Speedometer Adjustment

[nelbur]

Lately I have noticed that when I look at the speedometer in my '86 Bronco, I have been running below the speed limit, and if I run at the indicated speed limit, it feels too fast. Figured I am getting old faster than I expected.

Today I had the GPS in the truck and found the speedometer to be about 5 mph slow at all speeds. I had the instrument cluster out recently to **** the speedometer cable. I must have accidentally bumped the needle backwards.

Does anyone know how the needle is supposed to read at zero speed? I'm sure I can adjust it by trial and error, but I would rather open the instruments up just once. Thanks.

 

[Seabronc]

That all has to do with speedo gears. You can make it more accurate by changing the speedo gear. A gear with one less teeth than the one that is in there will bring you to within about 1 to 2 mph of actual. Any time you change rear end gears or tire size you have to do something to compensate for the change. You can get the gears at the Bronco Graveyard or a Ford dealer. They are located on the end of the speedo cable at the transmission end. Remove the clamp that holds the cable in, pull the clip holding the gear on the end of the cable and reverse the process to reinstall. Miesk5 has a gear calculator.

Good luck,

 

[nelbur]

I have 31' tires and the gear is correct for 31s. I appear to have just bumped the needle, twisting it against the stop. I need to remove and replace the needle in the proper location. I was hoping someone with an '86 could tell me where the needle is when parked, relative to the first mark. The first mark might be zero, but I am not sure.

 

[miesk5]

yo NELBUR,

Here is one pic by by ThomasStemmle in an 86

with speedo removed and just about level;

http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy245/Stemmle/IMAG0448.jpg

in gauge panel, removed; http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy245/Stemmle/IMAG0454.jpg

with slight off-level

and in-dash;

http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy245/Stemmle/IMAG0485.jpg

a pic by 86beast > 1986 Ford Bronco, but fuzzy

 

[nelbur]

Thanks Miesk5, That shows the needle over the first mark. I will try that. My needle is down very close to the odometer.

 

[miesk5]

yo,

yw

I cleaned & balanced a few meters while on Navy paid cruises; not EZ at all while in a storm @ sea!

read this by crackthesky

http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/galaxie-pages/510033-speedometer-needle-bouncing-video-2.html

 

[nelbur]

I took the cluster out today and repositioned the needle to the first mark. The GPS said it is now reading correctly, at least up to 55 MPH, and at my age that is fast enough.

The needle on this '86 is attached to a pin that inserts into a sort of receptacle inside the speedometer. Now that I see how it works, I really didn't need to remove the cluster, as I could have pulled the needle off and reinserted it at a higher reading, say 10 to 15 MPH, and then rotated it counter clockwise until it was over the first mark. There is a robust internal stop that it lays on at 0 MPH.