[brutass]

Okay, I have an annoying squeek from behind the instrument panel on my 95 LX 1.9. It seems to only be present when I'm under 20 mph or so going up my driveway. At first, I thought it was my brake wear indicators on the drivers side front but the more I listened to it, the more it sounded like it was right there in front of me, plus it didn't go away when I applied the brakes. Also, it gets faster as the car roles faster whether is going down a grade under little to no engine acceleration or up a grade under power and it seems to do it only after driving it anough to get it warm.

Here's the kicker, I got frustrated and slapped the top of the dash above the steering wheel and it momentarily ceased but began again. Its methodic and doesn't sound as if anything is lose, it sounds like a squeeeking wheel turning.

My first thought was the speedometer cable but someone told me it was electronic and that made sense, I guess. Does anyone here have any ideas? I wanted to get all the feedback I can before taking the dashboard off or find out if there's another way to remedy it besides constantly beating on my dash.

 

[highanddry]

Your speedo cable is not electronic and is likely your problem. The speedo cable runs through the firewall and into a housing on top of the transmission. You've likely got dirt in the sheath or it's gear is not fully engaged. If you think the squeaking pisses you off, wait till you're half way through this job trying to reconnect your speedo clip behind the dash.

 

[brutass]

Okay, cool. I guess the best thing to do is just crank up the tunes and drown it out.

 

[DeathSlinger00]

Okay, cool. I guess the best thing to do is just crank up the tunes and drown it out.

hey, that's what i did. 8)

 

[escortlx96]

check your steering wheel shroud and instrument panel cover to make sure the screws are on tight.I had the same noise you are refering to and it was my steering wheel shroud that was misadjusted and i just took it apart and put it back on and the noise went away and hasnt came back yet and i did that back in 98 and now it is 2004.

 

[iLabmAn]

My speedo sensor was completely replaced last week after the shop working on car informed me it was seized in the engine block!!! Long story!

Anyway, I had this problem too.....until the sensor was replaced. Sound gone.

 

[siragan]

If you think the squeaking pisses you off, wait till you're half way through this job trying to reconnect your speedo clip behind the dash.

I remember my first time connecting the speedo cable... 15 minutes later I came out with a sore back and bloody hands.

But after you do it a few times, you get the hang of it. Now I can clip it and unclip the speedo cable in a couple minutes. Once you find out how it clips together, you figure it out.

You can slide the cable out of the housing and put some white lith and see if that solves it. If not, you can replace it.

Also, the speedometer cable doesn't have a "sensor" per se... it's just a little nylon gear in that sits in the tranny housing. The speedometer is completely mechanical.

 

[brutass]

Hey thanks guys for the info. Its really bugging me so I'm going to try the lith grease method. I've only had this car for a month or so after getting the blown engine swapped out so I'm sure I'll have all kinds of problems to throw at you guys in the weeks to come. It wasn't taken very good care of but seems to be pretty solid nevertheless. I'll let you all know how it goes but probably won't get to it until the weekend. Thanks again.

B

 

[highanddry]

Please blow out the speedo sheath with compressed air before applying the grease. If there's already grit in there, greasing it will make things worse. You'll have a nice sticky nest of crap in there instead of a dry one.

Before you rip the speedo cable out, you may want to try the other suggestion here about adjusting the housing halves around the steering column. It's a lot easier fix and may be your problem.

Good luck.

 

[brutass]

Will do. ..and thanks for the word of warning.