It was a sunny/dry day so I took the Z out for a drive, first time in a long time, and I know both odometers were working on my last drive. I changed the oil before putting it away for our short winters here, and did my ~30 mile loop, which the odometer logged. Today, 3 months later, I noticed about a mile in the mileage hadn't changed, so I spun around and parked it.

Tach and Speedo work just fine, same with all other gauges.

Are there any checks I can do without pulling the cluster? I read there is a DC motor that drives the gears for the odometer and trip, and those can sometimes go bad. (29 years later.....)

I have a place lined up that will service it for about $235 and I need to ship the cluster to them. Biggest thing is preserving the mileage that's on it and they told me it would remain unchanged. But I don't want to pull it if I don't have to, so want to exhaust all the simple options first.

 

I pulled the cluster.
Totally lucked out. Previous owner had installed a new upper dash so it came off in one piece and is still very flexible.

I see the little motor on the back of the cluster that drives the gears. Gears look fine, no broken parts.

I'm tempted to try to change out the motor myself. Question is...does anyone know if ANY little cluster motor would work (93-96 Camaro, V6 or V8, and I think 91-94? Grand Prix and Trans Sport vehicles used almost the exact same cluster layout) I can find a V6 cluster for parts for about $20...... better than the $235 I was quoted plus a few weeks of lead time for a rebuild.

 

Ok...closing the loop on this one. Found a used cluster out of a 96, swapped the motor from the cluster into mine and viola....it's logging miles again. I was fearful to pull apart my cluster, so I started on the old one first. 10 minutes later I had mine back together with the new motor installed. Super easy.

 

Thanks for the follow up. Great solution. Hopefully this will help someone in the future.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the lack of anyone trying to help you, this site is dying a (not so) slow death. Nobody comes here any more.

 

I appreciate the response. I've been around here since 1999 or so--different screen name. Have witnessed the rise and fall. Was a member over at the other site for a while. Now I just like to wrench on my Camaro and visit when technical stuff arises. Never had a Z28 until later in life, and some of the age-related problems of the 4th gen are new to me. Who expects an odometer motor to just stop functioning? 4th gens are gaining interest again. Nothing like what it was in the heyday, but collectors are snapping up LT4 SS' and 35th cars and the 6-speed Z28's, and they'll have questions soon ....

 

Skookum, thanks for the description of your repair effort. I agree with you that interest in fourth gens is increasing. Posts like yours assure that this site will remain a fantastic resource for future owners.