Yet another speedo problem

[Madcow1041]

Sorry about being long-winded ahead of time, but I'm kind of stressing out over my whole car ordeal.

To start off, I want to introduce my situation. I'm completely new to the mechanics of cars, with this being my first car and all. I've just been going on a lot of what I've read.
The car isn't even mine yet, I just really want to finish this deal.

My problem is (put simply) - my speedometer doesn't work. The guy who's selling the car brought it to my mechanic to get it checked out. As it turns out, the drive gear broke.

I've been reading past posts, and got an ALMOST complete idea about what to do to fix this problem. What I've got so far is, to see the gear, you must take the sensor out, which can be done easily without any removing of a transmission.

What I would like to know is, if this is an easy fix and I could do it at home, or if I have to remove the transmission to get to it, which is what the mechanic said. I haven't exactly found a concise answer to this in my search through the forum.

 

[Madcow1041]

I'm sure one of you can help me here... Please, I would really like to know how to get this done.

 

[dr1665]

You can pull this out very easily. I believe its a single 10mm bolt. You want to pull off your intake pipe and look down between the battery and the throttle body to the top of the tranny. It is the only thing with an electrical connector in that area that I can think of. Disconnect the harness (pretty sure you lift up on a tab as you pull it out) and then remove the bolt. Gently wiggle the sensor a little bit as you pull upwards on it. Do not jerk on it. Just work it around a bit and it will come out.

The speed sensor failing like that is fairly common, but the concern with your situation is, if the gear broke off, where did it go? That's right! Down into the tranny. The sensor should come out without any trouble once you get it free. You'll know if there is no gear on the end of it. If you come up with nada on the gear aspect, I would suggest draining the tranny fluid and checking for shrapnel. Aside from that, I would remind you to refill with the proper fluid from the dealer. The aftermarket synthetics can cause plastic parts inside the tranny to become brittle and fail.

Hope this helps. There's only one way to know for sure. I hope you find the sensor intact and just need to replace it for being a dud or something like that.

Later.

 

[Madcow1041]

Thank you very much! That's just the info I needed.

If you don't mind, I just have one more question. I've been browsing around the internet for that gear, but I can't find a replacement ANYWHERE. Where would you suggest finding a new (or used even) gear?

 

[Defiant]

Eh, the connector on the plug is one of those little bastards with the goddamned lock-wire on it (look at your injectors to see how it works). Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL to not drop the 10mm bolt down into the gearbox. Keep the sensor in place, get the bolt completely loose, and take it out and away from the transmission before pulling the sensor out. Put the replacement in and get it seated before putting the bolt back.

Try Mitsubishi Graveyard (a site sponsor) or M&S Recycling for a good used part. Either that, or off to the dealership (San Rafael Mitsubishi, another site sponsor- mention DSMtuners).

It's not a tough job, just a fussy one. Be careful to not get any crud into the gearbox (but don't panic if you do).

 

[dr1665]

You don't replace the gear on the sensor, but the entire sensor. No idea how much they cost. Like El Guapo above said, be careful not to lose the bolt down into the bellhousing. That would be the suck.

 

[Madcow1041]

Oops...

I actually mis-interpreted what my mechanic said. He actually said something about a gear that the plastic gear makes contact with had broke, or something of that sort. I'm not exactly sure what this means, because I've not heard of anything but this little plastic piece breaking, and nothing else. So, at this point, I'm thoroughly confused as to what's going on in the tranny. I can't find a good source for the in's and out's of the 95 GS tranny. I'm thinking that I should go out and find a manual to read. Any more of your guys help would sill be greatly appreciated.