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Speedometer not working

wclough

wclough

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I bought my R4 on ebay advertised as speedo not working but a new cable was provided. On removing the cable from the gearbox a bit fell out. I could see that the square female drive had broken away down one side. I fitted the new cable anyway to see if the square driver had enough purchase on the square on the cable. It doesn't work. Does anyone know how much of a job it is to replace the square drive in the gearbox end? \Thanks
 
I think it is a gearbox out and split job to replace the speedometer drive. :( So not quick or easy. If you decide to do it repace the clutch while you have it apart unles you know it has been replaced recently.
 
wclough said:
I bought my R4 on ebay advertised as speedo not working but a new cable was provided. On removing the cable from the gearbox a bit fell out. I could see that the square female drive had broken away down one side. I fitted the new cable anyway to see if the square driver had enough purchase on the square on the cable. It doesn't work. Does anyone know how much of a job it is to replace the square drive in the gearbox end? \Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi wclough

If you remove the gearbox mounting, the gearbox will drop slightly and you will have sufficient access to unbolt and remove the speedo drive casing (taking care to try and preserve the gasket on removal, as probably hard to obtain now). Somebody on the forum, might have an old gearbox spare and be prepared to sell you just the casing with all the internal components.
 
Look to have the same problem on mine, changed cable worked for 20 mins, stopped again, put drill on cable gearbox end, speedo, cable fine, so it looks like i need a cog as shown above.
My vans an 1108cc Fasa F6, been searching for geardrives online and have come up with a small problem, spoilt and confused by choice, sorcing cog drives here there are 10 teeth and 14 teeth gears advertised, both advertised as for Renault 4/5 , one ad plus others,cogs are visually the same above in all but listed teeth numbers)
Does anyone on forum have knowlege of what one should go into my van to give correct readings?
( Would the F6 have a different final drive ratio to saloon and therefore need a different cog for speedo, hence two different teeth numbers)
Both ads do not state soley F6.
 
If you pm me your email address, I'll send you the relevant parts page - it gives cog info. for the various gearboxes, and might be a help.
 
Thanks,
Just trying to pm you details, cant seem to find messages yet please bear with me...
 
No problem - just go to the letter icon to the right of your avatar to start a conversation.
 
Thanks harbourseal for the photos. Only just been able to reply here as my account had email problems. I plan to take the car indoors tomorrow and get a few things done, the speedo being one of them. It sounds like taking the bonnet off can be a problem so I plan to get penetrating oil in the bolts for a few days. When I get to the point of removing the front casting, does the pinion just pull out as there doesn't seem to be any axial movement looking at your photo. Also, do I buy a new pinion or is there any point in trying to rescue the existing one by welding? Any further advice will be much appreciated.
 
Hi,
When you take off the front casing, the pinion remains in its place. You need to force the whole assembly upwards through the hole in the casing. A big screwdriver will do the trick.
If the plastic bearing is ok you can just replace the pinion. You can try welding but I think that buying a new pinion saves you some head aches

Make sure to remove the silent block at the front of the gearbox and support the gearbox with some wooden blocks or a jack stand.

Good luck.
 
HELP! I have managed to remove the drive pinion after taking off the front plate and hammering the nylon guide out. Didn't thing the gearbox oil went into this area so oil everywhere. Then I saw a horrible sight. The nylon drive worm is mangled. Can these be replaced or am I better trying to find a replacement gearbox. I have walked a way for now. All advice would be welcome. Thanks. Walter
 
It should be possible to remove the drive worm. I have no experience with doing that.
Since it is destroyed You might as wel give it a try. I don't think you'll do any damage to the axle it is attached to. If you try to pry it of.
Maybe some of the others on here have a spare drive worm for you. On the 20th Januari I can have a look in our club warehouse if they have one for you. But I need to know your gearbox number for that. The number is printed on a small disk on top of you gearbox.
 
Thanks. Change of plan having found a used gearbox I can have for £50 exchange. This is the price of a replacement pinion alone. So now I need to learn how to remove the gearbox. Thanks again.
 
Depending on the type of engine you can remove the engine and gearbox together. Or just remove the gearbox.

If you have a 845cc engine i’dd go for the last option.
Because the bell house is absent on the gearbox.

If you have a 956 or 1108cc engine it’s best to take the lot out and swap the gearbox outside the car itself.

In both cases make sure you buy a gearbox with the same box number.
 
Had an idea today having looked at the situation again. What about robbing the pinion and worm off the purchased gearbox? In fact swap the front plates across. This would save having to remove the gearbox. The only problem will be is removing the worm from the new gearbox. I have removed the damaged one to see how it fits. I had to split it but it looks like it pushes on to a toothed shaft. In case I damage this I would like to take up your offer harbourseal of looking for a worm in the stores. I can't find any circular id plate. There is a number cast into the o/s of the gearbox. 0001115600.
 
Still not sure which way to jump. If I wreck the worm on the new gearbox getting it off, I then have 2 gearboxes I can't use. Maybe I should just put the new gearbox in. Any opinions or experience on this one?
 
I looled at some of your other topics and found that you have a 1128 so that is a GTL.

Plenty of gearboxes around.
Best option if you want to go down the road of replacing the gearbox, is to take out the engine and gearbox.
It is quite a hassle to undo the gearbox and take it out with the engine in situ.
But it is doable. With patience and strong language. :ashamed:

I think Richard did change his clutch assembly with the engine in situ. And made a report on it.

I have some boxes for spares. So I can have a look for all the parts for you if you want.
Or I can try and find some parts in our club warehouse.
 
Thanks. Don't spend any time looking for parts at the moment but it is good of you to offer. I have decided to play safe and swap gearboxes rather than risk wrecking the worm. I don't want to remove the engine if the box will come pout separately. My bonnet is already off so to bring the box out top way it looks like I have to remove the radiator and steering box. Dropping the box downwards looks easier but there is the need to remove the cross bar. I have read on these pages that they have a tendency to snap and knowing my luck they will. I have soaked them in penetrating oil but the nuts feels solid with no give at all. I'm sure more torque would snap them. The bolts on the bonnet hinges have gone already but that's easier to fix. Walter
 
Top way won’t work I’m afraid.
You won’t be able to tilt de engine and gearbox enough to make the box clear the front cross member when you’ve undone it from the engine.

It might work with the front cover of
But getting the complete swap box in is the tricky bit.

In the official Renault workshop manual only the downward method is mentioned.
The gearbox and bell house are very heavy. Working against gravity is harder then with it.

But maybe you’ll be able to make it work.

And while you are at it you might as well swap the clutch assembly, and both the camshaft and crankshaft seals.
 
Thanks again. Need to consider what would happen if/when crossbar bolts snap. Found Spracker's clutch replacement thread and it looks like he got the box out the top way. But as I have not done this before I am trying to absorb as much experience from others as I can before I start. Replacing the worm sounded a good idea so leaving the box in but not sure of availability or the feasability of removing one and putting it on another box
 
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