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1994, speedometer issue, cable maybe?

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City, State
Bedford Indiana
Year, Model & Trim Level
94 XLT 4x4
Hey everyone, been a while since I've posted. Just some general speedometer issues now.

I done some searching and found no threads that really covered what I am experiencing.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226004

My speedo use to bounce around up until 25-30 miles per hour, then it would be fine. A few days ago it just started going crazy 99% of the time, for the most part I could not even tell how fast I was driving.

Last night, it finally died on me and is not working. My speedometer, mileage, trip, nothing is working. I have only drove it around 10 miles because I had to get my son, so my mileage is now off. In all the treads I found it was only a speedo issue, with or without noise.

I've had a clicking sounds, which appears to be coming from my front drivers side but could be coming from around the cluster. But when I drive past a building or wall I hear the clicking is louder outside than inside the truck.

So my question is...

Is this just the cable that has crapped out, or is there more to it than meets the eye?

Thanks ahead of time for the support on this issue.
 



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..I can only think of two things that would cause this...

..First and most common would be the plastic speedo gear has worn out..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158739&highlight=gear

..Rarely though, someone at some time may have loosened the speedo cable and the cable itself got worn from improper seating..

..I'm betting on the speedo gear itself..:biggthump
 






Yeah I looked at the end going into the transfer case when it started jumping like crazy, and it's in there really good. So it has to be that gear. Thinking locally I seen Advanced had them on their site for $1.99. Will give them a call and see if they have any in stock.

EDIT: My bad, they didn't have them. Was told to contact a transmission shop?

The used transfer case I bought was stripped of everything so no luck there, believe me, I looked there two days ago when the issue started.
 






Thinking your talking about this TBars?

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1478573&postcount=17

Was thinking about something else completely if that is what you were referring too.

Another EDIT: If it's the gear in the photo, considering I have an 80,000 mile transfer case in my garage, in theory, changing the transfer case as I planned will correct this problem.
 






..Ask BrooklynBay in the thread I linked to previously what happened to the pictures in the first post?

..The instructions are correct though in the first post and it's real easy to check and fix..Just follow the cable underneath..;)

..Sorry, I'm having network problems tonight...:(
 






That gear crapped out in my 97, and a used t-case fixed the problem. Not saying for sure that is your problem, and my symptoms were a smidge different. My speedo would die, then if i gave it more throttle it would come back. the symptoms are probably going to be different because you have a cable and i have an electric speedo
 






Posted and sent him a message.

I have a friend who works at the local Ford dealership, but either way I will be there tomorrow morning and pick one up if that is the problem. Going to pull mine tonight and check. I tried getting the cable out the other day, but come to find out one to many people have easy access to my garage and all my stanley tools are MIA but their cases are still there.....
 






Checked the cable today, couldn't find that gear on the transfer case side. But the cable is good as turning it made my speedo work, but only when I was turning it.
Found the metal shaft thing, with the magnet on it too.
 












I had the same problem with my speedo about 7 years ago on my 91 Ex. I didn't know that you could actually replace parts of the speedo, so I just bought a replacement at a U-Pull-It yard for $42 w/ a 1-yr warranty. Fixed the problem and haven't had an issue since.

Might be an avenue to look into.
 






Thanks, I may be heading in that direction. I've called about everyone locally that would possibly carry the gear. The dealer doesn't carry them, the transmission shops don't carry them. Sigh, running out of places to call.

Anybody know a place online that would have them in stock?

My explorer's been sitting since this post started. In the middle of moving so it may have to even longer.
 






..Whenever I'm in a jam for a hard to find, good, used part, I contact Kbabiak on the bottom of the Forums page..;)

..Just be sure to let him know it's the plastic gear for the 91-94 and not the one for the 95-01..:hammer:
 






Thanks Tbars.

Another issue I have is the largest one. According to the person I spoke with at a local transmission shop, since my gear was MIA when I removed my VSS. It most likely broke the clip and fell into the transfer case. Meaning I do not know how many teeth I need for the new gear.

I'm not much for math, but could borrow a GPS to figure out my speed. But when it was working, the speedometer, according to the GPS it was off 2MPH. So if my speedo showed I way running at 60 I was really running at 58.

Perhaps it had issues before and someone replaced it with the wrong gear?
Or it was malfunctioning and/or breaking teeth off and was showing a nearly correct yet incorrect speed?
 






..If your gears in your axle are stock, all you need to do is find one from an X with the same gears to get you back on the road..

..To upgrade yours for new gears or larger tires, you will research a bit more and buy an aftermarket one later..;)
 






I've not seen many 91-94's with stock 3.27 gears :(

Also read on the ranger station, that explorer's with my gear ratio should easily put out 20-22 MPG highway. Mine has some issues and gets the EPA estimate of 18.
 






Found an early 90's F-150 at the salvage yard today. The man who runs it knows me and gave me the yellow 18 tooth gear I pulled from the VSS. 18-teeth-yellow (C0DD-B)


Have to thank several members now.... Tbars for help in this thread and many others I've created, BrooklynBay for creating this thread,

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158739

And another member, who I don't know is even around anymore....
93xplorersport, site shows he was on 05/23/2012, for posting this in another thread I only found via the external google search and not the internal google search...

"I haven't actually pulled my vss out and checked but I did the math problem 8x3.27x697.87/1000=18.25 teeth. That was done with my stock tire height of 28.9, now if I do the same equation with my 31s that actually measure 30.75 I get 17.15 teeth."

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2788632&postcount=24

Guessing the 3.27 in the formula is the gear ratio meaning the gear I pulled from the F-150, tiny black clip and all, should fix my problem.

Thanks everyone,

I will post an update tonight (or the 9th), I hope, after I put the gear in. But the sun is going down and I don't have the 11mm wrench I need to pull the VSS here as I'm moving tomorrow.
 






My t-case likes to eat the cable gear. It's weird cause it will wear a depression all the way around the middle of the gear. I'll replace it and it will work fine for a while then start to jump and eventually stop altogether.

On your t-case, @ the cable is a 10mm bolt that hold a two prong fork that holds your speed sensor in. Remove that bolt and wriggle out the speed sensor. replace the gear and re-install sensor.
 






There in lays the problem. Not all of my sensor is coming out. The other transfer case I have has the entire sensor already removed. Mine has two sort of u shaped metal pieces I cannot seem to get out, behind that is where the gear should be.

Also my bolt is 11mm, making me think someone has at one time or another changed the unit and bolt prior to my having issues with it.

At my wits end right now, I loaded up the 80k mile transfer case and may just end up switching them out and buying a new VSS unit. Otherwise I don't know how to get the rest of mine out of the T/C. I'm limited on tools because most are packed away here and there. So I have no clue where my picks and stuff are to try and pry it out. I've tried screw drivers, channel locks, and ended up frustrated.

So I'm thinking now is the best time to drop my T/C, attempt to get the rest of the sensor out, and/or buy a new sensor and install the new T/C.

My old T/C, currently used one, has front output shaft bearing issues. I figure one of these days I'll get around to rebuilding this one while I use the low mileage one.

Other than that, the move today and a doctors appointment for a hernia Thursday. I'll be busy unpacking, crying about the pain from the hernia, and being called a baby among other things because of the hernia and crying about the pain. Well, most like whining because yes it hurts and moving is not going to help it any at all.


Of course this all happened after replacing all the brakes, calipers, shoes, springs, adjusters, brake lines, and so on.... Sigh.

"If it's not one thing, it's something else"
"If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any at all."
 






A hernia is no joke... whomever is poking fun at you has possibly never had one. My boss at work has pretty much broken every bone at least once, has had numerous surgeries, and his hernia is still some of the worst pain to him. Go ahead and add the 26 years of service in the Army, and all the aches and pains that come with the job, he will still say the hernia hurts the worst.
 



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