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The speedometer on the '92 900S that I recently purchased was not working properly. On the drive from Denver to Duluth it began to act erratically. It kept getting worse until I gave up and disconnected it behind the speedometer.
I located a replacement cable in a wrecked '93 900, but managed to break the snap-on connector next to the speedometer. No matter, says I, and removed the inner cable. The inner cable is like a tightly wound spring, squared off at both ends to fit into the square holes in the transmission output and the speedometer input. There is a small clamp near the transmission end to keep the cable in place.
Since I could not pull the old cable up at the speedometer end, I unscrewed the outer cable at the transmission end. The old inner cable was intact, but had reddish deposits, as though it had gotten very hot.
Before preparing to install the new inner cable, I consulted the Classic 900 Bulletin Board on The Saab Network for advice on lubrication for the cable. There was no definitive answer, only some good guessing at using WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil. The Haynes Workshop Manual for the 900 lists quite a few lubricants specified by Saab, but speedo lube was not among them.
A friend of mine is a Toyota Tech, and I asked his recommendation: Should I use WD-40 or JB-80 (Justice Brothers), or something else? He said to use graphite powder. The difference, he said, is that oil based lubricants can wick up the cable and leave oily deposits on the face of the speedometer. That made sense; I have often seen 99 and 900 speedometers with an oily spot next to one of the screws on the face of the gauge.
I found a small container of graphite powder (about $2) at an auto parts store. To lubricate the cable, I poured some powder onto a paper towel and dragged the cable through it, trying to massage some of the powder into the coils of the cable. I reasoned that the cetrifugal force would fling some of the excess graphite onto the inner walls of the outer cable.
For final assembly, I pushed the new inner cable into the old outer cable as far as it would go, trying to make sure the square end went into the square hole on the back of the speedometer. The lower end was installed onto the transmission.
All apparently went well, as the speedometer now works as it should once again.
As an afterthought, WD-40 might be a suitable alternative. The liquid carrier is supposed to evaporate off, leaving the dry silicone as the lubricant.
posted by 216.251.183...
, Fri, 7 Jul 2006 14:56:30
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