odometer/speedometer problem

Assuming that the car is actually going over 30 MPH, there are several possible causes for a speedometer that does not indicate correct speed. Depending on the year and model, it may have a mechanical or electronic speedometer. Possible causes are bad speedometer drive gear or speed sensor, bad drive cable or speedometer wire harness, bad speedometer head.

Wow, I can't believe I forgot to say what model/year the car is! Sorry about that. Its a 85 Celica GT-S.

I'd sell it.

Unfortunately, not knowing what make or model, I wouldn't be inclined to buy it.

Or know how to fix it, either...

OK.

NOW do you want to sell it? Do you want to buy one? I have a Midnight blue metallic, with minimal rust, the exception being the crossmember under the radiator is almost through.. :(...

It has a 91 engine with 165,000.

It goes to the scrap heap very soon. I'll get $175 for it. I paid $450 to get the motor and get it in. I'd rather see someone use it for parts rather than just crush it.

5-speed, everything works. Everything that's in the car of course. The Ac was removed before I bought it.

One of my favorite cars.

I appreciate the offer, I really do. I'm looking into buying the specific one in my original post because it is a convertible.

I hope you find someone who will take it off your hands, a Celica getting crushed like that breaks my heart. What city/state/country are you in? I may know someone who would be interested.

I don't want to see it go, either. I have a Corolla GTS, a Supra and the Celica GTS, and after the Corolla the Celica was my favorite. I actually like driving it better than the Supra!

I'm in Massachusetts.

I don't blame you for wanting a conv!

This car has a mechanical speedo. There are two ways to check it:

What I do is I pull the instrument cluster, and then look for an Allen type bit that will fit my drill and fit the fitting on the inst panel. I have found my drill does about 58MPH... I can't remember which direction to spin the thing in, but going backwards won't hurt it.

If you get a reading on the meter, then the next thing to look at is the cable. Some Toyotas are notorious for breaking Speedo cables; I know the Supra is one, and some older Corollas, too. Check where the cable runs from the firewall to the Trans to see if the cable is kinked, frayed or damaged; also look at the 'elbow' where it joins the tranny. The elbow is actually the worst place for these things; sometimes the bend is too sharp and the piece inside breaks.

After that, there is the gear inside the tranny itself. It may be worn or damaged. I don't know how to look at this on this car; as nice and as well made as Toyotas are, on some models you have to drop the tranny to get access to this gear!

Good luck. Now you've got me thinking about my Celica again and what a blast it was to drive. All it needs is $300...

(on top of the $900 I have already put into a $200 car; every time I fix one thing, something else breaks!!!)

Thanks Hach, I'm going to print this out and run it by my father. (He used to work on my original Celica years ago) and see if it will be worth the effort.

Check that the speedo needle is not bent and catching on the back or the face plate. I had a Camry with a similar problem. I was able to lift the needle off and bend it with heat from a heat gun, carefully.

John

One thing I forgot; the speedo is actually (IIRC) a 'spring' and like all clock type springs can develop problems. I think I am going to wind up scrapping my GTS (The Celica, that is!) If this happens, I can pull the instr. cluster and send it to you. There are two minor problems: The temp gauge sometimes dances a little jig; it goes up and down and up and down ,then settles for a while. From what I understand, this is common on this model; you can always pull the gauge on yours and swap them.

Sometimes one of the bulbs goes out; the upside is that a good rap on the side of the cowl solves both this and the gauge problem!

I am mildly toying with the idea of trying to eek another 12,000 miles or so out of this car; it rerally is one of my favorites; I'm just waiting for the next shoe to drop...

This sounds like it might be out of my league to fix. How much do you think it would cost for a mechanic to repair it?

Hach, do you still have that Celica? If so I have a buddy in need of a car and I think I can get him to cough up 200 bucks if your up for it. He just needs to know if it can make a trip from Massachusetts to Georgia. If so I'm willing to bet he will come and pick it up. That is if you are still looking to sell it that is.

I don't remember what year and type of vehicle you have, but if it is a FWD Celica, the speedo cable is easy to disconnect and inspect. Follow the cable to the transmission and unscrew the cap where it goes in.

I do...it needs work before it can make a trip that far. Needs a new strut (I'd do 2) and some welding...

How much do you think those repairs would cost? He is very interested as long as we can get it to make that trip. Also, would it be possible fo you to email me a picture of the car?

Thanks again.