Meter Gear Housing Failure

Hi All....

I had a speedo fail over the weekend. Upon opening her up discovered the joint/shaft which inserts into the drive shaft from the gear meter housing had failed. The gears in the housing seem to be seized. Just wondering what can cause that besides being 17 years old.

I had just swapped the track on that sled and replaced the driveshaft bearing on the clutch side. I shot a little lubrication into the gear meter housing and turned the gears before replacing it. Seemed smooth and working properly. I also was careful to be sure the joint/shaft didn't bind when re-inserting it into the drive shaft.

Over the weekend my buddy driving that sled did have one decent impact where he panic braked, turned sideways and tipped the sled over. I didn't see the impact but came around the corner to see the aftermath. He commented that he hit/stopped pretty hard. Could that scenario cause the failure?

Just trying to make sure I put it back together correctly when the parts come in.

Thanks....

The speedo drive has probably seized because off water that begins to rust in the angle drive.
Try to put it in a bath of kerosene or diesel it might ”unseize”.
Or just replace whit a used or new one. Just make sure that your drive shaft bearings is ok.

Depending on what size drivers you have I might have one of those joints in the parts pail. Shipping plus a couple bucks for the running around. Unless you are in Brainerd area then we can just arrange a meet.

Thanks for the replies. I found the part in Elk River so am able to drive to pick it up.

I just changed the track on that sled and replaced the driveshaft bearing....it only has 150-200 miles on it. Guessing/hoping that's not the problem.
Might have been the big impact my friend had.

We will see what happens after putting it back together.

Check the drive shaft and make sure whatever your buddy hit didn't bend it.

Appears the gears in the housing seized.

Was able to pull the rest of the key out of the housing. I put the longer piece of the key back in and tried to turn it by hand....no chance. Used vise grips on the key and was able to get it to move. But felt like broken teeth from the gearing was hanging this up inside...or something similar.

Put new housing in place and took a few laps in the yard. Speedo works....for now.

I'm confident the driveshaft is OK....my friend turned it sideways on the panic brake and dumped it on it's side. He didn't actually strike anything.
If the speedo goes out again I guess there may be more to it. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the input and ideas to trouble shoot this.

i had a kinked speedo cable that did that

I put 70+ miles on the sled today and no troubles with the speedo or anything else other than some boginess when the temps jumped into the mid 40s after noon.
So far so good!

good to hear. when it warms up, make sure that the carb heaters are off and that should help with the bog most of the time.