What speedometer cable for an 86 with a ZF & Transfer case?

[Silver Burner]

I've been having some trouble figuring out which cable I need to order to get my speedometer working again after my ZF/BW1356 swap in my 86. Could I use the cable for an 87 6.9 with a 5-speed 4X4? Or will an 86 4-speed 4X4 work? Any help would be much appreciated so I can get this thing working again before it sells. Thanks guys!

 

[Squeaky_Wheel]

The speedometer cable should be the same it is the gear on the end of the cable and the gear on the inside of the T-Case that need to have the same number of teeth. Here is a link that should help you determine which color cable gear you need. I hope this helps. http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speedometer_calibration_______va.htm#Cable

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

I had issues getting a cable for my ZF conversion in my brown truck as well. I tried several different ones. I can't remember if I ever got one that worked. I think I was down to having a custom cable made.

 

[Silver Burner]

So far I have ordered a 92" cable for what looks like an 87-97 F250/F350 4X4 standard or auto w/cruise. I have the cruise gearset that bolts into the T-case and my 72" cable from my 86 is just too short to work. Hopefully this will work out. I will let you guys know tomorrow when I pick up the cable from Baxter's. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the input guys!

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

My problem was I couldn't get the parts store to send me the correct cables. They would always receive some off the wall cable that didn't have the correct end on it.

 

[Silver Burner]

Yeah I run into that at Autozone all the time. Seems like I almost always get what I order exactly from Baxter's. Problem is they sometimes cost a lot more... Not bad here though. The cable is around 20 bucks. Different story when I bought my LUK clutch set though. Baxter's wouldn't drop down below 250 or so for a repset and I ended up buying it on ebay new for 170 shipped.

 

[Silver Burner]

So I got the speedo cable yesterday and spent an hour or so iinstalling it. It turned out to be exactly right for a BW1356 TC on my 86. Turns out I have 2 sets of gears for the TC. I installed the 19 tooth gearset and I have a 16 tooth gearset in the glovebox. I have one question. I used the 19tooth gearset because that's what was in the TC when I got it. The 16 tooth was what was on my original speedo cable on my T19. Can I run a different number of teeth in the same TC?

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Could ya post a part number for that cable?

 

[Silver Burner]

Could ya post a part number for that cable?

The cable I got was from ATP and the part number was Y869. It was 21.99 at Baxter Auto Parts.

 

[Squeaky_Wheel]

So I got the speedo cable yesterday and spent an hour or so iinstalling it. It turned out to be exactly right for a BW1356 TC on my 86. Turns out I have 2 sets of gears for the TC. I installed the 19 tooth gearset and I have a 16 tooth gearset in the glovebox. I have one question. I used the 19tooth gearset because that's what was in the TC when I got it. The 16 tooth was what was on my original speedo cable on my T19. Can I run a different number of teeth in the same TC?

I think you can run a different number tooth gear on the end of the speedo cable. Take a look at this site and it will help you determine what the effects will be if you use different gears. http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/SpeedoGearCalc.html

 

[Silver Burner]

It does seem like the 19 tooth gear is running my speedo kinda slow, so I may put in the 16 tooth gear and hope the tranny doesn't chew it up. If it works, it'll bring my speedo back up closer to where it should be. Thanks for the link!