odometer failure / repaired DIY !!
#16
Race Car
Here's an interesting addition to the DIY:
After my post above, I went to run some errands. I look down and after 7/10ths of a mile, odo broken again. Went home, took it apart again, nothing wrong. Reassembled, drove 3/10ths, broken again. Went home, took apart...you get the picture. After the 3rd try, (4/10ths) I started thinking;"Damn, I should have listened to Jeff and bought both gears. Went home, took it apart to confirm other gear was broken. It wasn't. So, I shined a very bright light into the place where the gears go, lo and behold, the tooth that broke off my old gear was in one of the crevices of the outer ring. Now remember, these gear teeth are approximately 4 molecules of plastic in total mass. They are hard to see. Save yourselves some hassle and check to ensure that there is nothing in the works before reassembling the unit.
Mine is working fine now (3.8 miles) and I am once again filled with the spirit of Porscheness.
After my post above, I went to run some errands. I look down and after 7/10ths of a mile, odo broken again. Went home, took it apart again, nothing wrong. Reassembled, drove 3/10ths, broken again. Went home, took apart...you get the picture. After the 3rd try, (4/10ths) I started thinking;"Damn, I should have listened to Jeff and bought both gears. Went home, took it apart to confirm other gear was broken. It wasn't. So, I shined a very bright light into the place where the gears go, lo and behold, the tooth that broke off my old gear was in one of the crevices of the outer ring. Now remember, these gear teeth are approximately 4 molecules of plastic in total mass. They are hard to see. Save yourselves some hassle and check to ensure that there is nothing in the works before reassembling the unit.
Mine is working fine now (3.8 miles) and I am once again filled with the spirit of Porscheness.
#17
Three Wheelin'
Is there a DIY for fixing a stubborn speedo needle? A slight tap on the steering wheel once underway or just about 5 seconds of patience usually gets it going again but for such an expensive car thats 3 years newer than my Toyota Forerunner I keep wondering why everything seems to work on the Toyota with 121,000 miles (albeit with a rebuilt motor - bought it that way) and its worth less than a good set of rims and tires?!?! (thank you for your understanding...must just be my angst over having to put in a new starter in the 993 in the next few days....ok, rant over)
#18
Instructor
My odometer gear went well over a year ago. I immediately contacted Jeff and had a new gear in my hands in days. The DIY was very straightforward. Before I replaced it I checked with my Porsche dealer who has maintained the car from new. He said they didn't repair guages but could sell me a new guage for an astronomical price. I preferred to do the fix and keep the correct existing current mileage on the car.
#19
Rennlist Member
That’s not a good idea to be fixing your own speedometer yourself. The speedometer assembly from factory is tightly sealed with a pressure fit. By following the DIY you deform the ring and just distort the ring on the speedometer. The evidence is there to suggest possible odometer fraud. If I was in the market for a new 993, the first thing I will do is look behind to see if it was removed. If so, the deal is off. I don't care who did it I just won't buy the vehicle. That's exactly what I did (PPI) on one particular car that I was considering and guess what, it was butchered. That is why I am skeptical of low mileage 993's. I figure if you can afford a car of such magnitude have it fixed by a VDO authorized repair shop. VDO has the proper tools to remove the ring and not distort it. Again, distortion of the ring equates to no purchase period! These forums are good but sometimes they lend themselfs to foolish tendencies.
#20
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
RUBBISH!!! Just because an odometer was repaired by an "Authorized" shop with a special tool to uncrimp/recrimp the ring, doesn't mean the car was documented properly for the who-knows-how-many miles before being sent in for repair. So repairing it youself has absolutely NOTHING to do with the truthfulness of the odometer, the trustworthyness of the seller, or the guarantee that you are getting what you paid for. This is absolutely no different than someone who changes their own oil and then says service was performed on schedule vs someone who had it done at a dealer. Makes the end result no better or worse.
#21
Rennlist
Lifetime Member
Lifetime Member
I did the repair on my own because:
(1). with 90k miles, it is not exact a low mile car, why would anyone bother tampering a not so low mile car
(2). I have very detailed documentation which logs the mileage up to date.
(1). with 90k miles, it is not exact a low mile car, why would anyone bother tampering a not so low mile car
(2). I have very detailed documentation which logs the mileage up to date.
#22
Race Car
That’s not a good idea to be fixing your own speedometer yourself. The speedometer assembly from factory is tightly sealed with a pressure fit. By following the DIY you deform the ring and just distort the ring on the speedometer. The evidence is there to suggest possible odometer fraud. If I was in the market for a new 993, the first thing I will do is look behind to see if it was removed. If so, the deal is off. I don't care who did it I just won't buy the vehicle. That's exactly what I did (PPI) on one particular car that I was considering and guess what, it was butchered. That is why I am skeptical of low mileage 993's. I figure if you can afford a car of such magnitude have it fixed by a VDO authorized repair shop. VDO has the proper tools to remove the ring and not distort it. Again, distortion of the ring equates to no purchase period! These forums are good but sometimes they lend themselfs to foolish tendencies.
#23
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
While I completely agree with your sentiment Falcondrivr, you CAN access the tumblers. Take a small pin and tap out the pin that the tumbler wheels ride on. Once you get it far enough out of the plastic case, you can now move it out and free wheel any digit you like. I did this so I could roll my odometer FORWARD many thousands of miles to reflect the closer to real life status of my car. If I ever sold my car it would be listed as True Mileage Unknown with my current 168,000 only a best guess that I would divulge to the potential buyer. Of course, I won't ever sell my car so having real miles was just for my own sanity.
If a speedo shop did this would it make it any different? Nope. It still comes down to what I tell potential buyers. Hey guess what... I painted my own front bumper once too... and my car has never been in an accident.
If a speedo shop did this would it make it any different? Nope. It still comes down to what I tell potential buyers. Hey guess what... I painted my own front bumper once too... and my car has never been in an accident.
#24
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Here's an interesting addition to the DIY:
After my post above, I went to run some errands. I look down and after 7/10ths of a mile, odo broken again. Went home, took it apart again, nothing wrong. Reassembled, drove 3/10ths, broken again. Went home, took apart...you get the picture. After the 3rd try, (4/10ths) I started thinking;"Damn, I should have listened to Jeff and bought both gears. Went home, took it apart to confirm other gear was broken. It wasn't. So, I shined a very bright light into the place where the gears go, lo and behold, the tooth that broke off my old gear was in one of the crevices of the outer ring. Now remember, these gear teeth are approximately 4 molecules of plastic in total mass. They are hard to see. Save yourselves some hassle and check to ensure that there is nothing in the works before reassembling the unit.
Mine is working fine now (3.8 miles) and I am once again filled with the spirit of Porscheness.
After my post above, I went to run some errands. I look down and after 7/10ths of a mile, odo broken again. Went home, took it apart again, nothing wrong. Reassembled, drove 3/10ths, broken again. Went home, took apart...you get the picture. After the 3rd try, (4/10ths) I started thinking;"Damn, I should have listened to Jeff and bought both gears. Went home, took it apart to confirm other gear was broken. It wasn't. So, I shined a very bright light into the place where the gears go, lo and behold, the tooth that broke off my old gear was in one of the crevices of the outer ring. Now remember, these gear teeth are approximately 4 molecules of plastic in total mass. They are hard to see. Save yourselves some hassle and check to ensure that there is nothing in the works before reassembling the unit.
Mine is working fine now (3.8 miles) and I am once again filled with the spirit of Porscheness.
#28
Rennlist Member
mine broke last week and just did the repair. Just adding here to what was posted by Falcondrvr. Tried mine 3 times before I got it correct. And this was knowing I was looking for the little broken off piece of the gear!! It was hidden in one of the teeth of the fixed gear ring the motor fits into. I had checked each tooth of the odo/trip gears and used compressed air but missed it several times in the teeth on the clear plastic housing. So check each tooth with a bright light and magnifier and save yourself a little grief. Just clarifying. Agree, jeff is very helpful and fast service!
bill
bill
#29
Addicted Specialist
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Jeff is great ...that he created this little niche business for us freak DIY-ers is a God-send! Not to mention he's A1 at customer service, answering my emails nearly immediately, even offering phone help! I just did mine a couple of months ago (bought both gears just in case) and the DIY was easy and his gears fit like an OEM glove. A huge +1 to him and his business!
Edward
Edward
#30
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Saratoga, CA
Posts: 993
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Question for you guys: I replaced my DME before I had a problem (kept the old one for emergency). Would it make sense to do a PM on the two gears? From the above, seems like it is only a matter of time.