92 SL2 - Broken Odometer/Trip Meter

My odometer & trip meter are broken on my '92 SL2. Otherwise the car's
running fine.

The situation is:
I brought it to my local mechanic and while it was at the shop, he called
and told me that he contacted a Saturn dealership and they have a
replacement odometer, but that it costs $600 (!) But he looked at a used
parts source and found one for $80, and he told me to pick up my car and
bring it back in when he orders the part.

After I picked it up, he then told me that it needed a new dashboard (?!?)
which was another $80. Hmmm. The dashboard I have is fine. He then upped the
cost of parts to $160. He also said that my speedometer is broken - but I
insisted it wasn't. And after I picked my car up, the speedometer was
working just fine.

Has anyone here broken their odometer? Is it a simple fix, or is it a
complex one? Is my mechanic trying to rip me off like every other mechanic?

On a tangent:
The next day I noticed a loud gushing air sound coming from my hood while
driving. I thought it was weather-related but it was going on as long as the
car was starting. I pulled over, opened the hood and noticed the air filter
cover was missing! I rushed back to the mechanic and told him the deal with
the air filter. Eventually he found the cover and replaced it back. Ugh.
Dunno if I'm coming back to him.

Any reliable, (relatively) honest mechanics in the Los Angeles area?

 

I wouldn't go back again.

 

The trip/odo gear are one and the same; unfortunately a very small fragile
plastic gear which in the 1st gen. saturns has a known habit of breaking.
The part can be found online by itself and definately does not require a new
gauge cluster.

It seems obvious that your "mechanic" does not know what he is doing and may
have damaged your dash and or odo in the process, as is easy to do with such
old plastic if you are not very careful.

You can get a new dash and other parts from your local junkyard or where I
got mine at http://www.6thplanetusedparts.com

Definately get another mechanic or consider letting Saturn do some of the
work. Yea, I know they can be expensive, but if you have a good reputable
shop with good mechanics, they will do the job right - the 1st time, thus
saving you money and time in the long run.

marx404

 

I got the replacement odometer gear for just under $30 with shipping at:

http://www.odometergears.com/

Put it in myself. Took out the cluster and very carefully figured out how
to get to the odemeter assembly. Make sure you pay attention to which
screws and bulbs go where. Mark them!