Odometer Question

[Harry]

Mine is a 1966 230SL Automatic.  My odometer stopped working within the past year or so.  The speedometer continued to work, just not the odometer.  I found the reason this evening.   There is a worm gear that drives a shaft that turns the odometer.  The worm is held in place by a small brass fitting, with a small brass washer.

The fitting had come free and was rolling around in the speedometer housing itself.  Unfortunately without this fitting, the drive gear forces the worm gear outward, disengaging completely.

So I need to determine how this small brass fitting is secured into the cast aluminum frame of the speedometer.  Photos are provided to make this more clear.  Was this initially a press fit?  Have other suffered the same issue?

Thanks,
Harry

[Harry]

No feedback?

[ja17]

I'm fairly sure it was a press fit.

[Harry]

Thanks Joe.  I figured the same thing.  I haven't tried to reassemble but I will this evening.  If it feels like it might crawl right back out, I may prep and very carefully epoxy or something.

[ja17]

Maybe Loctite?

[Harry]

Yeah - probably even better.  I thought that Loctite was just a thread sealant though and didn't realize it might also be a bonding agent.

[Harry]

In follow-up, replacing that brass keeper corrected the odometer problem.  It did appear to be a press fit - guess it just worked itself free after 50+ years.  I cleaned it, applied a bit of loktite (not a lot), the tapped it back into position.  I was happy that it took some pretty firm "tapping" to reseat it.  I also used a toothpick to add some light weight lithium grrease to the metal gears.  I did not lubricate the plastic gears.  They didn't appear to have ever had any lubricant and I was worried a bit that a grease might deteriorate the old plastic.

Thanks again for the assistance.
Harry

[Pinder]

I may have the same problem. My speedo works but the odometer stopped working few weeks ago.

[Benz Dr.]

The shaft that turns all of the gears can come loose as well. Same problem with different parts involved.

[Harry]

Thanks Dan.  I will indeed check everything before I reinstall, considering the difficulty to remove.