My odometer stopped working!?

[seang]

It just stopped working today. 97 D21 4x4 5sp. I would kind of like to know how many miles are getting on the oil.

[RT22]

I broke my resettable trip meter the other day. But odometer still going. Junkyard has them, pop the back, and a few screws and both swap out easy. May not match up but should fix it.

[RT22]

When I said not match up I meant miles, the mounts should from a big range of yrs. My 91 looks just like a 96, if you have a junkyard like pull a part where you snatch your own stuff just grab the guts.

[seang]

Thanks RT22, I will have to check that out. It's just one more thing that makes me feel like my truck is over the hill and on it's way down the other side. If I'm lucky maybe I can climb back up the hill. At least a little bit.
Modified by seang at 6:42 PM 3/4/2010

[Rev_D21]

Time for an hourmeter?

[seang]

I thought about an hourmeter. I know that some vehicles use them. Good idea, Rev.

I don't know what I'll do yet, because I'm literally that broke. My mom is paying for my insurance, but I might get a temporary job as a census taker in a few weeks. It would help, because my fuel sending unit is seeping ($170). You can see fumes if you look closely at it, but it isn't dripping. Sometimes my truck sputters, and that might be it. One of these times it will just stop, and it will be soon.

I might just inspect everything (since that is free) and see how it goes. Just kind of hanging in there for now.

[RT22]

Oh man new cars break down, the d21 just breaks a few parts. I have had my 91 for almost 3 yrs and have spent less on it than I did a 2 yr old ford pick up. Little things go out but can be fixed cheap with a junk yard run and a little time. the newer crap breaks and costs hundreds if not thousands to get running. The Hard Body may lose a few parts but will run for yrs.

[seang]

My fuel sending unit is exposed to the worst of the worst kind of weather - nasty salinated road melt. For 6 months out of the year, it is literally soaked. The water on Michigan roads in the winter is more saline than sea water, and blueberry farmers actually acted against the state because the salt was killing many thousands of dollars in crops in the first few rows from the road. It always snows from the lake effect, then it melts during the day and freezes at night, every night, and it just is hell on vehicles. Even the bolts under the hood are worse than some trucks 3 times my trucks age, and my distributor bolt sheared off just a few weeks ago. \rant

But, yeah. Nothing really breaks, except eventually the frame from f***ing rust. 4x4 transmissions are know for catastrophically breaking sometimes, so I have that to think about. But you are right about new cars being really expensive to fix sometimes, just ask Rev about his Millenia.

[Rev_D21]

When I replaced my tank and sending unit I sprayed it with liquid bedliner, both the sending unit and tank seams. Hopefully that will slow the rate of decay. Here in NY they use a slurry of road salt and calcium chloride. I won't let my dogs walk along the street for fear of them licking their paws later and getting sick.

[PEZi]

mine stopped working a few years back... this was wheni was about 16... didn't know about NICO or how to fix stuff so i took it to a shop.... $80 i had a working ODO

[seang]

I still owe my Mom $1200 for saving my truck from repo. I need to pay her back as soon as I get working again. I think I overpaid the dealer back in 2007 @ $5800.00, but for some reason I had to have this truck. It will regain that appeal (I can't wait) when I can get some Bilstein's and 31x10.5's back on it, but first things first ya know. I'm about to just say f*** the odometer for now and just log my miles on a notepad, I could probably ballpark it, kind of like counting calories. Thanks for the suggestions, though, guys.

[RT22]

fill the tank and gauge it by mileage, I get 20-22 mpg no matter how i drive so when i fill it up i can look at the gallons I need and tell you my mileage almost to the mile LOL. I actually can fill it and drive say 150 miles and I know exactly how much gas it will need to fill, like I said the mileage is so damn constant no matter how i drive, that always puzzled me. Most cars and trucks do better when you drive easy, this lil truck gets 20-22 no matter what.

[lino]

Check with the guys in my signature. They might be able to help you. They have tons of them for very very cheap.

[seang]

It's working again. A few days ago when I went to measure how long my road is (it's a dead end road and I want to know how far I have been jogging) I went the whole length of the road and my odometer didn't do s***. I went to a gas station, and when I got back home it looked the same. I'm thinking maybe I might have went exactly 10 miles and just didn't remember, so it looked almost the same, you know? I don't have tenth's of a mile on mine, or a tripometer, so it is one mile at a time. I don't know what the f***, because my road is actually pretty long, and it should have registered a mile going up and down it.

[NissanXEPIlot]

contacts need cleaning. I had the same problem with mine years ago. Take the cluster out and unplug it. use a pencil eraser to clean the contacts. Contact cleaner works too but is messy.

[seang]

Thanks XEP, I think I will pull the cluster tomorrow afternoon.

[NissanXEPIlot]

anytime. I will add though that while cleaning the contacts worked for me. It could also be worn wires or componet failure. Cleaning the contacts takes a number 2 pencil with eraser and whatever time it takes you to remove the trim and cluster. pretty cost effective compaired buying a new speedo.