Sure its a simple job, but as I haven;t done it before, just wanted to check the easiest option before I start. Speedo works but not clocking up the miles so some of you have suggested that it may be a broken gear at the back of the speedo. Do I just need to undo the 4 screws at the corners of the instrument cluster and pull it forward & does this get me enough clearance to get to the offending gear? And do I need to take the steering wheel off. Didn't want to have to start removing wires unless necessary. Cheers peeps.
You'll need to remove the complete instrument pod (after undoing the 4 screws which have odd clips on the back) and the speedo cable and completely disassemble it as the speedo is in a metal case. It should be possible to remove it without taking off the steering wheel. Piccy of the back of the instrument pod: You'll have to remove all the wires unfortunately. Mark where all the wires go with tape or similar as theres dozens of the buggers. This shows the odd clips (7a) that hold the instrument pod in.
WHS Taking the steering wheel off is pretty easy and gives you more room to move also. You just gently prise the horn push plastic from the metal it sits in, pull off the wire to the tab under it. Undo the large nut and the wheel should come off by pulling upwards, with a little persuasion possibly.
Had a look at the back of the speedo and there are more wires, usually brown, than you can shake a stick at. Has anyone devised a cunningly simple plan for identifying which wire goes where when it comes to reassembly time?
What year is your van? Some of the early lates have prototype bay speedos. May only effect the electrics
removing the steering wheel is more hassle than its worth , if you can get it off with out cracking it that is , remove speedo cable , remove pod and wires ,remove speedo , pull apart , replace gear ,,,, i may have a spare gear
As said, you will able to get the binnacle out without taking off the steering wheel so don't worry about that. Step 1, disconnect battery! The next step involves reaching behind the dash and it's possible through doing this to touch something live. Step 2, I would detach the speedo cable first by reaching up under the dash by feel. It unscrews anticlockwise by hand. Once the 4 screws are undone pull the binncale forward a bit then the fun beginns. There are quite a lot of wires and unfortunately yes it would be easiest to disconnect them. Best thing to do is tape each wire and mark it with corresponding marks on the back of the binnacle. It's possible you knocked a couple off already getting the speedo cable off or pulling the binnacle forward, but it should be easy to find them. Check especially the little wire from the headlight switch that goes to the illumination bulbs. Take a lot of photos for reference! After all the wires are disconnected unscrew the back of the binnacle to remove the clocks and then any damage should be obvious.
It's worth removing the steering wheel if you can, it's either very easy or a pain. Take the horn push and nut off, then pull the wheel up, but grip it near to the hub. If it doesn't come off easily, don't bother. I can't see why you couldn't remove the speedo unit by undoing the cable and heater levers, and four screws, then flop the pod forward and undo the screws holding the speedo into the pod. It should be possible without removing all the wires, but it's a while since I've removed one
Thanks for the replies - the van is a '75 USA import. I think it has the late speedo. Have had the steering wheel off - to fix the horn, so no probs taking it apart again (it needs resetting in any case as it's no longer central after having the tracking reset). It's just the sheer number of brown wires at the back that have me scratching my head. The PO or someone has had a dabble with the wiring as when the oil pressure warning light extingushes the parking brake light glows dimly so not everything appears to have been wired up properly! Time to get out the different coloured tapes and camera!
All of the brown wires - if the wiring's original - will be earths, so (from memory, should go to the star connector on the back of the speedo.
If it's any use - this is a pic of the back of an early late bay binacle. The indicator tell-tales have been modified by a PO so that the correct side only flashes. This early type doesn't have a fuel gauge voltage stabilizer either. The extra yellow wire is for the fog light tell-tale.
