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HOW-TO: Replacing Odometer Gears
- Thread starter emerydc8
- Start date
Post
number 59
has been selected as best answered.
GSXR,
You saved my bacon, I ordered my gears in June 2016 before your post have the wrong 48/16 gear set. My odometer is making a grinding noise and 183k miles and time to change out gears and lube them up. I just re-ordered to get 48/17. Now on to figure out the dash lights.
You saved my bacon, I ordered my gears in June 2016 before your post have the wrong 48/16 gear set. My odometer is making a grinding noise and 183k miles and time to change out gears and lube them up. I just re-ordered to get 48/17. Now on to figure out the dash lights.
My odometer recently quit ('95 E420) and I just received gears from Garagistic. Their 48/17 gear does not have the shoulder on the back side of the gear like my original. Mattson at Garagistic assures me the gear will work properly. I like the $19 price but not if there is clicking or slop in the gears. Stay tuned.
What are reset contact points?
The cone-shaped plastic bulb on the end of the shaft that you push inward to reset the trip odometer. You lubricate slightly this plastic bulb along with the point where it contacts the lever that it pushes to reset the trip odo.
it’s all apparent when you remove everything.
Here is my How-To for replacing Odometer Gears (on a 1994 E500).
1) Order your 3 gear set from Garagistic.com. Search for their generic gears and order the 48x17 combination.
Link as of 11/10/2019
Per GSXR
E1 = 12 (small 12 tooth gear)
E2 = 48x12 (48 tooth outer gears with small hub gear with 12 teeth)
E3 = 48x17 (48 tooth outer gear with small hub gear with 17 teeth)
Step 0: DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR BEFORE PROCEEDING
2). You need a W124 gauge cluster puller . I ordered OTC 6711 kit.
Extend the steering wheel as far out as it will go to give yourself the most room.
Watch the first three minutes of this Youtube video: https://youtu.be/ldVrW7LB__Y
3) After you pull the instrument cluster out such that all the electrical connection are exposed on the back, then I found it easier to work on the passenger side of the vehicle.
All the bulbs connections on the right side of the vehicle are numbered along with their wires, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. You can pop those out. You can then loosen the harness holder with a screwdriver to free up that wiring harness a bit more. Look at the pictures below. Just be slow and methodical and take pictures along the way with your smartphone (iPhone 11 Pro used for these). All connectors are removed by hand and pop off with minimal force.
4)Now you can remove the instrument cluster and move to a very clean place to work. Remove the 6 screws shown in the photo. Note the one is longer than the others.
1) Order your 3 gear set from Garagistic.com. Search for their generic gears and order the 48x17 combination.
Link as of 11/10/2019
Per GSXR
E1 = 12 (small 12 tooth gear)
E2 = 48x12 (48 tooth outer gears with small hub gear with 12 teeth)
E3 = 48x17 (48 tooth outer gear with small hub gear with 17 teeth)
Step 0: DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR BEFORE PROCEEDING
2). You need a W124 gauge cluster puller . I ordered OTC 6711 kit.
Extend the steering wheel as far out as it will go to give yourself the most room.
Watch the first three minutes of this Youtube video: https://youtu.be/ldVrW7LB__Y
3) After you pull the instrument cluster out such that all the electrical connection are exposed on the back, then I found it easier to work on the passenger side of the vehicle.
All the bulbs connections on the right side of the vehicle are numbered along with their wires, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. You can pop those out. You can then loosen the harness holder with a screwdriver to free up that wiring harness a bit more. Look at the pictures below. Just be slow and methodical and take pictures along the way with your smartphone (iPhone 11 Pro used for these). All connectors are removed by hand and pop off with minimal force.
4)Now you can remove the instrument cluster and move to a very clean place to work. Remove the 6 screws shown in the photo. Note the one is longer than the others.
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5) Now remove the LCD temperature display module. It will slide right out after the bottom two screws were removed.
6)You know have to remove another bulb and its wire that is hooked to the back of the speedometer.
7)Now remove this white bit that was screwed in with the longer screw.
8)The speedometer can come out now. But it doesn't just lift straight out. The odometer trip reset lever requires you to finesse it out. Look at photos.
Cover the speedometer opening now with a clean towel so you don't introduce dust into the instrument cluster area.
6)You know have to remove another bulb and its wire that is hooked to the back of the speedometer.
7)Now remove this white bit that was screwed in with the longer screw.
8)The speedometer can come out now. But it doesn't just lift straight out. The odometer trip reset lever requires you to finesse it out. Look at photos.
Cover the speedometer opening now with a clean towel so you don't introduce dust into the instrument cluster area.
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9) After removing the 4 screws on the back of the speedometer cover you can remove it but it will still be connected by a wire. That's ok it will give you plenty of room to work.
10). Now remove the two small screws holding the odometer gears in place
11)You will change the 3 gears shown in the photo. Remove 48-12 by hand. It will slide off. Remove 48-17 by hand, it will slide off.
12) THANK YOU TO GSXR for letting us know how to remove the small twelve tooth gear that does not just slide off. I used Side Cutter just like GSXR says to cut through the brass bushing so that it will then slide off with your fingers. The replacement gear does not need the brass bushing.
10). Now remove the two small screws holding the odometer gears in place
11)You will change the 3 gears shown in the photo. Remove 48-12 by hand. It will slide off. Remove 48-17 by hand, it will slide off.
12) THANK YOU TO GSXR for letting us know how to remove the small twelve tooth gear that does not just slide off. I used Side Cutter just like GSXR says to cut through the brass bushing so that it will then slide off with your fingers. The replacement gear does not need the brass bushing.
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13) Make sure you need gears match the old ones. I think my 48-12 was the one making the gear noise.
14)You can lubricate the new gears with Gleitpaste, but don't go overboard. I had to clean up my lube job a bit after application.
15)Re-install everything by following instructions in reverse.
BONUS: Changing your Instrument Cluster Lights.
16) There are two main bulbs illuminating the instrument cluster at night. These are 3W bulbs. W3W I did not change to LED as I'm trying to keep my car stock. I am pretty sure I am still on the original bulbs. There were a bit burnt out looking and the new ones are crystal clear.
And upon re-installation, my odometer gears are SILENT and everything works!!
14)You can lubricate the new gears with Gleitpaste, but don't go overboard. I had to clean up my lube job a bit after application.
15)Re-install everything by following instructions in reverse.
BONUS: Changing your Instrument Cluster Lights.
16) There are two main bulbs illuminating the instrument cluster at night. These are 3W bulbs. W3W I did not change to LED as I'm trying to keep my car stock. I am pretty sure I am still on the original bulbs. There were a bit burnt out looking and the new ones are crystal clear.
And upon re-installation, my odometer gears are SILENT and everything works!!
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Interesting. My 12-tooth was in pieces and my black gear had one tooth gone. Wonder if one took out the other.
Looking forward to getting this done but also find myself procrastinating. Gears have been sitting on my desk for days. Oh well.
Okay, I'm stuck. I look at the brass sleeve on the spindle that is closest to the camera and while I do not want to yank on it, I do not understand the side-cutters procedure. Do I snip at it like I would cut an electrical wire with the side cutters? I just don't want to screw anything up. Thx for any advice
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If you look at post #61 above I have a photo of gear 12 in my wire cutters. According to GSXR if you try and pry that gear in the direction of its shaft you could damager the motor. Instead with a pair of wire cutters you can "cut the gear in half" as shown in the photo. What happens is the brass bushing deforms / breaks and you can pop off the gear easily. You are crushing that brass bushing from the sides. It scared the crap out of me to do this so hopefully the photos helped.
You just need to barely deform the sleeve, just enough so it's not gripping tightly on the shaft. As soon as it starts to deform, it should slide off with minimal effort. The whole idea is to not use any force on the shaft, and also not to cut into the shaft either (damaging the surface).
Sam SL, I recently finally did this project. Try not to sweat the brass bushing too much. It's just like has been said, just crimp it slightly, rotate, crimp again, etc. Eventually it loosens and you can slide it off easily with your fingers.
When it's behind you, you'll see there was no need to overly worry.
When it's behind you, you'll see there was no need to overly worry.
Sliding the E1 12 tooth gear onto the shaft is requiring more effort than I'm comfortable with. I bought the part from Garagistic so I trust it is the correct part. It is so snug I cannot even get it started onto the shaft let alone slide it down. Is there a trick?
Installation of the new gear, without the brass sleeve, will require some force... but because the new gear is supposed to be a friction fit, this is normal.
I was wondering if a little heat might help installation. Hot tap water might do the trick?
Yes, that's exactly what I did. I threw the gear into boiling water and with the expansion the piece slipped on no problem. A little moisture on the centre hole helped to slide it in place as well. As an added measure I placed the speedo assembly inside a bag in the fridge over night. All good!
@emerydc8 | @RicardoD - Great contribution with this HOW TO. I was able to get into my cluster this evening and replace 3 gears (as others have in this thread). Full failure was on the smaller gear which has the brass insert. One of the larger gears had one tooth missing along with them having what seems like dried up paste / lubrication on them. As @RicardoD, I also replaced the instrument cluster W3W bulbs and they were a great add-on to the process.
Sadly, I completed the task twice due to installing one of the gears not fully seated into the assembly, hadn't ensured it was fully seated while putting things together, but second time around I caught it. After second install - I went on a test drive and didn't have a working speedometer. Pulled the cluster back out and found the speedometer connection hadn't fully seated on install and had pried loose on its own. Buttoned things back in - everything working now.
Finally able to track the mileage on my car is a great addition. I didn't want to wind the mileage ahead due to the previous owner putting on 5 years ~20k miles on the car without a working odometer at this time. But maybe in the future I do so (who knows).
Sadly, I completed the task twice due to installing one of the gears not fully seated into the assembly, hadn't ensured it was fully seated while putting things together, but second time around I caught it. After second install - I went on a test drive and didn't have a working speedometer. Pulled the cluster back out and found the speedometer connection hadn't fully seated on install and had pried loose on its own. Buttoned things back in - everything working now.
Finally able to track the mileage on my car is a great addition. I didn't want to wind the mileage ahead due to the previous owner putting on 5 years ~20k miles on the car without a working odometer at this time. But maybe in the future I do so (who knows).
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Does anyone have a chart for accurately changing the gear ratio after say installing a different differential ratio?
Yes, these charts come with the instructions when you purchase a speedo correction box, so that you can correctly calibrate the new gear ratio with the existing speedometer. I have posted on this topic before, as I did this with my 560SEC about 15 years ago, when I switched from the stock 2.47:1 final drive ratio, to a 3.07:1 sourced from a W116 450SEL.
OWNER - 600Eric | Owners and Their Cars
Looking really good Eric. Can't wait to se it person.
www.500eboard.co
Tha
Thanks Gerry!
Here is the calibration table, that is used with the Abbott Tach product that I have had installed in my 560SEC:
ERA Ratio/Calibration Chart
Abbott Enterprises, Inc. manufactures and repairs speed and activity monitoring devices for trucks, trailers, buses and the automotive industry.
www.abbott-tach.com
The gears are for the odometer only.
The speedometer can't be adjusted via gearing.
When changing axle/differential ratio, [for an electronic speedometer] you need an electronic converter box like YellowBox (on backorder) or Abbot & Costello ERA, which Gerry linked above. This will adjust both speedometer & odometer automatically, and works if you are not changing the speedo faceplate scale (i.e, if you change from a 160mph to 190mph faceplate, custom modifications are required - not DIY'able AFAIK).
Thanks for the great info and clarification as always!The gears are for the odometer only.
The speedometer can't be adjusted via gearing.
When changing axle/differential ratio, you need an electronic converter box like YellowBox (on backorder) or Abbot & Costello ERA, which Gerry linked above. Th is will adjust both speedometer & odometer automatically, and works if you are not changing the speedo faceplate scale (i.e, if you change from a 160mph to 190mph faceplate, custom modifications are required - not DIY'able AFAIK).
My choices never seem to be easy
I’m hoping someone has a 94-95 E420 euro spec car which came with a 2.65 dif that would happen to know or have access to a Speedo that could let us know the tooth count???Anyone know the tooth count for a USA speedometer for a 2.65 diff ?
Thanks,
neil
Please &
Thanks
The odo died on my beater 95 E420 with 242kmi. Haven't taken it apart yet but assume it's the odo gears. Just ordered a set from Garagistic. Back in 2016 the cost was ~$18 delivered.
As of Jan-2022 the price has increased to $26 delivered for the same items (17/48 third gear).
As of Jan-2024 the price has decreased to ~$20 delivered.
New URL:
As of Jan-2022 the price has increased to $26 delivered for the same items (17/48 third gear).
As of Jan-2024 the price has decreased to ~$20 delivered.
New URL:
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I know, I know... but I've only had these fail once, ever, on any car over nearly 3 decades of MB ownership. I do have spare speedos in stock but didn't want to bother taking apart a used one, to likely find the used gears were the consistency of stale Oreos.
In hindsight I should have ordered 2-3 sets. OOOPS.
Your 124 hoarding foresight seems to be lagging in recent months...
Hello all. My odometer stopped working a while ago so today I took the odometer apart to see which gears I had to replace and the three gears made with the soft material were completely disintegrated...
My 500E is a euro 1992 model with an odometer in KM/H. I'm using the two pages recommended in the previous posts to get the new gears (garagistic and odometer gears) but I don´t know which gears to buy. Does anyone know which gears I must get?
The other two gears that are not replaceable seem different from the ones I´ve seen in this thread (see attached), is it because my car is in KM?
My 500E is a euro 1992 model with an odometer in KM/H. I'm using the two pages recommended in the previous posts to get the new gears (garagistic and odometer gears) but I don´t know which gears to buy. Does anyone know which gears I must get?
The other two gears that are not replaceable seem different from the ones I´ve seen in this thread (see attached), is it because my car is in KM?
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See post #34 in this thread.
You should not need to replace E4/E5 gears, and yes they would be different than USA/MPH speedometers.
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