Removal and Service of VDO Instrument Cluster
Replacement of Odometer Gears
After 20 or 25 years exposure to extreme fluctuations in temperature and humidity, the small gears inside the odometer can get brittle and eventually crack and break. As a result, the odometer quits working accurately, or quits turning altogether. The photo below shows what my odometer gears looked like when I took my instrument cluster apart.
Look closely and you'll see that the smallest gear in the rotation, called the Drive Gear or E1 gear, has begun to break and some of the teeth are missing. Therefore it is not properly driving the larger black gear next to it.
Sometimes the larger gears can break, but I think the drive gear is the most common. Find out which gear(s) you need to replace and then go to http://www.odometergears.com. They have an online form on the site & you can pay with PayPal -- each gear is $25.
You do not have to remove the cluster housing to get to the odometer gears, but I've found it makes it a lot easier to work with the plastic backing removed and the black front display on the front taken off.
Remove the 4 screws on the back of the speedometer/odometer assembly, and remove the 2 screws holding the black front plate on. You will also need to remove the clear plastic cover (marked with the number 12 in the photo above) over the gears; there are 2 small flathead screws holding this in place. Then use a set of needle-nosed pliers to remove the broken gear. Make sure you clean out any broken pieces which have fallen down into the other gears.
Once you have removed the broken gear, you should be left with a brass fitting on the E1 spindle (see photo). Using a set of wire cutters, squeeze firmly on the fitting and it should slide off. Be careful and don't force anything.
The replacement gear doesn't need the fitting and just pushes onto the spindle with your thumb.
Once the gears are back in place, reassemble the black bezel face and the white plastic backing, and the assembly is ready to go back into the cluster.
*Please check with your local state law regarding the disclosure of odometer readings and laws regarding odometer fraud. This page is intended to help you make your odometer more accurate, not less.