Okay, the link that Joel Walker sent me, http://www.twistedlimbpaper.com/brian/vanagon/Odometer.htm 
is
one many of you have seen and it is informative, but has one drawback. It is for the '84 speedo setup and is very different from the '86 and
'87 units I'm working with.� The early rig is mostly metal and of an open construction while the late is plastic, more enclosed, and stuff you need to reach is harder to get to.� And the early one comes apart differently, as well.� Consequently, these require a different approach,
though the goal is fundamentally the same.

I found a workaround that involves leaving the aforementioned spring and retainer in place and, well, working around that limitation.� Since the "worm driven gear" and the "metal gear," frequently mentioned in how-to posts as the ones that slip and cause the odometer not to work seem to be firmly attached to their shaft, my main concern is to reset the odometer to a low number (to approximate my van's calculated-from-fuel-records mileage) and replace my van's flaky unit with what I hope will be a flawlessly working instrument.� I'll be sure to get pix for those who might be interested.� More details later.

A good and challenging way to spend a snowy day.

Stephen

--- On Sat, 1/30/10, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: If you've fixed
 your odometer, read on.

...but the speedo needle tension spring and holder which fit on the needle shaft are keeping the whole thing from coming apart...