Volvo P1800 Speedometer Repaired (not the Gauge but Cable + Angle Drive)

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Besides getting the fuel sender replaced, I have also asked the mechanic to replace the speedometer cable and angle drive that connect the speedometer to my car engine.

The speedometer needle was jumping and wobbling when I drove the car. Can’t really get an accurate reading of my actual speed, although I can’t really translate mile to km instantly.

Some said the speedometer is faulty, some said is the speedometer cable and some mentioned about the angle drive. I bought a wrong left hand drive speedometer previously (US$31), which is too short for my car. The current one that I bought is specifically for the right hand drive car, so must be correct. There are different holes from the firewall to the engine compartment, so make sure you went through the correct hole to make use of the length of the speedometer sufficiently long enough to reach the engine.

When my mechanic whatsapp me saying that the speedometer cable was still too short, I was sadden. I visited the workshop and then something struck me. There is another hole in the middle of the car’s firewall that can have the cable reroute through there. He tried using that hole and viola! The length is adequate!

Below are the old speedometer cable and angle drive removed from the car. They do look very dirty.

I think I paid US$30.33 for the cable (RHD Part no: 668169), and US$116.67 for the angle drive (Part no: 666756). Took me some time to bite the bullet to pay for the angle drive, but I am glad that I did. It fixed the issue, whether it is the cable issue or the angle drive issue, since both are already more than 50 years old, might as well change them.

I test drove the car and compare the speedometer gauge reading to my phone GPS speedometer APP. Tested the speed till 60mph. The car’s speedometer seems to give slightly higher value vs the GPS speedometer. Assuming that the GPS speedometer is accurate, the car’s speedometer is higher by around 3-5mph. No big deal, as long as I knew the value roughly, then it is OK.

Happy with the repair.