New t'Bird owner + noisy tach

[ctcarguy]

Hi
I picked up a 56 Sunset Coral '56 from a client of mine thinking I was going flip it. That was until my wife, who is as far from a classic car person as you can get, saw it and wanted it. She drove it once but is uncomfortable doing that so I became the "driver". Yes I like it as much as she does and I have other classics. The car is a #2 show level but I drive all of my cars.

I suddenly starting hear an awful noise from the tach. I took the cable out, cleaned and lubed and thought I had fixed it. It lasted about 5 minutes. It sometimes stops for a few seconds and the speed does not seem to effect when the noise starts or stops. I did notice the tach jumped and then settled down whenever the noise stopped. I disconnected the cable and think I still heard it a little, like a ticking screeching sound. Can it be the distributor end of the cable or a problem with the sleeve?

OH! I also found that when I removed the gas cap, a lot of air went into the tank. The cap is vented but I put a 1/64" hole in it and that seems to work. This was a Stat cap from the local parts store. I just got in a correct design cap to try.

Greetings from Simsbury CT

[paul2748]

As far as the tach goes, the head may need lube. I had pretty much the same problem and lubing the head took care of it when lubing the cable didn't work. Problem is, you have to remove the head as the lube hole is on the top of the head. Use a light weight machine oil or something like 3 in 1 oil sparingly.

What you may be hearing when you disconnected the cable from the tach is just the inner cable rotating in the housing.

I am a former ctcarguy .

[thundermax]

I had the same issue when I replaced my tach cable in my 56. Buy a tube of graphite, remove your existing cable. After doing so, remove the cable from the housing. I then applied a liberal amount of graphite directly to the cable. Inserted back into the sleeve you can pour graphite into either end. Giving you some assurance that's the cable is covered. When reattaching the cable to the tach gauge back make sure the end fitting seats in properly. Hand tighten. It worked for my noisy tach. Hope you have the same results.

[ctcarguy]

How hard is it to remove the tach head? I bought a reprint of the service manual but it found it is lacking in a lot of areas. Is there a better book that covers items such as removing the tach head?

[55Greg&Amy]

The tach is very easy to remove. Here is a picture of the back side for reference.



To remove, disconnect the battery, look up under the dash and unscrew the cable, then remove the light socket by pulling and twisting a little then it should pop out of the hole. Remove the 2 nuts that hold the U-shaped retainer and the tach can be pulled out from the front of the dash while the retainer falls on your face so be ready. After removing from the dash you can lube the brass portion of the tach. I usually put some drops of oil in the hole and around the brass portion then use some compressed air to distribute the oil and blow out the crud. Don't use full air pressure just enough to help spread the lube.

[Walt711]

I have also had issues with a noisy tach. It stopped last week...so did the tach. I disconnected the cable from the back of the tach and started the car. Should the core of the cable be spinning or still? I'm assuming it should be spinning, so I bought a new cable, figuring that my core had broken. I plan on replacing it today. Will the cable connector slide through the firewall? Or do I have to disassemble something?
Thank you in advance for your help.

[55Greg&Amy]

The cable and connector will slide thru the hole in the dash. One end is smaller than the other and that end will go thru but I can't remember which end is the smaller of the two. The cable inner should still turn while disconnected from the tach. You can just replace the inner cable without removing the whole housing.

[Walt711]

Thanks Greg

[Walt711]

Follow-up. It turned out that the core was destroyed near the distributor. It had zero lubrication on it. When it finally seized, the plastic driven gear lost some teeth. My new cable is lubed and in place without the driven gear. I have to order that now. Question; Can the car be driven without the gear in place? It seems like oil would find its way into the cable.
Thank you.

[ICON 1956]

After searching the forum. I found this on our forum, Thanks

[ICON 1956]

Would somebody give me a easy way to remove the Tach behind the dash, Ive looked and found that the area is very limited and I don't want to pull out any wires while trying to remove. The space is almost impossible to get any kind of tool to unscrew the tach from the bracket....I'am all open for any suggestions. I would also like to know If I decide to undo the tach cable from the distributor how should I be cautious and how is the gear removed......If I decide to change that too.

[paul2748]

There is no easy way - you have to get on your back and reach up there, being careful with all the stuff that 's in your way. I have found that if you put something like a milk crate next to the door sill it's a lot more comfortable to lay down. Using a socket with a long extension may make it easier to remove the nuts holding the bracket

As far as the distributor end, the gear usually comes out with the cable. If the gear stays in the distributor, then you should be remove it by hand or a pair of pliers

Would somebody give me a easy way to remove the Tach behind the dash, Ive looked and found that the area is very limited and I don't want to pull out any wires while trying to remove. The space is almost impossible to get any kind of tool to unscrew the tach from the bracket....I'am all open for any suggestions. I would also like to know If I decide to undo the tach cable from the distributor how should I be cautious and how is the gear removed......If I decide to change that too.

[ICON 1956]

Thank You.

[ICON 1956]

I took out the drive gear at the distributor and inspected the gear alone with the cable cleaned it and reinstalled, I took out the inner cable from the back of the Tach and carefully wiped the inner cable and reinstalled. I used WD 40 to clean it and placed Marine grease and back of the Tach brass Orfuss reinstalled hand tighten the connection behind the Tach plate. Using the milk crate to use along the kick plates really helped in keeping my back horizontal with the car. . It made it easier to stay under the dash to work on the issue. Too k out for a test drive susses no noise very quiet.

[goatie]

I had a noisy, grinding tach with a wildly fluctuating needle in my 1955 tbird. I tried WD40 and grafite and would work for a mouth then start grinding again. I used ProShot gun oil in a needle Oiler. Just inserted the needle in the back,give it a good squeeze while withdrawing it and reattach the cable. Works like new! Amazon sells it for 6:50. Now part of my Spring maintenance.