The needle on my odometer broke off. There is enough left that I can kind-of guess at my speed but I rather know for sure what it is. Is this needle available and can the do-it-yourselfer make the repair? 1973 Challenger

IMHO- remove the dash cluster and ship off the whole thing to Redline Auto gauges. By the time you pull the thing out and get the plastic off, doing a repair on the needle you might as well get a new speedo, redline can match your mileage and you'll have peace of mind. They can also calibrate your other gauges, polish the lens and repaint faded graphics if you want. The pricing is ala carte.

Ok. Thanks for the info..I'll check with them.

If you had a spare speedo assy that you could pirate a needle from or even a needle that was similar from a non E body speedo if it's the right length etc. The trick as you know would be to get the old neeedle off and the new one on without damaging anything & that spring assy in there is as delicate as they come. I'd cut the old needle off with a mini whizzer kit from HF (it's cheap) & maybe open the ID of the replacement needle hole just enough so it'd slip on the shaft then epoxy it. It'd be worth a try & for sure be cheaper than sending the assy in to a specialty shop. I'd at least open it up & see what you think

There was a place that just sold a needle you could glue onto the old 1, google around and see if you can find it.

Here's some of the instructions:

http://www.rt-eng.com/mediawiki/index.php/Dash-Worx_E_Body_Rallye_Speedo_Needle

Ebody Rallye Speedo Needle
If your speedo has a broken needle, this needle can be glued right over the old broken needle. We also recommend that you carefully check the speedo to see if it needs servicing, as sometimes the bushing on the back of the speedo is worn and can allow the speedo cable to grab the speedo needle which causes it to break.

Cost $30

More info on speedo needles
•Reason 1 why speedo needles break: If the speedometer cable is dry and needs to be lubed, sometimes the cable will bind and then jump forward, causing the speedo needle to swing wildly and break.
•Reason 2 why speedo needles break: If the nylon bushing inside the speedometer is worn out and it allows the aluminum cup to touch the rotating magnet then the speedo needle can break.
•Reason 3 why speedo needles break: If there are metal shavings or rust pieces stuck to the magnet which allow friction with the aluminum cup, then the speedo needle can be broken.
•You can't use this speedo needle on tachometers.


How to remove Tach and Speedo needles from Mopar speedometers
•Take the speedo out of the instrument cluster

•Grab the aluminum wheel in the back of the speedo with one hand and don't let it move.

•Grab the speedo needle with your other hand, holding only the black round part, and twist the needle back and forth and gently pulling the needle off the stem.

•Put it back on the same way except push on it.

The only danger here is that you might bend the needle pointer/tail, so it is best not to touch that part of the needle.

You can remove the tach needles the same way, but you don't need to hold the back of the tach. Instead just twist the tach needle past 0 RPM while gently pulling on the needle.

I fixed one years ago. The needle is sort of a right angle (talking about from a cross section view) that's a good thing. Go to a sewing / fabric store and buy the smallest sewing needle they have...and they do have some damn small ones. You could probably also use a small (like 1/2") piece of welding wire.
Super glue it to the underside of the needle pointer, with 1/2 of it sticking out...you know, like a splint. Then superglue it to the remaining portion of the needle still on the speedo.
The trick is to add as little weight to the needle assembly as possible.

Then live your life with a repaired speedometer.

Thanks. The link doesn't seem to work but still some good info.....

Mine was broke off when I bought the car. The rest of the needle was laying in the bottom. I took the needle off the face. Laying it on a clean work surface, butted the two ends together. On the Cuda, there was a channel down the middle of the pointer. I put a drop of airplane glue in the channel on both pieces and put a short piece of 18 gauge copper wire in the channel. I used an alligator clip to hold the whole thing while it set. I then repainted the needle with Testors Coast Guard orange and it looks great.
Craig

I have new needles but I need the original shaft to make the repair.
E body rally only.
Jules
450-656-5438

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