MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Speedo Cable Lube

Hi All,

I've put the TF instrument panel back together after a repaint/refurbishment to match the new steering wheel, and am having trouble with the speedo. In the archives, there are a few recommendations for dry graphite lube, and some for lubricant made just for cables.

Before, my speedo needle sort of waved back and forth +/- 10 mph, and it was worse when it was cold, but at least I had a general idea of the speed by noting where the center of the wave interval was. So I figured it was a sticky lube problem in the cable. When I removed the cable, though, there didn't seem to be any binding in its rotation.

I cleaned the cable and re-lubed it with silicone grease (the label on the tube says it's good for cables). Now, the speedo needle is more erratic than ever, sort of rising to a point, than flicking up to a higher speed, than sinking back, with no wavey pattern as before.

Is the lube situation really THAT sensitive? Or, it's almost as if I didn't get the keyed end of the cable lined up properly at the tranny end, and the cable isn't being turned consitently. Is that possible?

Do I need to keep all of the curves in the cable as gentle as possible?

Thanks, Greg
Greg Van Hook

Do keep all of the curves in the cable as gentle as possible.
Dry graphite is the best for the cable because it doesn’t attract dust and dirt and get gummy. There is another possible cause. There is a magnet that runs in a spring loaded drum. The faster the magnet turns in the drum the more the drum rotates moving the needle. (At times even as high as 100) The magnet can pick up metal shavings and drag against the drum causing a very erratic needle.
Jay
{8^{
Jay Dyck

Greg - You inner cable may have a kink in it, a broken strand that is catching on the outer cover or it may be stretched and is longer than it shoud be. Take the cable into a local speedo shop and have them inspect it. Better yet,take the whole car in to them to look at. The speedo in the later TD and the TF,the speedo is just a standard magnetic speedo that is found in all cars today. Local shops can adjust and calibrate our speedos as long as there are no repairs required that need parts.
Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Oops, So there's a magnet inside the TF speedometer..... So maybe it wasn't a good idea to use my Dremel tool with the wire brush to polish the metal where the dash lamp socket plugs in. I think some flying bits from the brush have gotten inside and onto the magnet.

I have the clock off, to be sent out for repair. I wanted to open up the speedo to see see if I could clean it out but the gear and shaft for the clock hands was still there and I didn't want to mess that up.

Anybody know how to get the clock hands of so I can separate the speedo mechanism from the case and clean the magnet?

Thanks again, Greg
Greg Van Hook

Greg - If you have access to the clock hands, use two small screwdrivers (jewlers screwdrivers) and a couple of toothpicks as fulcrums. place the tips of the screwdrivers under the minute hand right next to the shaft, 180° apart and lever the minute hand off. the hour hand can be pulled off with your finger nails.
Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

My Cable was doing the same thing, causing bouncing on the instrument. Took it to the local shop and the cable over the years is stretched and if you take out the cable and can twist it more than 1/4 inch before the other end turns, it is shot. new cable was relativly cheap to build. under 50.00 and much better to use the old cable than buy a new one.
Tom

Greg,

I had a silicone or other coating on my TD cable and it was not good; it bound and was noisy. When it bound the speedo would lag, then it would jerk up as the speedo cable unstuck. The cable can bind and act like a spring. I used the powdered graphite that is use in locks. Wear rubber gloves, this is messy. I first cleaned the old crud off of the cable with an Estwood product called Pre. It is used to clean grease off of parts before painting. I just laid the cable onto my garage floor and sprayed it with Pre (do this away from other items, like your car-- it is a solvent! I suppose that carb cleaner/parts degreaser could be used the same way. Then I rolled cable a few inches further, and ran the tube of graphite over it, "puffing" graphite out of the tube every few inches. I then installed the cable. It made noise until I got the curves to be gradual. Also, it took a few drives for the graphite to ditribute evenly. Since then it has been fine.

Good luck (and since I'm back on the road, see you "up river")!

Ira

Ira Spector (PA)

Can anyone describe the noise that a “noisy” spedo cable makes? Occasionally (most often right after shifting gears) I hear a metallic “clattering” noise for a second or so, something like stones being thrown lose from the tires or maybe something touching the fan blade. The local MG shop said it definitely isn’t a transmission noise, which was my biggest fear. We’ve ruled out just about everything we can see.

Anyway, one of the possibilities is the spedo cable flopping around and hitting something. I’ve tied some pieces of string to position the cable away from the firewall, but still get the noise. I’ve greased the cable, which stopped the “normal” spedo cable ticking noise, but still occasionally get the clattering. Anyone think it could be the cable, or is the problem elsewhere?

Steve Markman
50 TD
Steve Markman

I had the same problem as Greg with my speedometer fluctuating +/- 10mph. I replaced with a new cable from Moss and now it runs quite smooth, MAYBE +/- 1mph. But when I took the old cable off, about 2 TBS of oil flowed out of the tranny end of the cable. Any idea why there was oil in my speedo cable? I don't remember putting any oil in when I restored the car 25 years ago.
Bryan
B Sieling

This thread was discussed between 27/03/2004 and 21/04/2004

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.