| Author | Topic |
|---|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 22:26
|
 |
My newly installed beams gearbox has a slightly different rotational value on the cog for the speedo (in the box), even though it has the same number of teeth.
This means that my speedo is slightly out.
It is possible to get custom guages printed up?
Any thoughts/ideas much appreciated 
Rob
|
|
|
Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 22:34
|
|
if botht he drive and driven gear have same number of teeth, it has to go at the same speed?
is one of them different? K boxes (i know a bit older  ) have 2 different drive gears (5 and 6 tooth) and at least 3 diferent driven gears (19, 21, 22) the 21 and 22 and interchangeable for the 6 tooth, but the 5/19 is a pair.
can you swap a different gear in? are there different ratios available from toyota for the box (speedo drive ratios)?
easy to make up new faces, harder to get them printed out in good quality. and i always hate pulling the needles off...
good luck!
Cya, Stewart
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 22:43
|
|
hrm
it is very difficult to change the tooth IN the box, and the speedo cables were identical. So I am guessing that the one in the box is driven by a slightly larger or smaller cog.
I hate to think what changing that one would be like.
|
|
|
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 23:24
|
|
Changing the gear inside the gearbox isn't that hard, but you do need to crack the box open. That's probably not something you want to do.
Printing up new gauges is not the way to solve this problem. You can get inline "gearboxes" for your speedo cable to bring the speedo back into line. These things are commonly used on 4WD's after installing those big stupid tyres.
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 23:30
|
|
Norbie.
thanks man!
Yeah I wasn't in the mood for taking the new box apart, since I already had it out twice last week and it is heavy...and...stuff
Plus, I just didn't want to open it if at all possible. But if I have to I have to.
Those inline gearboxes sound interesting. I guess you just have to split your speedo cable somewhere and attach it?
I guess they would not be that cheap either  Where you reckon they can be got?
so many questions.. hehe sorry
|
|
|
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 23:37
|
|
The speedo converters typically attach to the side of the gearbox, and then you plug your speedo cable into it... no changes required, it should be plug-and-play. I'm not sure where you get them from, but talking to a 4WD shop would be a good place to start.
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 08 September 2004 23:39
|
|
eek
ok man thanks
I am going to inspect my old box and see what the config is like in it.
'cause the new box has the LSD the arrangement could be quite different inside.
then have a little word to a 4WD shop
eek!
thanks dude!
|
|
|
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
July 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:29
|
|
| RobST162 wrote on Thu, 09 September 2004 09:39 |
eek
ok man thanks
I am going to inspect my old box and see what the config is like in it.
'cause the new box has the LSD the arrangement could be quite different inside.
then have a little word to a 4WD shop
eek!
thanks dude!
|
can u pm me the info on them when u get it mate, i beleive mine is out from conversion
|
|
|
Location:
brisbane
Registered:
August 2004
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:37
|
|
guys,
what you need to do is put on a little electronic box that lies inline with the speedo cable, an auto-elec will be able to do this for you but they arnt cheap at $200 or so im not sure as i get discounts through a friend anyway, with this box this enables them to alter the ratio of information being sent from the gearbox to the speedo
if you want more info and in brisbane call sterling auto-electrics in bowen hills and ask for Cody, tell him bossy sent you
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:39
|
|
yeah but some of us old skool toyotas have manual cable speedos..
like me for instance
lol
electric I wish...  I had to disconnect the electric one I got with the box. I wonder if I could adapt some stuff from an ST204... hrm..
|
|
|
Location:
brisbane
Registered:
August 2004
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:45
|
|
|
sorry i didnt make myself more clear dude, the electric box goes onto a manual speedo cable it dosnt have to be electric cable, the box just modifys the ratio so its all calibrated exactly, the good thing about the box is if you change your wheel size or profile of tyre by even only a slight amount it is real easy to re-calibrate
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:49
|
|
so it goes
manual cable -> electric box -> manual cable?
|
|
|
Location:
brisbane
Registered:
August 2004
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:53
|
|
yes it goes manual cable -> electric box -> manual cable
or manual cable -> electric box -> manual/electric aftermarket gauge
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 01:55
|
|
Sweeetah bro!
so.. jaycar perhaps?
|
|
|
Location:
brisbane
Registered:
August 2004
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 02:02
|
|
|
either that or try your local auto-electric, i cant remember the name of the box but im sure they would
|
|
|
Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 07:22
|
|
| djbourboncan wrote on Thu, 09 September 2004 11:53 |
yes it goes manual cable -> electric box -> manual cable
or manual cable -> electric box -> manual/electric aftermarket gauge
|
more likely the second one.. i can't see a box having an electric motor in it as an acceptable way to run a speedo...
the programmable VDO speedos are nice, and not too exxy.. around $250ish? if you could fit one of them into your cluster.. would be sweet.
there are a few places in the US that do conversion boxes for mechanical speedos (in any ratio) but i've long since lost the links n contacts
i vote aftermarket speedo
Cya, Stewart
|
|
|
Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 08:57
|
|
I found an article about an Australian compnay that does this on the web http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_0346/article.html.
There are a few Automotive Instrument calibration businesses that advertise in the magazines like Zoom etc.
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 09:06
|
|
huh this is very very interesting peeps
I have the electric speedo cable here.. the cog with the pickup on it, out of the beams
I also have a spare instrument cluster..
I wonder if I could just find something to adapt to the electric speedo coggy thing (I will get pic) and mount one of these VDO guages in or something.. hmmm
|
|
|
I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 10:37
|
|
Ask your local highway patrol officer to tell you where they go to get their speedo calibrated.
All radar equiped cop cars have to have the speedo calibrated very frequently.
On my old mans car which was an ex hwy patrol car there was a sticker saying when it was last calibrated and the name of the shop that did it. His one was a place in Silverwater (forget the name)
|
|
|
I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 10:42
|
|
| RobST162 wrote on Thu, 09 September 2004 19:06 |
huh this is very very interesting peeps
I have the electric speedo cable here.. the cog with the pickup on it, out of the beams
I also have a spare instrument cluster..
I wonder if I could just find something to adapt to the electric speedo coggy thing (I will get pic) and mount one of these VDO guages in or something.. hmmm
|
If you wanted to run an aftermarket speedo then thats "almost" all you should need.
If your speedo is still out due to different diff ratio's or tyre sizes then you can use a pulse divider / multiplier like the kit we just started selling at Jaycar.
|
|
|
Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 11:15
|
|
IIRC Castlemaine Rod Shop make/supply the inline mechanical speedo correctors.
http://www.rodshop.com.au/
|
|
|
Membership Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
June 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Thu, 09 September 2004 22:30
|
|
There is a speedo mob at Marayong Near Seven Hills That makes little inline boxs with gears in them to re calibrate speedo's. I didn't ask the price.
But easy to get
|
|
|
Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 00:07
|
|
The Castlemaine Rod Shop make up a little gearbox arrangement for the V8 people to modify their speedos. They could be worth talking to.
|
|
|
I Supported Toymods
Location:
melbourne.vic.au
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 00:27
|
|
But remember fellas, it's cheaper to modify the speedo to make it accurate then it is to get a Fine and loose points  .
Cheers.
|
|
|
Location:
Armidale
Registered:
January 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 01:03
|
|
Last time I bought a mechanical speedo corrector (Castlemaine style) it was about $70.00 IIRC. Mind you, that was about 7 years ago, but I would hope they are still sub $100.00  You just drive, say, 5km (like the test runs on the freeway) and tell them what your odometer actually reads, and they make the box to suit.
I never had one last more than 12 months, but maybe I do too much bush-bashing and they get ripped off by sticks or something 
The VDO speedos are great, and might be worthwhile, particularly if you already have the sender. They can work off 4 different sender types:
Hall-effect
Hall-effect with an open collector circuit
Interruption oscillator
Inductive
Most likely the sender you have is one of these, so no adaptation should be required.
Work out which one of these your sender is, and you are in business. To calibrate the speedo, you just push the button on the front, drive a measured 1km, push again and you're done - no pulse dividers needed. (You can also do it 'real time' on a dyno, or enter 'pulses per km', but I never found the need for that...)
[Updated on: Fri, 10 September 2004 01:07]
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 06:27
|
|
this is what I got guys
1 x electric pickup with three-pin plug
1 x mechanical instrument cluster
and of course.. the mechanical cable that runs from my current speedo cog to my dash.
So my best options are to get a bit of VDO action and replace my current speedo?
I can't visualise that fitting in my current cluster however..
So that leaves us with a mechanical stepper... hrm..
|
|
|
Location:
Armidale
Registered:
January 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 07:20
|
|
Is there any sort of part number on the pickup that may allow you to work out just what type of output it provides? The 3 wires just about rules out inductive.
| Quote: |
I can't visualise that fitting in my current cluster however..
|
They don't really 'fit', no. It takes some patience and a deft hand with a dremel tool and maybe a soldering iron. That being said, it isn't hard to make them look like they belong there if you are a reasonably handy sort of bloke. If my digicam wasn't on holidays I could show you one in my hilux dash ...
The VDO will cost a little more than the ratio box ('stepper'), but IMHO will provide a more satisfactory long-term solution.
But, after all that, just how far out is the speedo? Have you checked it (properly, with a stopwatch, not just with the odometer)? What I'm getting at is if there is only "a slightly different rotational value", then maybe you have accidently but neatly corrected the probable factory speedo error and/or natural speedo variation with age
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Fri, 10 September 2004 07:28
|
|
well... and I tested my "old" speedo with those radars on the Hume that tell you your speed and when my old speedo said 110, I was doing about 105
however now driving up epping road at 80, I am used to be going a little faster than people... now going "80" on epping road I am being passed..and I FEEL like I am going quite slow.. and when I am going 110 on my speedo, I actually think I am doing 95... as did my mates without looking at the speedo.. and 130 feels like 110. Obviously it is a curve...
haven't tested next to another car yet or with a measured km + stopwatch, but no question it is out, and significantly more than before.
So, I WOULD define myself as slightly "handy" lol, so let's see this cog unit I have here, or sender, has "15402T12" written on it and a "7" near the plug
the cog itself has a "23" stamped on it, which is the number of teeth, which is the same number as my mechanical one. (different drive cog in the box.. we guess)
If I could slot a VDO unit in I would be interested to know how best to go about it and wiould be keen for any piccies, especially if we could hook it up to this electrical sensor sender I have here.
So much electrical crap on the back of my cluster I hate to think how I would get it in.. eek
|
|
|
Location:
Epping, Sydney
Registered:
April 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Sun, 12 September 2004 06:52
|
|
update!
I took the speedo out again today because i noticed an oil buildup around its hole, and I wanted to hit my crossmember with the hammer a bit more.
the cogs are NOT the same!
my bad here.
I hoped to just swap the rods inside, but they are totally different lengths
So now I hope to custom make a longer "tooth" that sits in the firewall end of the rod to cover the length discrepancy.
We will see if this helps!
Bizzare to me that there should be a leakage around this area, but I also changed the o-ring.
|
|
|
Location:
Armidale
Registered:
January 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Tue, 05 October 2004 11:15
|
|
| RobST162 wrote on Fri, 10 September 2004 17:28 |
If I could slot a VDO unit in I would be interested to know how best to go about it and wiould be keen for any piccies, especially if we could hook it up to this electrical sensor sender I have here.
So much electrical crap on the back of my cluster I hate to think how I would get it in.. eek
|
Well, here is a pic of what it looks like from the front. Sorry, I don't seem to have anything in the archives of the guts of it.
Essentially, I pulled out the old speedo mech and cut a neat hole the right diamater in the front. I used the dremel to flatten or remove any plastic that got in the way behind the scenes. It all mounts from the front, so you don't have to disturb the wiring at the back much. I do recall having to solder some wires to a track somewhere for lights, but that was pretty easy and seems to be lasting fine.
So as I didn't have to disturb the 'flexible circuit board' at the back, I left the speedo sitting about 5mm proud of the black fascia, but you hardly notice that mostly. It still fits beneath the clear perspex cover.
The black texta (!!) I used to cover the remaining old speedo marks looks like $#!7 in the photo, but not noticable day-to-day. Not show-car stuff (although I guess it could be, given time and patience), but it certainly works.
I really knew nothing about it when I started either, apart from a vague reassurance that it would fit from some bloke who reckoned he'd done it before
|
|
|
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
August 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Tue, 05 October 2004 13:08
|
|
Have you thought about swapping the cogs over? You won't need to swap the entire rod, just the cogs.
I had to do the same thing when I put a newer gearbox into my car. The new box had an electric sender, whilst the old box had a mechanical one. I put the mechanical sender in the new box but swapped the cog with the one from the electrical sender.
The two boxes were the same series (e5x), just that one was from a newer model which had an electronic speedo and LSD.
The cogs are a press fit and can be taken off.
|
|
|
Location:
qld
Registered:
October 2003
|
|
Re: Custom Guages -> is it possible
|
Wed, 06 October 2004 07:46
|
|
|
or take it to an instrument calibrator/repairer. they can re set them to read accurately, as they do it for all the time....
|
|
|
