Speed Sensor replacement

[techfreak16]

hey people,
lately when my 91 explorer is ran in this awful winter weather, the first run of the day, my speedometer is totally off, it says 45mph when i KNOW it is only going 20-30! so i was told my speed sensor could be going bad...i was also told that a symptom of a failing speed sensor is when the speedometer needle shakes or "bounces". Mine only does that till about 25 mph, or it shakes in a REALLY minor manner at normal road speeds, (barely noticable though). So i just went to auto zone and bought a speed sensor for $20.04, and was told i could take it back if it wasnt the right part to fix the problem. so my quesiton(s) to you are:
1.Do you think this will fix the problem?
2.How do i go about installing the new speed sensor? eg; where is it located? any important steps to take before installation?
thx a lot!

 

[Jack Flash]

I guess you are talking about the VSS that goes in the left side (driver's side) of the tranny tail housing. unless yours is different, it takes an 11mm wrench to take out the one bolt that holds it in.

one spring clip holds the speedo cable in, one wire connector to unplug, and a sort of e-clip to take the speedo gear off your old VSS.

look at the speedo gear for abnormal wear like cupping in the middle of the gear.

there's probably a sticky somewhere on this forum with pictures, but I don't remember seeing it.

..........jjf

 

[Spdrcer34]

Your Explorer doesn't rely on a VSS to tell you what speed you are going. It is only to tell the computer how fast you are going. It controls things like your TCC, and speed limiter.

I would say your speedo cable is bad, or maybe your speedo gear. But I can tell you that it is NOT your VSS.

Ryan

 

[Jason94sport]

Your speedo gear is likely missing some teeth. Take it out & replace. Cheap & easy fix.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I have a thread on this. It's # 3 in my list of useful threads: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158739