If you take a piece of wood, 2 x4 and tap the side of the speedo from the back then the side. Take if for a ride. Sometimes, that is all it needs to jump start it.

I sent my Riley Elf speedo to the UK to have it recalibrated. from 3.76 to 2.76 as I run a "French ratio diff" 22 mph for 1000 rpm. 

It has been running fine for 7 years and 14000 miles. Just turned over to 00000.1

Came back looking brand new , front and back!

They even asked if I wanted it reset to zero!

Worth every penny as far as I am concerned.

Deb

Great post Jemal.  Had me LOL.  We've all done similar things and even repeated them in our engineering way expecting different outcomes.  Guess that's why Palo Alto Speedo and others charge so much. "Hidden costs" add up!

Funny topic!  This one brings back memories...  My childhood Mini Van in Iraq had the typical odo failure at one of the 999s.  My father patiently took it all apart till the dials could be poked and prodded.  For some reason, Arabs like to clean parts in gasoline, and so it went wrong!  First, the paint on the numbers came off, then he started a fire in the kitchen sink!  Somehow the unit didn't melt down and after cleaning soot from half the house, he actually got it to work again.... for a little while.

Years later, he was attending KSU in Manhattan, Kansas when the odo on our 66 Chevy Impala got stuck.  Apart it came and into a tub of gasoline.... you guessed it, in the kitchen sink!  Off came the numbers, and BOOM from the stove pilot light.  Lots more soot for my poor mother to clean!  A trip to the junkyard to replace a melted speedo.  Not an idiot, eventually getting a dual Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics PHD from Stanford, but I bet he still cleans parts in gasoline!

Perhaps Palo Alto Speedometer is not such a bad deal.

I've "Repaired" 4 odometers, including disassembling, cleaning and light oil lubrication, sharpening the pawl and filing sharp edges back on the gear teeth.  The best I got out of one of them was under 1000 miles.  The average was around 100 miles.  They just don't last, and it's not worth it.

I have since converted my speedometer to electric (with Doug's help) by installing a modern electronic tachometer behind the Smiths face and using a proximity switch and a custom-machined tooth wheel welded on the output shaft.  There was no place for the odometer mechanicals (even if I could figure out how to make the unit work mechanically), so mine is mounted to a hand-made metal stand that is epoxied to the back of the Smiths face so the numbers are visible through the window.  They actually slowly move around with the engine's vibration, so it gives the impression that mileage is changing!   It is the closest I've ever come to having a functioning odometer  

Mines' been stuck @ 96999 for 6 or 7 yrs now.  I live with it.

Speedometer works fine, so that's what matters.

p.s.-on 2nd thought, I could've use the odo @MME in Quebec a couple years ago doing the Rally.  Almost ended up in divorce. LOL!!

Love it - not going to check the math but good figuring the details!

My Moke Odometer does not advance - i wanted to fix.. looked into the refrenced  cataluge above. Got a good understanding.

I then had a random KPH speedo around - figured i would take it apart and get the feel for it.   the handbook advises to be careful removing the needle - Streching or binding the behind spring is detrimental to the whole working assembly - Sure enough- yanking on the needle ( didnt come off easily ) i knotted up the round spring.

//www.szott.com/lotusinfo/Smith-jaeger_speedo_repair.pdf

Done - Game over-  no reason considering a repair on my precious Moke speedo.

  I would consider $100 - $200 bucks OK for someone that can fix and gurantee their work.

Essentially its fraglie like a watch. not durable- and i would reccomend. leave it to a professional.   - perhaps pushing on the actual numbers on the face- while drill driving the assembly could aid in progressing the number past the sticking point.. but that to can lead in failure....

Risky

Running an odometer forward with a drill may sound good until you do the math.  You will need to run it (literally) for weeks if you need more than a few thousand miles.  If you fit a new speedometer, just keep a written record of the mileage when the old one died. 

EDIT:  Sorry... I couldn't leave well enough alone and did the math.
Assuming you have a high-speed drill capable of 2500 Rev/Minute
The Speedo for 3.44 final drive and 10" wheels = 1280 TPM (Rev/Mile)
Therefore, 1280 TPM / 2500 RPM = 0.512 Minutes/Mile
50,000 miles would take 50,000 miles x 0.512 minutes/mile = 25,600 minutes = 17.8 days

Thanks guys, I will try The drill thing and hope For the best.  I mightend up buying a new one and using the drill trick to set the odo to where it should be

As Larry said, "affordable" is such a relative term that you may never find what you are looking for.  You may want to call around and get ballpark quotes.  In addition to Nisonger there are Palo Alto Speedometer, APT (gaugeguys.com), Mo Ma, and probably others.  In NC I have used Nichols Instruments in Greensboro... although that was many years ago.

If you do decide to work on the speedometer yourself, Google for the 27 page PDF document "Repairing Jaeger and Smiths Speedometer" by Anthony Rhodes.  Print it out and read it through several times to get a feel for what is ahead.  If you do your own car repair and are not intimidated by going into the gearbox or an engine rebuild... a speedometer is in the same league (emotionally) but smaller. 

Gauge shops don't know the meaning of "affordable". One close to you is Palo Alto Speedometer. I used Nisonger for a tach, they actually telephoned me for instructions on how to proceed. I also used a local guy (jeweller who works on gauges on the side) for a Smiths clock. For $150 it worked for about a year at that point he warned me they were highly unreliable and it became a cosmetic piece. 

You could take a stab at fixing it yourself. I once did. To get it apart there are 3 or 4 crimped tabs on the back. The Odo works by a concentric lever with a hook on the end that grabs onto teeth on the tumblers. There's a small spring on the lever that could be broken or the teeth and fork could be out of synch. Use an electric drill to run it when you have it apart to see what's up.

Anyone know who/where is the best (and most affordable hopefully?) place to get a central speedo rehabbed?  My ODO has gotten stuck at and I really would like it to be back up and running correctly