Intro.
This is known as a common e28 issue. For a great deal of time the small plastic gear inside of your cluster has worked properly,until it took an arrow to the knee. That causes your daily kms/miles counter to stop working. Normally it’s not a biggie and most people will live without it, but this entry is devoted to all other which are furious if something doesn’t work in their beloved e28.
The experiment.
We bought this exact item from one of our competitors ( not going to mention names, just to be fair and politically correct) on a double price compared to ours.
Then we put it right next to one of our speedo gears.
The competitor’s thing seems to be something totally different. And even worse – as you can see it got ruff edges, wide teeth elements which are also twisted and never the less – that gap between WILL cause flattering of the tops of the bigger gear which will cause daily counter to stop working AGAIN at some point in the near future. Only for $15.99.
We were shocked what people are selling arround and as true e28 enthusiasts we decide to supply constantly this thing.
Besides there are just few heads up on the web (Changing small speedo gear for dummies) so we decide to write up this very detailed and awesome DIY – just for you.
Things needed.
Thin flat screwdriver.
Philips screwdriver.
Needle-nose pliers.
One of our brand new gears
Time – thiis can be done in aprox. 15 minutes. ( Let’s say 30 for the rookies)
Cluster removal.
It really is an easy and simple procedure.
Cluster holds to the dash with two small screws on the top.
We will start by taking them off.
Then stick the flat screw driver between the cluster and the dash.
Push gently upward. The dash will come off from the top.
Take it out.
Now here is the tricky part.
There are 3 connectors on the back of the cluster. You need to pull them out.
Facing the steering wheel, 2 of them are verical, close to the right side and one is close to the left side.
What you need to do is taking a peek in the gap (some light might help) , holding the dash with one hand and pulling the securing tap with the flat screwdriver in the other. Herе is an reenactment of what’s going on back there and how to do it.
The connectors.
Unlocking connectors. Then pull them out.
Now your cluster is released.
If you have adjusting steering, unlock it too, pull out the wheel as much as you can and lock it again. This will help a lot.
Then pull the cluster, holding it to the back of the steering wheel and turn them both to the left.
This is the easiest way.
Disasembling
Remove the eight screws on the back of the dash.
Also remove the four screws which hold the speedo gauge.
Remove the dash housing and you should see this.
The speedometer is connected to the main board via 4 small pins.
Grab the whole gauge and pull it, by shaking it gently.
Unscrew the 2 small screws, holding the plastic cover.
And here is the gear. (In this case one tooth is missing, but might be completelly flat or destroyed)
Pull it out ( if you have any)
There is a bronze liner which need to be removed too. Other gears are really tender, so don’t try to pull it out with them on.
Just pull both metal shafts and they will come out.
Then put the gears back on their places.
Here is side view of how they fit together.
Align the bottom white gear with the digit gears.
( I took those pictures FYI, before removing the liner. Don’t mind it, you already did that step)
Then put the big black … gear. Thin part should align the with the small part of the white gear
( check the side view picture again ).
Then the orange gear with the shaft.
Small section need to be aligned with the top section of the black gear.
( Yeah..Check the side view again )
And then the top black gear.
Now align the new small gear with the top black and push it firmly to the shaft.
You can secure it with just one drop of super glue, but it’s not needed at all since it will fit really tight.
Put everything back together in reverse order and you are done.
Odometer and daily counter will work again.