Post by Volktales on Oct 18, 2014 10:55:43 GMT -8
Ok here is a how to restore your VW's speedometer. This example was from a 1964 Ghia, but all the early bus, beetle and ghia speedos are very similar. The internals work on the same principles throughout all the air-cooled era. Note that later bay window speedos are not "sealed" like the others and are much easier to work with. Also as time went by, the speedos became easier to disassembly and rebuild. VDO is the manufacture of the vast majority of speedos for VW although occasionally SWF and MotorMeter have built them for VW too. Taking these apart, servicing, and re-assembling is not too bad BUT requires patience. If you don't have that, then don't even try...
Here is the victim. Although the speedo in my Ghia worked, the odometer worked only occasionally when it felt like it. Once my new engine is in and running, I would like to know the elapsed mileage and be able to check the fuel economy. Anyway as luck would have it, I had another 1964 speedo in my parts stash with "rebuilt" stamped on the back. Would it be good as is?
? Only one way to know for sure. One thing I intended to do was replace the red and green "windows" in the speedo for the lights, as they had deteriorated bad.
The first step is to remove the bulb holders as shown, then the main chrome ring that holds the glass to the housing must be removed. This is done by gently prying a very small screwdriver under the edge of the chrome and working it around the housing. Take yer time! Once the internal assembly is removed from the housing, then you can see why the odometer doesn't work by turning the socket in the back of the speedo housing where the cable attaches too with a small screwdriver. The various visible gears should turn and you can deduce which is faulty. I needed to disassemble further in my case and this is where it gets tricky...
To remove the speedo face, the needle has to be removed first. The needle itself popped off easily, but that brass holder has to come off too to clear the face. The brass holder is still stuck to the spindle in the picture, another one is shown next to the needle at the bottom. Eventually I got it off by using some small yet gripping pliers and gently twisting back and forth while holding the spindle from behind. A bit of a stressful situation...
Now I have three apart; the two 1964 versions, and a spare superbeetle speedo I have been using for parts in the past. The one that reads 15555 is the one from my car. The silver disc next to the right "5" on the odometer is supposed to be pressed onto the shaft that the numbers ride on. In this case that disc came loose and was no longer "driving" the numbers to turn. The speedometer gears and spindle bearings also had severe wear showing this speedometer has been in service for a long time and very high mileage.
Also note the brass gear attached to the shaft with the numbers on it. This brass gear was switched for a plastic one in the seventies and it is well known for failure. The plastic gears are pressed on the shaft and over time they crack and no longer drive the shaft. The can be repaired by drilling out the hole in the gear slightly bigger which allows the crack to close back up when placed on the shaft. The gear is now no longer a press fit so you will have to glue it on the shaft instead. This works fine: my Bus odometer has been working for the last seven years after being repaired like this. The rest of this article to be added later...
Here is the victim. Although the speedo in my Ghia worked, the odometer worked only occasionally when it felt like it. Once my new engine is in and running, I would like to know the elapsed mileage and be able to check the fuel economy. Anyway as luck would have it, I had another 1964 speedo in my parts stash with "rebuilt" stamped on the back. Would it be good as is?
? Only one way to know for sure. One thing I intended to do was replace the red and green "windows" in the speedo for the lights, as they had deteriorated bad.The first step is to remove the bulb holders as shown, then the main chrome ring that holds the glass to the housing must be removed. This is done by gently prying a very small screwdriver under the edge of the chrome and working it around the housing. Take yer time! Once the internal assembly is removed from the housing, then you can see why the odometer doesn't work by turning the socket in the back of the speedo housing where the cable attaches too with a small screwdriver. The various visible gears should turn and you can deduce which is faulty. I needed to disassemble further in my case and this is where it gets tricky...
To remove the speedo face, the needle has to be removed first. The needle itself popped off easily, but that brass holder has to come off too to clear the face. The brass holder is still stuck to the spindle in the picture, another one is shown next to the needle at the bottom. Eventually I got it off by using some small yet gripping pliers and gently twisting back and forth while holding the spindle from behind. A bit of a stressful situation...
Now I have three apart; the two 1964 versions, and a spare superbeetle speedo I have been using for parts in the past. The one that reads 15555 is the one from my car. The silver disc next to the right "5" on the odometer is supposed to be pressed onto the shaft that the numbers ride on. In this case that disc came loose and was no longer "driving" the numbers to turn. The speedometer gears and spindle bearings also had severe wear showing this speedometer has been in service for a long time and very high mileage.
Also note the brass gear attached to the shaft with the numbers on it. This brass gear was switched for a plastic one in the seventies and it is well known for failure. The plastic gears are pressed on the shaft and over time they crack and no longer drive the shaft. The can be repaired by drilling out the hole in the gear slightly bigger which allows the crack to close back up when placed on the shaft. The gear is now no longer a press fit so you will have to glue it on the shaft instead. This works fine: my Bus odometer has been working for the last seven years after being repaired like this. The rest of this article to be added later...
