Spedo acting crazy

[guinnessmike]

I just purchased a 92' Maxima SE (5-Speed) and I am having trouble with the spedometer flipping out periodically (the needle swings wildly). They guy I bought the car from said his mechanic told him (sounds like a game of telephone at this point) that it needs a $20 speed sensor that mount to the top of the transmission. I called my friendly Nissan dealer and they told me the part is $212. Anyone else run in to this problem? I am guessing it could be the gauge too or maybe even just a loose wire. I just don't want to buy a non-returnable $200 sensor just to find out it won't fix the problem.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Is the rest of the instrument cluster acting normally? Instrument clusters in third gens were known to go bad occasionally, but it was the entire cluster and not just one gauge.

It may indeed be the speed sensor. If you had an auto and your speed sensor was bad, it would probably cause shifting problems which would help support that diagnosis, but with a 5 speed there's no connection.