Speedo Not Working

[grey_ghost]

Hi All,
1961 Series 2. The speedo has never worked since I purchased the car.
My first thought was "just replace the speedo cable".
I unscrewed the cable from the back of the speedo - and traced it to the rear of the gearbox?
Anyway - I can't see a break in the cable, but who knows what the inside of the cable looks like.
Somebody had said "Get a drill, and carefully insert it into the back of the speedo, turn it - and see if the speedo moves"
I tried this - very carefully and very slowly. But nothing happened - I couldn't be sure that I was making contact with whatever is inside the speedo.
I then thought - do it from the other (gearbox end).
It looks like the cable is attached via 2 nuts - which look a little tricky to get to.
So I have a few questions:
1) Is there an easy way to test the speedo?
2) Should I just purchase a speedo cable anyway? (Screw on type)
3) Any suggestions on how to remove the 2 nuts - I suppose with a sock-set extension handle?
As always - any help is greatly appreciated.
Regards,
The Grey Ghost.

[redgoon6]

HI Gray Ghost the 2 nuts /screws are in a triangle(3 of them) and you undo them and the plate thay go through comes off with the cable.Re attach the cable onto the speedo head and put the gearbox end in a drill. (no need to over tighten it as you may damage the cable end) Spin up drill reasonably fast and look for movement on the speedo.If no moverment is detected in the needle or odometer it is a fair chance it is the cable.To double chech this just disconect cable at the speedo and slowly spin up the cable with the drill while holding the outer sheath still.

[Smaug]

One other thing to check is the rear output shaft nut. The speedo drive gear is tuned by friction so if the output shaft nut is loose, the speedo can jump around or not work.

You will have to remove the rear drive shaft to check, but if it was so loose that the speedo doesn't work, then you would also see oil leaking from the back of the transfer case - sometimes into the hand brake drum (unless it's empty of course!)

[Warb]

You've already got the speedo cable disconnected from the speedo... so drive along the road and see if the inner cable goes round....!!

[bee utey]

Hint: If you are using a drill to drive a speedo you need to reverse the drill's rotation to anticlockwise. If you have a suitably sized nail, file it down to match the cable end that goes into the speedo, grip that with the chuck.