The nutshell:
I believe that the shaft from my speedometer cable that goes into the vehicle speed sensor (VSS) has broken off inside the VSS. I have searched around and not found much information other than using super glue. The problem is I am not 100% sure that what I am looking at should really come out.
The long of it:
A few weeks ago, I had the wiring harness replaced on my contour, while I was on vacation. When I returned and picked up my car, it was working fine, but the speedometer cable was going crazy, vibratingup to +- 5 mph. After a day, it dies completely. I opened up my hood and saw the lower part of the cable completely shorn off, with little curly wires everywhere. I decided to fix it myself. I ordered the part, which took a couple weeks to get. Once I got the cable, I put my car on ramps, found the cable connected to the VSS, but could not get it out. A couple weeks passed by and I realized that I need to get this fixed to pass inspection this month. I finally had to remove the VSS with the cable attached, then remove the cable from the VSS. When I did this, I noticed that the old cable does not have a long shaft, like the new one. At the end of the new one, there is a nut and a brass protrusion, that looks like a pencil in a cup. The old one, however, just has a little rounded knub. I looked at the VSS and saw what I can only describe as something that looked like a tiny manhole coved in a tiny manhole. It is a round flat piece of metal in the round hole at the top of the VSS. When I turn the brass shaft of the VSS at the bottom of the VSS, it turn this top piece. I believe that this piece may have broken off from the old cable. The only problem is that the new cable does not have anything that looks like it. Regardless, I tried to take it out with tweezers and an eye-glass screw driver, but I cannot get a good hold of it (there is a tiny ammount of space between the round piece and the round hole). As I stated above, the only thing I can thing of is super glue. This makes me very nervous, using on moving, automotive parts, especially when I am not sure that that piece really is supposed to come out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
