Best angle drive unit options? Suggested modifications? (4th speedo fail!)

[kajcienski]

Hello all! I posted a thread a while back venting about my 4th speedo fail in 200 miles. In 2 instances, the dust cap was missing, and the other 2 it was just assumed the drive failed and was replaced (NOS) along with the lower (and possibly upper) cable. In all 4 instances, the speedo needle bounced a tad at lower speeds even with a newly lubricated cable. 3 of the 4 fails were with the LAMBDA counter present, and the 4th was with my new power steering box that takes the place of the LAMBDA counter. I have spoken to several people in my club/online and the theories range from bad luck to the speedo instrument itself. All installs were done by 2 well known vendors so I doubt it is installation error. So... I am trying to collect some data from you all in terms of who sells the best angle drive replacement...? I have heard SpecialT has a pretty rock solid improvement but curious if delorean.eu sells NOS (no info on their site if improved or NOS) or if that is a good improved replacement option as well. I was told the best one made was from speedographrichfield.com but they no longer make it. Then in terms of modifications, it was suggested that I put some electrical tape around the dust cap to lock it in better, as well as using a dab of JB Weld where the angle drive shaft fits into the dust cap to help with the shaft not stripping the cap easily. In case the issue is in the speedo instrument itself, I'm going to replace it with a 140mph unit, which I wanted to do anyway. If anyone has any thoughts on all of this, please let me know. It has been very frustrating. When my angle drive fails, my power steering does not work properly - and it was not cheap. Would love to at least attempt to do what I can to ensure this does not happen again. Thanks everyone!

[David T]

Hello all! I posted a thread a while back venting about my 4th speedo fail in 200 miles. In 2 instances, the dust cap was missing, and the other 2 it was just assumed the drive failed and was replaced (NOS) along with the lower (and possibly upper) cable. In all 4 instances, the speedo needle bounced a tad at lower speeds even with a newly lubricated cable. 3 of the 4 fails were with the LAMBDA counter present, and the 4th was with my new power steering box that takes the place of the LAMBDA counter. I have spoken to several people in my club/online and the theories range from bad luck to the speedo instrument itself. All installs were done by 2 well known vendors so I doubt it is installation error. So... I am trying to collect some data from you all in terms of who sells the best angle drive replacement...? I have heard SpecialT has a pretty rock solid improvement but curious if delorean.eu sells NOS (no info on their site if improved or NOS) or if that is a good improved replacement option as well. I was told the best one made was from speedographrichfield.com but they no longer make it. Then in terms of modifications, it was suggested that I put some electrical tape around the dust cap to lock it in better, as well as using a dab of JB Weld where the angle drive shaft fits into the dust cap to help with the shaft not stripping the cap easily. In case the issue is in the speedo instrument itself, I'm going to replace it with a 140mph unit, which I wanted to do anyway. If anyone has any thoughts on all of this, please let me know. It has been very frustrating. When my angle drive fails, my power steering does not work properly - and it was not cheap. Would love to at least attempt to do what I can to ensure this does not happen again. Thanks everyone!

I had one car that "ate" dust covers, speedo cables and angle drives. It turned out to be that a plastic post broke off inside the speedo head. It had a metal push clip on it and got caught by the magnet and jammed the works. Since fixing it there have been no more issues.

[kajcienski]

I had one car that "ate" dust covers, speedo cables and angle drives. It turned out to be that a plastic post broke off inside the speedo head. It had a metal push clip on it and got caught by the magnet and jammed the works. Since fixing it there have been no more issues.

Thanks David! I remember you mentioning that on my old thread. I have not opened up the cluster yet but this theory is ranking #1 on my list right now.

Also, is DMCH the only vendor that carries the 140mph speedos? Has another vendor made any? I looked online and only found DMCH & DMC Europe as stocking these.

[David T]

Thanks David! I remember you mentioning that on my old thread. I have not opened up the cluster yet but this theory is ranking #1 on my list right now.

Also, is DMCH the only vendor that carries the 140mph speedos? Has another vendor made any? I looked online and only found DMCH & DMC Europe as stocking these.

In the past venders had offered just the silk-screened part and you could have your speedo recalibrated yourself. I don't know if they sell the parts anymore. You might have to buy a whole head. If you replace the head you are supposed to get a sticker from the shop to put on the car door indicating the odometer is not original to the car with the mileage before and after the change.

[jmettee]

When I was shopping around for my replacement about a year ago (previous DMCH replacement lasted only 1500 miles), Hervey just had his units come to the market. I hadn't heard anything about them, but decided to go back to DMCH & exercise what was left of the pro-rated warranty. That replacement is still going, but only around 2k miles on it.

I spoke to Hervey last week, he reports good results with his. They are made by a different manufacturer & hse says he's sold a few hundred (think he said over 200) & only had 1 or 2 come back with failure. Now that they have some time on them, if mine breaks again anytime soon, I'll go with a Hervey unit.

[ccurzio]

I spoke to Hervey last week, he reports good results with his. They are made by a different manufacturer & hse says he's sold a few hundred (think he said over 200) & only had 1 or 2 come back with failure.

HAHAHA. FYI this is the story he tells everyone about EVERYTHING he sells. No, I am NOT kidding.

Speaking of angle drives though, my DMCH angle drive busted recently (lasted only about a year and a half) and I'm not sure what to do. I'd posted something a while back about what incentive a manufacturer or reseller would have to make high-quality parts for rare cars (since if the parts keep requiring replacement that's more money in their pocket) and the guys at Houston said they really wanted to address the question with a proper response, but I never saw anything.

I'll probably buy my replacement from DMCH again anyway since I'm overall very happy with them as a supplier. But I hate feeling like it's only going to last just beyond its warranty again.

[kajcienski]

Anyone use Hervey's angle drive unit? Thoughts? Also, anyone hear of putting electrical tape on the dust cap and JB Weld dab where shaft meets dust cap? I'm starting to think I should just stick with the old speedo and see if same issue as David T mentioned. Is there a way to test the speedo unit to see if any resistance or defect problems before I go through apart/together?

[WNY1983]

My upper speedo went along with my angle drive on the way back from the celebration of cars in Indy last may. I had no luck with Hervey's angle drive. It blew up after 1 mile. I purchased a replacement angle drive from Grady. Things are doing OK no problems so far. I did purchase the long speedo cable from Hervey. I took out the transfer box at the floor. Everything is doing well. about 300 miles on the new units. My understanding is this is a hit or miss situation. Be patient things will work out.

[chris williams]

As the OP wrote Speedograph will no longer manufacture the angle drive units for us (Martin G's ones) No specific reason other than the man who made them has been sick for a long time! I'm in the same boat as I need one for my car so have also gone with Harveys one (awaiting delivery) seems to be the cheaper option + the DMCH ones still seem to have a poor reputation, I'm sure Ed's are DMCH ones. As soon as it arrives I will get it fitted and report back.
Chris

[LordFly]

Someday I hope to build a setup where the cable to the binnacle is driven by a servo. Some sort of magnetic pickup.