Fixing '82 Rabbit odometer... any ideas?

[Mark A. Adams]

The odometer on my '82 Rabbit stops whenever it hits 99, then starts again
after 50 miles or so. I don't know anything about odometers, and nothing
regarding them seems to be in any repair book I've found. Does anyone
know how to fix these? Not that it's that big of a deal (the car has
>140k miles, so who's counting) but it would be nice if it worked
properly.

Thanks for any help.

--
Mark Adams - Cornell Law School

The law's commands are these:
-- live justly, harm nobody, give everyone their due.
-Justinian 453 A.D.

[Mark Shaw]

In article, ma...@cornell.edu (Mark A. Adams) writes:
|> The odometer on my '82 Rabbit stops whenever it hits 99, then starts again
|> after 50 miles or so. I don't know anything about odometers, and nothing
|> regarding them seems to be in any repair book I've found. Does anyone
|> know how to fix these? Not that it's that big of a deal (the car has
|> >140k miles, so who's counting) but it would be nice if it worked
|> properly.

This is typically the split odo gear syndrome, where the drive spur
gear on the main odometer shaft splits from a tooth root to the
shaft and allows the gear to spin on the shaft. The problem
varies with load (turning over a 9) or with temperature (usually
worse when hot).

Replacing the gear is not a really difficult task, once you get
the speedo out and its cover off. Finding a replacement gear
is difficult, as it is not a general repair part. And I haven't
found any speedo shops which will just sell you the part.

My supply of gears has usually been the junkyard, but then you
have to look for broken speedos with good gears in them.

Mark

[Felix Yen]

Mark Shaw (ma...@wdc.sps.mot.com) writes:
> Replacing the gear is not a really difficult task, once you get
> the speedo out and its cover off. Finding a replacement gear
> is difficult, as it is not a general repair part. And I haven't
> found any speedo shops which will just sell you the part.

As many of you already know, VDO will not sell you a replacement
gear, but the situation is not so desperate. If the broken gear
is merely cracked, it may easily be repaired. The FAQ contains
a number of suggestions, but since my '81 Rabbit also suffered
from a squeaky speedometer cable, let me add my two cents.

First, extracting the odometer is extremely easy. With practice,
it can be removed in 10 minutes as follows. Remove the plastic
trim over the dashboard and the lower dash cover. This entails
removing the metal rail that runs the width of the car. At this
point, you can access the speedometer cable from the bottom and
disconnect it. After removing the four screws that attach the
instrument cluster, the cluster may be lifted out from behind
the steering wheel by rotating its top toward you.

Now retire to an indoor work area and disassemble the cluster.
If you study it for a few minutes you'll see that the odometer
can be removed by removing/loosening about half a dozen screws.
The offending gear is easily accessed. I repaired mine with
fine nylon thread and epoxy over two years ago and have had no
problems since. Others have recommended fine wire.

This is also a good time to disable various warning mechanisms
if you are so inclined. But be careful installing the repaired
cluster as minor installation errors will cause your speedometer
to freak out. I recommend driving the car for 10 miles or so
before reassembling the dashboard.

This is an easy repair, well within the abilities of most adults
and requiring a surprisingly small number of tools. And it would
be difficult to follow the directions to my house, or measure oil
consumption without an odometer. (The trip odometer is really a
service interval odometer.)

Felix
f...@cadre.com