Sounds easy ....but it ain't, odometer fix

[Flying Frank]

Having read Oblis write up on sorting his cars odometer and as the speedo in my B3 Quattro has the same identification number on it , I ordered up the 20 cog little white part from the very helpful German company partworks.de

No idea why it takes this minute part in an envelope 10 days to arrive from Germany , but that's another story....well I'd like it to have been.

Stripping down the instrument cluster went ok until the dreaded speedo needle removal. I tried just about everything described and more but the little bu**er wouldn't budge. In the end it did finally fly off BUT still attached to the thin spindle wire that it pivots on.....problem number one.

Dismantling then continued only to find that the small cog is orange and not blue as in Oblis car and of course is a 15 cog wheel not 20. FFS Audi!!! what sort of organisation is it that enjoys causing us amateurs such headaches when we try to keep your old cars serviceable by chopping and changing without reason the type of parts used in the construction of your cars

So now with the dining table covered in a disassembled instrument cluster, I am having to re-apply to partworks.de for a change of part from the 20 cog minute wheel to the 15 cog part.....is it going to take another 10 days to arrive ?
Jeez, I certainly hope not as SWMBO is already unimpressed with my dismantling car parts on the dining room table. Admittedly , its on a large towel with all screws neatly stacked for re-assembly , but next issue is will my ancient 76 year old brain remember how it goes together in 10 days time.....sometimes I can't remember what I did yesterday.....oh , yes, it was that F'ing instrument cluster. I suspect the speedo needle has had it as it'll doubtless not push back into the minute tube it must have come out of, but if I have to choose between speedo and odometer, I'll settle for the latter......if it ever works again.

Now I know why so many broken odometers never get fixed , but hats off to Obli who did succeed in getting that needle off its pin, looking at it close up its an incredibly tight fix onto the pin it rotates on for sure.

[Hanuman]

https://youtu.be/ry55--J4_VQ

Tell swmbo she’s getting off lightly as you’re not grinding valve seats on cylinder heads.

Yet.

Them pesky Germans do like to keep it interesting.

[John.]

Feeling your pain Frank, I started to strip the speedo head on my old 80, spied what was maybe the dodgy cog and thought feck that I've not got the patience !
Reassembled it and glad it was back together.
Not knowing the exact mileage I change the oil and filter every 6 months.

Things might be different if it was my Coupe that had a speedo fault!?........ anyway feeling your pain.

[tractor Dave]

I've done several sets now so if anyone needs advice or help, feel free to ask

[Flying Frank]

Thanks for the assorted comments above chaps, and to tractor Dave, the big question is my speedo well and truly F'd ( "finished" is the word I was looking for of course ) ?

The speedo needle is still intact and so is the pin that protrudes from the head, but is it possible to re-insert where it was pulled out of ? I've done the one on my 1981 Coupe GT where the needle pulled off relatively easily and also done ones on Sciroccos, but never experienced a needle that needed so much force to get it out of the instrument face......so now its out , but will it go back in is the question ?.....no point in trying to re-assemble until I get the 15 point cog fitted of course. which sadly may not be for up to 10 days judging by last delivery times.

[tractor Dave]

What age is your car? The late model B4 80's that have torx screws either side of the speedo have a different needle which can't easily be removed without terminal damage. It's also different inside and can't be swapped for earlier unit. If a long thin spring came out on the end of the needle, it foobared

[Flying Frank]

Originally Posted by tractor Dave

What age is your car? The late model B4 80's that have torx screws either side of the speedo have a different needle which can't easily be removed without terminal damage. It's also different inside and can't be swapped for earlier unit. If a long thin spring came out on the end of the needle, it foobared

Hi Dave, no, my car is a 1989 model with standard cross point screws around the rear edge of the unit. No spring that I saw unless it went into orbit when the needle finally released it self to me. I'd post a picture up of it , but a few months ago my main computer died along with tons of useful information so now wonder what "app" folk use to post pictures ?

The needle has a slightly thicker section protruding from it and then its a very thin pin , both sections only about 5mm long each, the thinner section must be what goes back into the front of the speedo........as I said no point trying to push it back in until the cog is replaced but tentaive attempts imply a very tight fit .

[slacky]

Sounds a right bar steward Frank, I have this to tackle/look forward to on my 90q at some point, only been putting it off for 5 yrs , my car hasn’t been anywhere for same period strangely .
I had even bought the cog itself at some point only for it to now be lost within the depths of a kitchen cupboard junk corner…..
To be fair though this and obli’s thread has now spurred me on to look at it again , I shall probably just find out exactly which cog I need before ordering, as it’s obviously pot luck which we have.

Good luck when you do finally put it back together

Would you happen to have the link to the website the cogs are purchased from?
Many thanks in advance

[Flying Frank]

Originally Posted by slacky

Would you happen to have the link to the website the cogs are purchased from?
Many thanks in advance

Hi Slacky, your description is indeed correct about the job, hopefully if and when you do your speedo , your needle will come off ok as happened with Obli. In fact my unit in the car is different in as much the part number with all the numerals , cogs, etc is different although the fundamental principle is the same, hence maybe my needle is "supposed" to come out as it did ( dream on Frank !!! )

The German company who can supply the cogs are easily found by typing in "partworks.de" into your search engine and their website pops up. They supply lots of other stuff for a range of German cars and once you can get them corresponding in their very good English, are extremely helpful.....ask for Olga!

Cheers, Frank.

[Flying Frank]

An attempt to post a picture of the needle now.....

https://imgbox.com/CLL0UN5l

Wow, it worked!!! now thats a good start to the week. :-)

and here's the offending odometer.....

https://imgbox.com/ifmfVPPP