Odometer Record

[Morris Capers]

Hello all,
I have a 97 explorer 5.0 AWD, and the odometer has been hit and miss for a while, the whole time I've been having issues with the odometer the speedometer had still been functioning. I believe that the small cog and worm hear that I had replaced left fragments in the odometer which keeps jamming it up, at least until I take the cluster out and shake, blow, or fidget with the setup. Then it works again... for a little while... NOW THE HEART OF THIS POST IS TO ASK IF THERE IS A WAY TO FIND THE ACTUAL MILAGE VIA THE PCM OR COMPUTER SOME HOW, as I am looking to replace the whole cluster with a new-used one with correct mileage.
Thanks,
Morris.

 

[koda2000]

A 1997 would most likely have way over 100,000 miles by now. Even 200,000+ miles would not be unusual (one of my 2000 5.0L has close to 240,000 currently and that's probably about average).

Most states don't care about a 21 year old vehicle with over 100K indicating correct mileage. If you plan on selling it soon I doubt anyone buying it would be particularly concerned about how many miles a functioning 21 year vehicle has.

 

[Morris Capers]

A 1997 would most likely have way over 100,000 miles by now. Even 200,000+ miles would not be unusual (one of my 2000 5.0L has close to 240,000 currently and that's probably about average).

Most states don't care about a 21 year old vehicle with over 100K indicating correct mileage. If you plan on selling it soon I doubt anyone buying it would be particularly concerned about how many miles a functioning 21 year vehicle has.

Thanks for the reply. I purchased this explorer from the original owner a few years ago with 97xxx miles. She sold it due to her age and not being able to drive it. I had racked the odometer up to 110xxx miles in the two years before the odometer stopped working (about 5 months ago). I know it has well under 120xxx since I rarely drive it any real distance. If there is no way to tell the milage from the computer, it's no problem. I actually went on eBay and purchased a new cluster today, so I'm just going to install that and call it good.
Thanks again,
Morris

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Will you be able to adjust the odometer in any way, to get closer to reflecting actual mileage? ..... (Even knowing that it is not an odometer fraud issue, and knowing that it is probably not relevant to the value of your vehicle.)

Just curious.

 

[koda2000]

Will you be able to adjust the odometer in any way, to get closer to reflecting actual mileage? ..... (Even knowing that it is not an odometer fraud issue, and knowing that it is probably not relevant to the value of your vehicle.)

Just curious.

Below information copied from the following link: https://www.theconsumerlawgroup.com/blog/older-cars-are-exempt-from-odometer-disclosure-laws.cfm

"Odometer Disclosure Laws Do Not Apply to Cars Older Than 10 Years
7/12/2016
Comments (0)
One of the key pieces of information to consider when buying a used car is the mileage. The mileage tells you how much wear and tear has been put on the vehicle, whether the car has been driven more than average, and how much life is possibly left in the car. Shady sellers know this and often roll back

the odometer to trick buyers into thinking the car has fewer miles on it than it actually does. Another trick sellers use is to replace the odometer with one showing fewer miles. Both of these practices are illegal under federal law. In fact, sellers are required to provide a written disclosure to the buyer if the mileage indicated on the odometer is incorrect. However, when the car in question is 10 years old or older, it is exempt from the written disclosure requirement. This means that when buying an older used car, buyers must be extremely cautious".

So if I were swapping out the speedo in a 21 year old vehicle because the original speedo/odo was broken I wouldn't be concerned about what mileage the replacement used speedo showed. As for the buyer, it's usually pretty easy to determine if a vehicle's odometer reading seems about right based on the overall condition of the vehicle. If I were selling a 21 year old vehicle with a replaced speedo/odometer I would most likely inform the buyer that the speedo had been replaced and of the approximate actual mileage, but that's just me. As with any purchase - caveat emptor applies.

 

[Mbrooks420]

You can easily roll the mileage forward. Rolling it back is a little more tricky, but can be done.

 

[koda2000]

When I do full restorations on classic cars I set the odometers to zero.

 

[J_C]

While you might not be required to disclose the odometer issue in writing, you might still find yourself in a lawsuit if you don't inform a buyer that the odo is incorrect. Don't know about there but here the mileage is reported on the tax form, the state has a record of within a year (unless owner had been misrepresenting lesser mileage the whole time).

 

[koda2000]

While you might not be required to disclose the odometer issue in writing, you might still find yourself in a lawsuit if you don't inform a buyer that the odo is incorrect. Don't know about there but here the mileage is reported on the tax form, the state has a record of within a year (unless owner had been misrepresenting lesser mileage the whole time).

No such thing where I live. After it's 20 years old you can't even get a title on a used vehicle, so there's no way for anyone to know what the mileage really is.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

You can easily roll the mileage forward. Rolling it back is a little more tricky, but can be done.

How can mileage be rolled forward on the odometer?

 

[Mbrooks420]

How can mileage be rolled forward on the odometer?

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...-sport-cluster-swap-for-1998-explorer.203189/

 

[Mr. Alligator]

M,

Thank you for the site and the information. This forum is awesome, and filled with brilliant ideas.


However, I tried this at home and could not get it to work.

Here's what happened: Even at a slightly slower rate on the Dremel, the effective speed placed on the odometer was about 50,000 mph. Haha... The odometer digits started flapping like fan paddles. Then, it started spraying off small bits of plastic dust, then jammed and disintegrated after advancing about 15,000 miles in 15 minutes.

It was mildly amusing....I would be impressed if anyone could get this idea to work.

But thanks again, your help and consideration is appreciated!!!

 

[J_C]

^ Seems like you just had the RPM too high. Grab some random spare/hobby motor and power it with low voltage DC. Harbor Freight sells a truly horrible low end rotary tool that's near useless for its purpose but might do fine for this, scaled back to lower RPM (runs off an included 12(?)VDC AC/DC adapter), maybe run it off a 5V cellphone charger... costs under $8 after their 20% coupons.

https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/rotary-tools/80-piece-rotary-tool-kit-97626.html

 

[Mbrooks420]

I would think you'd need a dremel with a low low setting or a drill. I'd also give it plenty of breaks so nothing overheats.