speedometer going crazy

Sometimes, I'll be driving along and the speedometer will say that I'm going like 120 Mi/Hr (I'm not), it looks like it wants to go higher but can't. It lasts until I turn the truck off and then back on - this has happened a few times, but only in the last few months. What could be going on?

 

That's weird, I've never heard of a speedometer doing that, only fuel gauges. See if you can find anything pertinent to it in the Technical Chat discussions. Maybe a bad connection somwhere or something going on with the actual speed sensor(s)?

 

You might check where speedo goes into trans. Maybe it's gotten loose.

 

Are the first gens electronic or are they cable driven?

 

Had that happen a while back on a 91 4runner. New cluster fixed it. It had something to do with the friction between the cable and the needle. That could only help you if the 97 still used the speedo cable. I don't know what year they changed it.

 

I had a 89 that was cable drive. The guy at the speedo shop said that after time a cosmoline type gunk would get built up in the cable housing and cause it to go crazy. It would read high and buzz sometimes. It did it much worse when it was colder outside.

 

I know my 95.5 and 1996 are cable drive.

 

Had the exact same thing happen with my '91 pickup. On really cold days the speedo and tach would dance around and sound like a squirrel on meth. I miss that truck.

 

'97 is a cable. The speedo cable was eliminated with the '98 models.

 

I guess it's a good thing I use a GPS to tell me the speed.

thanks

 

I got a speedometer cable and a cluster without tach if you go that route.