Advancing odometer mileage rapidly

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JHZR2

JHZR2

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The stepper motor gear on my odometer in my 91 bmw has sheared to two teeth after 168k miles and 23 years. I'm replacing the gears, but I wanted to advance the mileage a bit. My estimate is 200 miles. I've moved it 55 by hand. No drill chuck fits in there. Any good ideas on how to advance it? Turning the shaft that the gears are on does not turn the gears. In the end all, moving it to roughly what it should be is not the end of the world. But I'm not going to take the time and blisters on my fingers taking it up. I don't want to play with pwm-ing the motor.
 
Is it driven electronically (off the transmission) or via cable? You could reassemble everything then put the cable in a drill, if so equipped, methinks. I happened to notice a chevy cable will indicate 45 MPH in a drill chuck.
 
No cable - electric drive via stepper motor. That gear is the broken one. Dremel won't work. I have to turn the gear itself, which spins on the shaft. A finger on the gear turning it around works, just slowly.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
No cable - electric drive via stepper motor. That gear is the broken one. Dremel won't work. I have to turn the gear itself, which spins on the shaft. A finger on the gear turning it around works, just slowly.
If you have a dremel, get one of the small bits with the "screw" end on them (designed for small buffing pads). Cut the eraser off a pencil and screw it onto the dremel bit. Rotate the gear with the eraser by touching it to the gear while spinning.
 
Could you cut the last two teeth off, slip a vinyl hose over the gear, and attach the hose in your drill? Or, would a flexible drill shaft work?? https://www.google.com/search?q=flexible+drill+chuck&client=firefox-a&hs=VTM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=riNxVM62M8zLsATMsICwDQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=875
 
Perhaps. Wonder if it would have enough friction on the gear tooth ends.
 
Wait, wait, wait... You are ADDING miles to the odometer? That is a first for man kind.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
200 miles man? Just fix it and slap it back together.
That's fairly conservative. I've driven the car a lot. Might be more like 400... So I figured I'd at least add a bit. The car won't be worth anything when I'm done with it due to miles and rust. So I may as well make it accurate.
 
You might be able to chuck up a nail or some kind of metal/wood rod in the drill, then wrap duct tape on it to get some gear tooth depression and traction while spinning around the gear tooth. If it's not worth anything and will be junked eventually, I'd be the exact opposite of you and not bother even fixing it! smile
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Cut the eraser off a pencil and screw it onto the dremel bit.
Why not just chuck the entire pencil in a drill? The sharpened part should go deep enough in most drills, or you could use an unsharpened, "virgin" pencil. You could drill a hole in the center of the eraser so it fits over the gear's axle, and have more friction area. I'm sure moribundman would know what to do. hide
 
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
You might be able to chuck up a nail or some kind of metal/wood rod in the drill, then wrap duct tape on it to get some gear tooth depression and traction while spinning around the gear tooth. If it's not worth anything and will be junked eventually, I'd be the exact opposite of you and not bother even fixing it! smile
Yeah its got plenty of life left in it though and the power train is great. Just some rust, and age, and 168k. Perfect for an I-95/US 301 cruiser. Before I got to using the eraser, I tried the little felt wheel in the dremel kit. Worked perfect, though the dremel spun a bit faster on lowest speed then I cared for. But it worked...
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
You might be able to chuck up a nail or some kind of metal/wood rod in the drill, then wrap duct tape on it to get some gear tooth depression and traction while spinning around the gear tooth. If it's not worth anything and will be junked eventually, I'd be the exact opposite of you and not bother even fixing it! smile
Yeah its got plenty of life left in it though and the power train is great. Just some rust, and age, and 168k. Perfect for an I-95/US 301 cruiser. Before I got to using the eraser, I tried the little felt wheel in the dremel kit. Worked perfect, though the dremel spun a bit faster on lowest speed then I cared for. But it worked...
Excellent thumbsup
 
And I installed and all is working great. Phew. Not having a working odometer was OK, but it is nice to be able to accurately track miles. One of my trips that I take fairly routinely is just at the ragged edge of a one-tank distance. Since I live in NJ, gas is substantially cheaper than it is in the states I drive to. So I try to be able to do the whole trip and get home on the light, but traffic and other things can limit that. Being able to count miles exactly from the time the light comes on is helpful...
 
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