Bouncin' speedo

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

Tim.............My 87 5kcstq does the same thing at 180,000 miles. It is a 
sure sign that your car will soon explode in a giant puff of smoke and 
destroy the city at the same time. Sell me your car at once and save 
yourself and thousands of innocent bystanders! :~)

Can't say how to fix it, but can tell you how I compensate until I find the 
91 200q of my dreams:

The dash readout for RPM's is as good as a speedometer, only not marked in 
MPH.  On my car in gear 5 the road speed is exactly 65 MPH at 2,600 RPM, 
and this is where I set my cruise control on trips in Ohio. NOTE TO SELF: 
Tomorrow I will mark the RPM's at 35, maybe with a dab of white-out.

In the city I use the instantaneous reading of the dash computer (set on 
"average speed" mode)to tell me when I am at 35 MPH, and then I note the 
RPM's at the same time and hold to those RPM's with the foot pedal. I never 
_remember_ what RPM's I should have at 35, 'cause I do it so seldom.  I 
just remind myself by resetting the trip computer on "average speed" mode. 
The first number that comes up in that mode is instantaneous speed, which 
then gets turned into average speed as time passes.

If this seems complicated and overly difficult, then either sell me your 
car and get a new one with a fine working speedometer, or learn how to 
easily fix your speedo and tell me about it. This is the best I have come 
up with. And I have become accustomed to it (both the bouncy needle and the 
87 5kcstq).  I punch up the dash computer about twice on each trip, and 
that works for me.

Sell that car quickly....it is obviously starting to come apart. Many other 
systems will follow, and remember the puff of white smoke and all those 
innocent bystanders......

Doyt Echelberger
87 5kcstq,  running 2,800 RPM's at 65 mph in gear 5, with bouncing speedo 
needle. Abandon Ship!

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At 11:51 AM 9/27/00 -0500, you wrote:
I have a 91 200 20v tq with 156k and it all-of-a-sudden the speedo has 
intermittently started bouncing when I'm driving. It will bounce 5mph+ ( 
50-55) Is this something electrical or mechanical? How can I fix it ......?

                                                                             
                                                                       Thanks
                                                                             
                                                                             
         Tim