A weird whirring noise from dash

[edgeofvamp]

When it is under 40 degrees the dash of my car will make a weird whirring whine as i accelerate and it will stop when i stop at a light, but start back up again when i get moving again and it will do this until i have been driving for awhile or it sits in the sun for awhile, also when it is making the noise the speedometer will jump straight to 60 and stay there till i stop.

What i am wondering is if anyone has run accross this same problem and if it has to do with the guages or the speedo-cable, i just started back at college and time is short, any help would be great.

[BSOD2600]

Sounds like the speedo cable is on its way out... or at the very least, needs to get lubed up. It's a flexible shaft that runs from the transmission to the back of the speedometer housing.

[Legacy777]

Yup.....speedo cable.....mine was doing it on the drive home from Cali through texas. I saw temps around 19 deg F.

[skatedees]

I have this same problem. When I first noticed it I thought something was going to explode!

I've been dealing with it for about a year or so.

Does anyone know what exactly is going on to make this noise? I don't know about you guys, but mine is loud. It goes away after 3 mins or so depending on temp.

[07Evolved]

same problem on very cold days.....

how do you lube up?

[gijonas]

x5 - cold temp issue.

[BSOD2600]

how do you lube up?

Disconnect it at the transmission. Slide out the flexible core. Spread on some lube on the shaft, reinsert and spin around a bunch. The problem is that the old shaft lining is likely caked with dirt, crap and other stuff which is causing all the extra friction. It really should be cleaned out, which would require it being disconnected from the back of the speedometer housing.

When mine made the whirring noise for a bit, it decided to break on a nice sunny day on a long road trip home. Also since you're hearing noise, it's likely effecting the accuracy of the speedometer even more than usual. I know mine was a good 10+ mph low shortly before it broke.

[07Evolved]

how do you lube up?

Disconnect it at the transmission. Slide out the flexible core. Spread on some lube on the shaft, reinsert and spin around a bunch. The problem is that the old shaft lining is likely caked with dirt, crap and other stuff which is causing all the extra friction. It really should be cleaned out, which would require it being disconnected from the back of the speedometer housing.

When mine made the whirring noise for a bit, it decided to break on a nice sunny day on a long road trip home. Also since you're hearing noise, it's likely effecting the accuracy of the speedometer even more than usual. I know mine was a good 10+ mph low shortly before it broke.

Thank you very much...I will have to try that.

[keelhaul]

hello. sorry for bumping this old thread folks

i also have this whirring noice from under the dash, and my speedometer is inaccurate. an hour ago on the highway, my speedometer was on 87 miles, and then i passed an automatic speed-sensor with a display. it told me i was driving in 47 mph.

so i went here after work to look for some answers, and perhaps i stumbled upon it

as BSOD2600 wrote higher up about the flexible core thing at or inside the transmission, is it much to tear apart to get to that core, and what is it?

regards, keelhaul the viking

[BSOD2600]

Since you searched to find this thread, there are also plenty of others regarding the replacement of the speedometer cable .

you must remove the instrument cluster (annoying) and feed the new cable through the firewall into the dash (pain). It's all do-able with hand tools, just takes a first-timer probably 2hrs figuring it all out.

[ericem]

Since you searched to find this thread, there are also plenty of others regarding the replacement of the speedometer cable .

you must remove the instrument cluster (annoying) and feed the new cable through the firewall into the dash (pain). It's all do-able with hand tools, just takes a first-timer probably 2hrs figuring it all out.

I just stuck my hand in from the bottom of the dash and hooked it up but it took a while to line it up and shove it in.

[keelhaul]

thanks for the information.

if one end of the cable is in the speedometer, did i understand correctly that the other part goes inside the transmission? if so, is that something i can get to with simple tools?

i cant just nap the cable out from the dash, and push in a new one until it wont go any further, eh?

time to buy a haynes book soon too. sorry if this was hard to understand

[ericem]

Just remove the clip on the tranny end. Slide it out of the tranny with some pliers, then you can pull the inner cable completely out, and coat the cable with some new grease. Then reinsert and spin it a bit and it will align itself again on the speedo side. Then hook it back up to the tranny.

[keelhaul]

thanks. lol, as i was driving home from work now, the sound was terrible, and my speedo needle was on 100mph, shaking like a cold noodle, and i was driving in perhaps 40mph. never seen it this bad.

[keelhaul]

silly question tho: but can a broken speedo send wrong signals to fuel sender unit, and give me worse mpg?

[BSOD2600]

Possibly. The ECU uses the VSS (vehicle speed senor) input. If it thinks the car is stationary, then you'll have the following issues:
* erroneous idling
* engine stall
* poor driving performance

[keelhaul]

thank you.

as soon as the snow goes away, im gonna get a lot done on my car.

the whirring noice was hardly noticeable yesterday morning, and the speedo worked again. it had been a hot and warm day, was very cold outside when i wrote my first question further up. viscocity on the lubrication on the speedocable i guess

[beanis05]

had the same problem but it seemed to go away after i slammed my hand on top of the dash . it happened mostly on cold days/nights with anything below 32 degrees. btw i think there is going to be a couple broken grill inserts when you guys try to get out the dash since its impossible to do this with the speedometer installed imo. but good luck i think im just going to stick with the slamming of my hand till i piece together my swap....

[BSOD2600]

btw i think there is going to be a couple broken grill inserts when you guys try to get out the dash since its impossible to do this with the speedometer installed imo.

Nope, just takes a bit of wrangling.
1) disconnect the speedo cable from the tranny side first. Feed some slack into the cabin via engine bay.
2) with all the screws for the dash removed, you can remove the dash cover piece, with the steering wheel it its lowest position. It takes bit of wrangling at the right angle to slide it out. Otherwise, you'll have to remove the steering wheel or drop the steering wheel column to make room.

As for the reinstallation and attachment of the new speedo cable, my hands are much too big to slid through the behind the dash like some of the kids here . Always have to attach it from the side...it's a pain.