edro

The speedometer needle slowly bends toward the dash and hangs up. This has been going on for several years. When it gets too bad I just snip off the end after removing the dash panel. I have had to do this 3 or 4 times and the needle is getting a little short. A mechanic told me this is common with 4x4 Nissans but he had never seen it in 2x4s. Does anyone have any idea why this is happening and any suggestions on a fix? Can the needle be replaced. The speedometer and odometer both work fine when checked with a GPS. The truck is a v6, Hardbody regular cab, 5 speed, with over 191,000 miles on it. It has been a really good truck that has been almost maintenance-free. Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

SPEEDO

I have a 86.5 2wd HB and the speedo needle is a little warped but not to the point of rubbing..... yet I was thinking of going to a speedo shop for a new needle or maybe a bone yard

edro

Thanks for the reply. Do you know who or if the needle will come off?

SPEEDO

there is a little shaft that the needle press's on to, just be gentle when you pry it off and you should be ok (use a little screw driver or similar tool) if you go to a bone yard just use your fingers and pull it off.

edro

Speedo, thank you very much. I will try the bone yard.

nogoinsnow

This is funny. My 87 2wd had the needle warped so bad the tip was rubbing the gauge. I was never able to read anything over 70 mph, and it would stop at about 20 mph when I parked it. I ended up getting 1 speeding ticket as a result, you had to 'guess' how fast you were going at lower speeds especially. I lived with it for about 1.5 years, then one day I decided to try to bend it back straight. Of course, doing this resulted in the needle breaking off almost at the pivot point, oops. I contemplated what to do, then got some transparent tape and wrapped it around both pieces of the needle with it held back in place. My dad thought I couldn't fix it, but the transparent tape worked. Now my needle goes to zero, and reads past 70. One of my favorite truck repairs so far, has been perfect for over 6 months.

As far as why it happens I figured it was a heat issue. The inside of the truck gets too hot during summer and the plastic warps.

I love it when I am able to jerry rig a truck problem and it costs zero and works. This ranks with:

1. the duct tape I have wrapped around my battery and wheel well to hold the battery in place since the base is all rusted
2. the close hanger I used to wire my grill on once the last couple screw tabs broke off
3. the close hanger I used to wire my cat pipe (that runs back to hot box) to the underside of the truck to keep it from vibrating and making hellious noise
4. the homemade seat cover that includes foam rubber, tape, and fabric I had my mom sow on the seat to cover the huge gaps in the seat where it has torn (actually looks pretty nice)

There have probably been more, but all I can think of right now.