Ade-TR4 Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Hi All, once again, my speedo angle drive has broken. The angle drive seems to be the weak link in the speedo chain. I over nipped-up the cable at the back of the gauge which seems to have increased the friction in the cable and, instead of breaking the cable, the drive broke. It's bad enough breaking at cable at £16 each, but the angle drive is a pocket emptying £37. So, has anyone discovered a way of improving the set up as I've got through 3 of these in the last 2 years, which is over £110!!!!!!!????? (alright, one of them was a slightly dodgy 2nd hand one I got for a few quid, but still...) According to the bloke at Moss 1500 Spitfires and MGBs also suffer the exact same problem and they sell lots of them. cheers Adey PS: anyone know when the sun's going to arrive? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianhoward Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 (edited) PS: anyone know when the sun's going to arrive? Today!!! Took the car out for a bit of a run and cleared the cobwebs!!! (though whether that was from the car or me I am not sure ) Edited March 18, 2006 by ianhoward Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Adey Ive got a spare if you are stuck - - this is probably a cable route problem - or the little square drive piece is snagging (did you reuse it ??) - Ive had the same one in BST for 3 years and despite gearbox (and clutch!!!!!) changes its been good. If you can put up with a cable running under the carpet you can do without it ..... Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NickKerfoot Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 Hi! Would I be right in thinking that TR4s should not use an angle drive? I have one fitted to my recently converted to overdrive '4 and it fouls the tunnel cover. The "V" in the handbrake lever gaiter seems idealy placed to take the cable as it exits straight from the overdrive unit...the cable would then route through the chassis and up into the engine bay in the normal way. My first edition parts book (Pg 94) makes no mention of the angle drive as being part of the overdrive conversion kit either. Guess this just raises more questions! Will let you know if the cable routes satisfactorily this way and the length of cable used later. Cheers Nick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ade-TR4 Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Hmmm... cheers Nick - I'll check that out. I know what you mean re; the "V" in the gaiter. Always wondered why it the angle drive didn't match the gaiter! cheers Adey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NickKerfoot Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Adey Some figures lifted from Moss' Parts catalogue: For the TR4/4A: RHD non overdrive speedo cable 78" 504607 All LHD and RHD O/D 69" GSD169 For the TR5,250 and 6 to CR1/CF1: RHD O/D speedo cable 63" GSD109 RHD non O/D 66" GSD114 All LHD 69" GSD169 How these vary so much when the gearbox and instrument installations are so similar puzzles somewhat! Don't know how accurate these figures are either Anyway, my car has a 69" cable fitted. Used with an angle drive it has plenty of length, probably too much. Routed through the hand brake lever gaiter and pulled very tight it is about 2" short of the instrument. Ideal length for this routing would be about 75". Original part no. for O/D cable shown in my parts parts book is 504605. This is listed in Moss' price list but I don't yet know the length of it. Original part no for non O/D cable is 504948, which Moss cross refer to GSD 169... hmmmmm. I have no variations listsd for RHD vs LHD. Conclusions so far : you will need a longer cable to route it through the chassis! Will post as I find out more! Cheers Nick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ade-TR4 Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hi Nick, cheers again! The non-OD box has the take-off for the speedo on the other side, hence why it's longer. I may try the longer cable direct from the OD without the angle drive. worth a try! cheers Adey PS - Ian: the sun arrived on my side of the Penines! drove the TR with it's new engine on sunday PM - Awesome! I'd almost forgotten how much fun it was. MASSIVE grin! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisc Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hi Adey, Been following this tread with interest as I have yet to add the speedo cable to my rebuilt 4 with O/D, could you let us know where it ends up, might save me a couple of hours trial and error! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 As far as i can remember TR4s dont have an angle drive for the speedo as thats what the little tunnel section in your handbrake gaiter is for, the cable sits through there quite happily and then curves forward. TR4As have a different tunnel cover with room enough for the angle drive. Angle drives usually break the short extension that goes into the box as its very easy to screw them in too tight, the angle drive unit should be able to float slightly. It is possible to replace the small stub end with a short section of speedo cable with each end ground up to a square section. Easier said than done but it is possible with care!! Regards and hope this helps. Stuart Hi Adey, Been following this tread with interest as I have yet to add the speedo cable to my rebuilt 4 with O/D, could you let us know where it ends up, might save me a couple of hours trial and error! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ade-TR4 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Hi AT LAST!!!! I managed to route the cable (same length as angle drive set up) direct from the output to the gauge. It works better than ever and there's no expensive angle drive to mangle. Wish I'd done this a while ago... cheers for the inputs Adey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Just seen this thread today. I have a 62 TR4 with A type overdrive which I have driven for 9 years with no angle drive, and no problems - well, not in relation to the speedo cable anyway ! Regards Trevor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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