Hi guys,

'97 cinq sporting

My girlfriend passed her test a few weeks ago and the other day she went on the motorway in my car for the first time. Her speed fluctuated terribly but I held my tongue until she was gunning it at 91mph on the satnav! Shortly after that I noticed the speedo wasn't working. (Also, when we finally reached a service station, the car was running badly. A quick look under the bonnet revealed a vacuum hose had blown off!)

Anyway, I'm not having much luck with fixing the speedo...

I took the dials off and they function fine: I twisted the thing in the back and it registers on the dial

With the dials off i drove the car and the cable doesn't spin, so I thought 'snapped cable'

I then removed the cable at the gearbox end and removed the entire cable from its sleeve and its intact. (whilst i had the cable out i put it into the back of the dials and twisted it just to confirm the connection was good - it was)

I regreased the cable and slid it home and fixed it back at the gearbox end and when driving it still doesn't turn....

Any ideas? Could it be that what ever makes the cable spin inside the gearbox has gone? The gearbox end of the actual cable appears fine and undamaged; it looks like a long brass coloured nipple with a flange on one side.

One other thing I did notice is that the despite making sure the cable is fixed into the gearbox nice and tight, there is play when I wiggle the sleeve that covers the 17mm fastening thread. I did go and wiggle the same on my other cinq sporting and it felt like there might be play there too... its hard to say if there is a difference...

Thanks guys

What is the gearbox oil quantity and quality?

Cheers

D

I changed the gearbox oil last year... Just went out to check and it's still clean and to the brim

Thanks

Ok so the diff bearings are presumably ok, it must be the speedo drive. Either the ring is slipping or the gear is damaged.

Cheers

D

What does that mean in terms of fixing it. Is it repairable? Is it a gearbox out job if it is repairable?

TBH my gearbox is the worst thing about the car. I was previously thinking about either replacing the gearbox or attempting to recondition my current one... I'm not quite sure if I actually have the expertise to carry a recon out tho... altho the 5 speed fire gearbox strip-down guide by whitz did catch my eye...

Thanks

What is wrong with the box?

Cheers

D

Poor goin into 2nd from 1st, esp. when cold. Not to bad when ur used to it and match the gears. Bad goin down into 2nd often. When going down into 1st its usually best to go into neutral, clutch up and down, then into 1st

Double declutching as old boys call it. You need it for first as there is no syncro.

You can drop the diff out of the back without removing the box, so might be worth a look in there for undue wear.

Cheers

D

I have the same problems; no speedo and baulks into 2nd.

How log to get the diff off?

Is the speedo drive replaceable?

Thanks.

not long (four bolts) and yes.

Cheers

D

Thanks a lot for the help, I'm away until saturday and then i'll take the diff off and have a look

I took the diff off and there looked to be no undue wear. So i went to a breakers and there was an X reg sei MPI. I had the gearbox from it and when i got it home I got my GB off and did a comparison of the two. It appears that the little plastic tube at the top of the speedo drive was missing in my cinq gearbox. So i swapped over the appropriate gearbox mounts etc and put the new box in. Now i have a working speedo and a smoother gearbox. Do you know if the speedo drive is removable from the diff casing? just for future reference...
I'm not sure that the problem with gear changes was anything to do with the diff tho, isn't it more likely to have been the syncro on its way out? Now I have a spare gearbox I might take it apart and have a look.

Cheers for your advice,
George

Speedo problem is related to diff, you are right that gear changing will not be affected by anything to do with the diff (unless it breaks up and fills the box with swarf)

Cheers

D