What works for a good speedo cable lube?

[Buford]

I bought a new speedometer cable (core and casing) and, wanting to check to make sure it's pre-lubed, I pulled the core out a little way from the top but didn't find much oily residue on my fingers even though it slid out easily. To be on the safe side, I'm going to lube it myself and have a penetrating graphite oil which is supposed to work for that but it is very thin and seems likely to just run to the bottom. What's a good lubricant for this?

Edited January 9, 2017 by Buford (see edit history)

[Buford]

Just got my question answered by scrolling down further after posting this and finding the post of December 31st by Wolly15.  Should have checked other posts first. Thanks to JohnD1956 and Tinindian for their info in that post.

[NTX5467]

GM/AD-Delco did have a dedicated speedometer cable lube.

 

NTX5467

[Wooly15]

 Buford, where did you get your cable? Not five minutes ago I found out that the one I ordered from summit is 3" too short.

 I forgot to check before reinstalling the dash!!  Got everything back together and saw the transmission end lying under the car. Slightly pissed at myself right now. I'm not looking forward to pulling the dash again.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Wooly15 (see edit history)

[NC-car-guy]

49 minutes ago, Wooly15 said:

 Buford, where did you get your cable? Not five minutes ago I found out that the one I ordered from summit is 3" too short.

 I forgot to check before reinstalling the dash!!  Got everything back together and saw the transmission end lying under the car. Slightly pissed at myself right now. I'm not looking forward to pulling the dash again.

That 56 Speedo is a real b*%&!

[Marty Roth]

I've had very good results for the past 65? years with WHITE LITHIUM GREASE for lubing speedometer cables - even those which are starting to act up by showing erratic movement, or by squealing.

I pull the cable from the sheath, clean it well to remove old lube, gob lots of it into the sheath, apply liberally to the cable, and work it in and out, twisting the whole time, working it a bit farther each time until completely inserted.

[rick60]

Marty is correct.  We used white lithium grease at the dealer back when cars had speedometers.  One other bit of advice, be sure there is no grease remaining in the top of the cable housing that connects to the speedometer head.  When re-connecting the cable it is possible for grease to be forced up into the speedometer.  This will cause the speedometer to malfunction.  In some cases it will be impossible to clean the speedometer with out causing damage.  Good luck.

[NTX5467]

The whole idea might be the "learned moderation" in the application of lube.  Too much lube could cause excess drag between the cable and housing, possibly?  Or the "excess" could somewhat liquefy with heat and accumulate at the bottom of the housing at the transmission connection?

 

I'm wondering if there might be some synthetic lube product that might be more "forever" than a regular lube?  Something that would keep the innards of the housing lubed and rust-free while doing the same for the cable itself?  Perhaps some synthetic motorcycle chain lube might be of a similar viscosity?

 

Back when these cars were "used cars", some used dedicated speedo cable lube and others seemed to use white grease or grapite?  The service interval was "when it makes noise" or "the speedo needle jumps", so in more modern limited-use times . . . regular lube might last plenty long between service intervals.

 

NTX5467 

[Buford]

Wooly15, the rest of the story is that the new speedometer cable and casing I got, I bought for my '54 Mercury, not for my '50 or '53 Buick. Seems like no one supplies a cable and casing if you have a '54 Merc with an automatic. Manual, yes, but the length is different. The folks at lincolnoldparts.com in Florida said they have an outside supplier that can make one for me and that's what I got. Hopefully they can make one up for you too if it would come to that. There are certainly a lot more parts available for old Buicks than for old Mercurys though and I'm guessing Summit just sent you the wrong one.

   As for the cable lubrication, I thought about the white lithium grease and ended up using the penetrating graphite oil. I hope I don't regret it. The '54 Merc dash with the "spaceship" controls is no walk in the park to get at the speedo cable connection either. Thanks to everyone for their recommendations.

 

Alan

[packick]

I, like the others who have replied, have also had success with white lithium grease only I mix it with some graphite powder.  Also, I have a Case tractor and found that the Case dealer sells a speedometer lubricant in a spray can; that worked real well on the tractor's cable.  It eliminated the speedometer needle oscillation that I was having.  Anyway, that's my two-cents worth.