needed to do was remove the cluster screws and ease the sharp bend of the speedo cable by slightly lifting the cluster upwards tilting it towards the front of the car. The remaining two inches of cable slid back up with a final slight counter-clockwise turn and the transfer case side of the cable was seated against the ferrule.
Just wanted to say thanks to fixkick and offer my experience to someone else looking to do this job. My Tracker is a 1990 so I'm not sure if all years can be pulled from below like mine or not? If so, it's worth trying before replacing the entire cable when dealing with the cold weather squeal.