how to replace the speedo gears bye redmen031

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
So if you're like me and have just changed your rear end gears (i went to 3.73's) then you will have to replace your speedometer drive gear and driven gear in order to have the correct speedometer readings. This job is really not as bad as it may seem and only took a few hours with plenty of breaks and fooling around in between.

First things first, get your vette lifted off the ground and remove the exhaust. I opted to put the rear of the car on ramps and the front on jacks. You only have to remove from the tranny back because this will make access to the tail housing and drive shaft easier.

http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/calculators.html




this might help

http://www.geocities.com/crosley_az/700spd.htm


The next step is to remove the driveshaft. Do this by disconnecting it from the rear end. You will need to remove "4" 8mm bolts and then you can pull it out gently from the transmission. Before you remove it though, be sure to mark the driveshaft and rear end with a line for easier installation. Also, you imight want to tape up or use rubberbands to keep the "spiders" from falling out of the spicer, its a pain to reassemble if you do drop them, so be careful.



Now the driveshaft is out.


Next lets remove the driven gear. (the grey gear in the picture below)



In the picture below you can see the small piece attached to the tail shaft housing that we need to remove. One bolt holds on a retaining clip which you need to remove. After that, you can just wiggle out the piece that holds the driven gear in place. Watch out though, a little tranny fluid will spill out.




This is what we removed. The green gear is what we are changing out, it just slides off.



Now, looking through the hole that the driven gear just came out of, we can see the red drive gear that we need to replace next.



To get to the drive gear, we need to remove the tailshaft housing which is held on by 4 bolts. In order to get to the top passenger side bolt, the C-beam needs to be moved. Remove the two bolts that hold on the C-beam up front and only one bolt that holds it on in the back. This will let you slide it to the side without completely removing it, as you can see to the right of the picture below.



Remove the red drive gear by lightly tapping it with a hammer and chisel to shatter it, just be sure not to lose the clip that holds it on, because you will need it to attach the new gear.




Next, slide on the new drive gear and secure it with the clip. Then thats it! All you need to do now is install everything, which is opposite of how you took it out. Just be sure to lube up the tailshaft and driven gear housing O-rings with tranny fluid before you re-install.



To help find which gear you will need to use with your set-up, refer to this speedo gear calculator. **LINK** Courtesy of member CentralCoaster

Total cost to replace driven and drive gears = $5.50

Now go out there and enjoy your vette!


http://www.tciauto.com/tc/speedometer-gear-calculator

http://corvetteforum.net/c4/vettenuts/S ... shtm.shtml
c4sps1.png

c4sps2.png

c4sps3.png

c4sps4.png
 
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Thanks for the great writeup and pictures. I just changed from a 2.59 to 3.07 in my '95 A4. From reading other boards (not as good as this one BTW) and asking others, I've got conflicting opinions on the neccessity to change the drive gear. I've been told (or read) I need to change the drive & driven gear, and/or remount the VSS 180 degrees, and /or just replace the driven gear, etc. :?
I ordered a (green) 45 tooth driven gear from Bowtie, but not sure what else needs to be done. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
For future reference, here are the PNs for the all plastic T-5 speedo gears:
Teeth PN Color
18 3987918 Brown
19 3987919 White
20 3987920 Blue
21 3987921 Red
22 3987922 Gray

The gears are about $5.50 each

http://www.fortesparts.com/about/calculator

heres some rather random but useful related links

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speed ... ____va.htm

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speed ... .htm#4l80e

http://www.bgsoflex.com/speedo1.html

http://www.summitracing.com/search/?key ... ars&page=2

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/TechInf ... _gears.asp

http://www.teraflex.biz/tech/faq/speedo ... ear-chart/

http://www.teufert.net/trans/speedo.htm

http://www.speedometershop.com/ratio.html

http://www.buickperformance.com/speedo.htm

http://www.automedia.com/Changing_Your_ ... 020501sg/1

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/speedo.htm



Here is a list of GM part numbers for drive and driven speedometer gears, as well as some combinations that are known to work:


Driven Gear and Sleeve PN's

Part No.
9774413
9780387
1359270
1359271
1359272
1359273
1362048
1362195
1362049
1362196
9780470
9775187 Teeth
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45 Color
Lt. Green
Orange
White
Red
Blue
Brown
Black
Yellow
Green
Purple
Dk. Gray
Lt. Blue Sleeve
25512340*
25512340*
25512340*
25512340*
25512340*
25512340*
25512339**
25512339**
25512339**
25512339**
25512339**
25512339**

* Sleeve #25512340 for 34 - 39 teeth gears
** Sleeve #25512339 for 40 - 45 teeth gears

Blue Drive Gear Combinations

With drive gear number 8640518, (blue, 18 teeth) the following combinations apply: (The 18 tooth gear I had in my 85 C10 was green, they changed the color to blue)

Axle Tire Dia. Driven Gear
Ratio (Nominal) (Tooth Count)
2.73 29.0 35
2.73 28.0 37
2.73 27.0 38
3.08 29.0 39
3.08 28.0 41
3.08 27.0 42
3.23 29.0 41
3.23 28.0 43
3.23 27.0 44
3.42 29.0 44
3.42 28.0 45

Red Drive Gear Combinations

With drive gear number 8640517, (red, 17 teeth) the following combinations apply:

Axle Tire Dia. Driven Gear
Ratio (Nominal) (Tooth Count)
3.08 29.0 37
3.08 28.0 39
3.08 27.0 40
3.23 29.0 39
3.23 28.0 41
3.23 27.0 42
3.42 29.0 41
3.42 28.0 43
3.42 27.0 44
3.73 29.0 45

Gray Drive Gear Combinations

With drive gear number 8642620, (gray, 15 teeth) the following combinations apply:

Axle Tire Dia. Driven Gear
Ratio (Nominal) (Tooth Count)
3.08 27.0 35
3.23 29.0 35
3.23 28.0 36
3.23 27.0 37
3.42 29.0 37
3.42 28.0 38
3.42 27.0 39
3.73 29.0 40
3.73 28.0 41
3.73 27.0 43
4.10 29.0 44
4.10 28.0 45

Lower ratio (higher numerically) rear or smaller diameter tire requires higher driven gear tooth count. Increasing or decreasing driven gear tooth count by one will usually accommodate a 1/2" to 1" change in tire diameter.

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/spdgears.htm

http://sethirdgen.org/t5speedo.htm
 
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