ZX upper speedo cable

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UserError
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ZX upper speedo cable

Post by UserError »

Hi,
More fun...
Among my planned work was to sort the dead speedo out (and instrument bulbs). Having bought the 2 halves of the cable and fitted the lower one, I find that the speedo works. I was going to fit the top half whilst I've got the instrument panel out, but have found that (a) not only is it a pig of a job, (b) reading all the posts about unsteady speedo needles (mine wasn't too bad - it died of rusted through sheared bottom drive cable), and that fitting a new top cable with all its routing problems that I may introduce vibration where none is currently present.

Would you fit the new cable anyway, or leave alone & try & get a refund from GSF?

To get the old one out - how hard does one have to pull it? - I've given it some considerable pulls and it hasn't moved much. Also, do you remove it from the engione compartment or from the inside - there was a post somewhere but I can't fingd it.

Cheers
Jonathan.
BTW, the instrument panel was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting - took 50 mins to get out.
Last edited by UserError on 18 Nov 2008, 18:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by handyman »

Hi Jonathan, if it works, leave it alone!

After years of taking apart and refitting bits onto Citroens, I reckon the inner speedo cable on the ZX must rank high in the chart of pigging jobs to undertake. :twisted:

If you can get you money back from GSF, I'd do it.

Handyman
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Post by RichardW »

I think ZX upper speedo cable is a dash out job, so yes, I'd get a refund!
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ZX upper speedo cable

Post by UserError »

Thanks for your advice chaps - 'fraid I didn't take it!
In my defence, my Missus recalled that, when the speedo died I hadn't been surprised as it had been vibrating, so there had breen a history of trouble (I've been without a speedo since about May, so the memory starts to fail...)

I had a reasonable attempt at pulling the new cable through on string, but felt the force I was tugging at was more than I wanted to subject the cable or whatever obstructions lay behind the dash.

I had been reading posts about the LHD/RHD factory conversion/bodge and decided to provide my own route: I ran it up in a gentle arc from the speedo drive along behind the carb and drilled a hole in the bulkhead above the servo (after first removing the master cylinder - there was enough length in the pipes that I could do this without stressing them).

The cable enters the interior slightly to the right of the speedo head, towards the tacho and pretty much level with it. This is less harsh than the factory-fitted angle. There is also a bit more cable spare when getting the instrument panel in & out. The main benefit is that the horrible swing to the right (n/s) then up & back to the left of the original route is avoided. Every time I worked on the starter motor or in thaat area I always thought how stressed the cable was.

Cable is sleeved in split garden hose over the supplied anti-chafe outer hose and hole sealed with intumescent sealant.
Pix here: http://www.spidery.force9.co.uk/images/ ... _cable.htm

I left a string in place behind the dash so I could restore the original route if I felt compelled to, although the car won't be entering any concours shows so I can't see it mattering too much.....

I would welcome any constructive comments on this.
Cheers
Jonathan
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Post by uncle buck »

That's a great job... I think now you have "smoothed out" the route of the cable you should have no more needle shake. 8)

I always planned to do the same with the speedo cable on my ZX but never got round to doing it....the needle used to jump around like a thing that jumps around a lot....& it was quite noisy...if you didn't have the radio on you could hear the constant ticking of the speedo cable.

The original route that the cable takes on right hand drive cars is just silly...you can't bend a cable through tight turns like that & expect it to work for any length of time.

Great modification.

Cheers.
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Post by handyman »

Hi Jonathan, looks like I'm going to have to do your mod as it has been a year or two that the ZX speedo has not been working, since the time I had the dash out to do the heater matrix.

Good bodge!

Just as a bye, which bit of glorious Sussex do you live in? I'm in Jarvis Brook, near Crowborough.

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Post by UserError »

handyman wrote:
Just as a bye, which bit of glorious Sussex do you live in? I'm in Jarvis Brook, near Crowborough.

Handyman
Handyman,
Greetings,
I'm to the south in Hailsham. Don't really know the High Weald as well as I should, as I prefer the Downs and the coast.
Still, Glorious indeed!

"...Choose ye your need from Thames to Tweed,
And I will choose instead
Such lands as lie ’twixt Rake and Rye,
Black Down and Beachy Head.... "
"Sussex" by Rudyard Kipling

I can't see why there should be any problems with this, but will post them if there are. Watch this space. Might even turn the web stuff into a proper website as I've done quite a lot of stuff in the last few weeks and have had a lot of questions - some of which I was given answers to, others I worked out the hard way. As we know, the search engine on this forum is rudimentary to put it mildly....
Cheers
Jonathan
If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?
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