ford c4 speedo cable help

[Mister T]

My speedo does not work in my t bucket. I took the gear end out of the tranny and the gear is not attatched to the cable and the cable seems to have broken there at the gear. How do I find a somewhat correct cable to fit? Also do I need a new gear? the engine and tranny came out of a 68 fairlane or torino. I have old 70s stewart warner gauges if that matters. Thanks!!

 

[railroad]

The end of the cable should be square, not round. If this is not the case you do have a bad cable. The Mustang and Fairlane cable could very well be the same. Go to some of the Mustang/Fairlane vending sites. They have everything to build a car from scratch, so a cable should be no problem. The gear is held on with an e-clip. You might need this also. Tall tires and big gears all figure into getting the right gear, so it might take a couple of times to get it right.
good luck,

 

[choppedtop]

I would take the cable and gear to a speedo shop. Take both cable pieces, if you have them. They can make a new cable and determine if a new gear is needed. Was the housing making a sharp turn close to the drive? That would cause fatigue of the cable.
Lee

 

[Mister T]

Thanks......the cable is not secured in any way so I suspect years of movement swaying around under the car to be at fault. I was gonna just try to find one for a torino/fairlane and see what I come up with. I know all about trying to measure tire size with rear end gears......getting the correct gear. I changed rear ends in my 1980 firebird also.

 

[T-Test]

Go to Advance or O'Reillys and get a universal speedo cable from the HELP section. Cut to length and you're good to go if the housing is OK.
If replacing cable and housing, just get one for an early mustang, 60s-70s models and install. Most early cables have 5/8 speedo end and tranny is whatever for a C-4 tranny.
Gear in tranny housing should not be split where cable fits into it. Number of gear teeth will depend on rear end ratio and tires. Use GPS to determine how much it is off and buy appropriate gear. Gears have numbers on them or count the number of teeth. Make sure gear on output shaft [spiral] is locked on to shaft by the retainer and no teeth missing or cut out from wear.