Gauge swap, little help please?

I'm planning on going to the junk yard on thursday, i will be looking for a non dummy light cluster. is it a direct replacement no parts needed asside from the sensors?

I pulled the old dummy light cluster out of my parts truck and i broke the speedo cable. what is the trick to taking it out safely, arnt there two different types of speedo connectors?

what is the best way to reach the speedo cable to get it out? pry one corner of the cluster out and reach behind? or reach up from under the dash and behind the cluster and unhook it while its still in place? do i need the connector after i get it out? or is it just he one that is on my truck that i have to be carefull with? should i grab that one just so i have an extra?

i know that you need the sensors off the new truck also, the temp sensor and another that i forgot. where are these located? does anyone have any pics? or could someone take some if they get a chance? so i know exactly where to look?

are there any special tools i should bring, the dash is mainly philips screws, i will have a mechanics tool kit with me so i will hopefully be ok.

sorry for all the questions, i just want to make sure i don't go through the process of getting one out and then having it break on me, or not have all the parts to put it in my truck.

hopefully i will be able to get two full clusters and sensors, one for me and one for my brother in law.

Thanks in advance. :cheers:

Jonathan

cluster will bolt in. you need the temperature sending unit (on a 4.0 it's on the back corner of the head...can't remember which corner), and the oil pressure sending unit (kinda bulky item with 1 wire down by the oil filter). but i recommend replacing them...old sending units can sometimes be faulty.

reach up behind the dash to get the cluster...taking out the kneeboard will alot for more space. one type of speedo connector is a squish (like a child-proof advil bottle) type, and another one has a push-in retaining clip on the back of the speedo cluster you have to push.

check what type you have, and get the cluster for that type, or get the speedo cable (fairly simple...think your way through that removal). also get one off of a similar year and equipped engine (a.k.a. if it's a renix [90 or earlier] get one from that year or it won't work)

I have an 87 4.0 I'm guessing most 4.0 that year or above would work, does it change on the HO? would i be better off getting new temp and oil sending unit? anyone know what they charge? are they readely available at a local parts store?

Dick, chime in with your specs and see if its any different.

Jonathan

I have an 87 4.0 I'm guessing most 4.0 that year or above would work, does it change on the HO? would i be better off getting new temp and oil sending unit? anyone know what they charge? are they readely available at a local parts store?

 

Dick, chime in with your specs and see if its any different.

 

Jonathan

NO only 1990 and earlier 4.0s will work. later they changed. get it from a renix systems 4.0.

yes, you'd be better off getting new, and the temp sending unit is about 15 bucks, oil pressure is about 30 bucks at most. remember to get it for a full gauge equipped 4.0

You need to match the screws in the speedo. If you have philips heads in your cluster then you need to get them in the new one. If you have slotted in yours then get one with slotted. Also if you are getting the cluster you might as well grab the cable if the setup if the same on the drivetrain.

I did this and did a complete write up on my 89.

This is the OIL sender:

This is the coolant sensor:

This is NOT THE CORRECT ONE!!!

There are different gages. They changed thru the years. 86-88, 89-90, 91-92 I THINK is the break out. The differences are cable attachments as well as electronic to analoge...

Any way, cabe is attached to you DS UCA bolt. Slid it off and you will get just enough room to remove the cable from tyhe rear of the pod.

CW

I just did the gauge swap on my MJ. I'm having problems with the oil reading though. The oil gauge stays in the horizontal position pointed towards the radio. There is no difference if the oil pressure switch under the hood is plugged in or not. It stays in that position always.

Is there something wrong with the oil pressure switch?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ron

Any ideas guys?

gauge is bad

I guess I'll try to find another one at the salvage yard.

Here is a pic though.

I have another question!!!

How do you fix the "vibrating" speedo needle?

My old one never vibrated.

Thanks,

Ron

I haven't tried it yet but two mechanics in my area told me to grease the speedo cable. If you do it' let me know if it works.

I finally got the gauges figured out. Apparently the only three that were working was the battery the tach and the speedo. The connector in the back had come half way out. All of the gauges are working correctly now.

Thanks,

Ron

I will try to get that speedo greased up at some point.

Hi Rubiconron:

I saw the instrument cluster installed in your MJ, and observed that the transmission indicator was adapted into the new cluster (below the tach). How did you do that??? The only reason why i'm not changing my MJ cluster is because there's no salvage yard clusters with the transmission indicator for the column shift that also have all gauges and tachometer. Usually this cluster was included in those MJs with floor shifts (standard or auto). Do you have instructions to perform this adaptation in a new cluster? Is this indicator fully operational?? You have information very valuable, please, share it with us!!!!

I guess I'll try to find another one at the salvage yard.

 

Here is a pic though.

 

All you need to do is unscrew the indicator out of your old cluster and screw it to the new one in the same spot. Just cut out the bottom of the gauge. Rubi made a nice square. I just chopped the whole bottom off with a sharp blade. I'll try and take a picture today. The indicator is connected to the steering culumn by a string and a clip. You'll see what I mean when you take the old cluster out. It's real simple.

Hi Chicofuentes, i'm still waiting for the picture... just a reminder to see if I finally see how to put the indicator on a new gauge with the tach. Do you think that Rubi did it better than you?

Hope you see this...

All you need to do is unscrew the indicator out of your old cluster and screw it to the new one in the same spot. Just cut out the bottom of the gauge. Rubi made a nice square. I just chopped the whole bottom off with a sharp blade. I'll try and take a picture today. The indicator is connected to the steering culumn by a string and a clip. You'll see what I mean when you take the old cluster out. It's real simple.

Holy memory lapse Batman. Yeah, sorry man I completely forgot. I'll get one for you tommorow in the daylight.

Here ya go :D

Thanks for the pics, Chico, excelente!!! Maybe i'll try to do something like that, because Rubi did it very well, and your trans indicator is completely visible. Let's see how it goes with my "new" cluster, recently bought from eBay... (yes!!!) I'll post pictures of my project later.

Again, thanks for the pics and greetings! :cheers:

Here ya go :D

Here ya go :D

Man that looks like crap!! All that lint, smudges,, jesus man.... + You need to get some gas in that thing!! lol j/kin lookin pretty good!

oh and one more thing,,, you got shipped today :D

sorry no glow in the dark water balloons or tobacco, Steph took it to the PO and she refused to put those things in the mail.... :roll: women,,

i know that you need the sensors off the new truck also, the temp sensor and another that i forgot. where are these located? does anyone have any pics? or could someone take some if they get a chance? so i know exactly where to look?

You will be better off to get new sensors instead of taking the ones from salvage. Be sure to buy the ones for guages though ;) . The oil sender is right next to the oil filter and the temp sender is on the top left rear of the head right under where the MPA sensor is mounted to the firewall.

I just did this swap a couple months ago on my '88. You may need to move a couple of the indicator light bulbs over on the left side of the panel where the 4WD light is as the one I got did not have them in the same places. I still screwed up as my 4x4 light does not work, but I don't care about that as I know when it's in 4x4 or not without a light to tell me.

Hey,

I'm in the middle of this swap right now. 2 Questions -

How did you remove the old oil sending unit? It's more than hand tight, no place for a box end wrench...maybe a 1" will fit over the whole thing?

And how do you adjust the new odometer to match your old mileage?

My RPM's feel a little under-reported, too. What RPM range are you guys typically cruising in? I'm almost always between 1,000 and 2,000 (now that I know!)

I love this thing by the way!

Thanks

Could be wrong tach. As for the oil sender, I use an oil sender socket (1 1/8" but special)

It's off of an I-6 90 Cherokee, and looks like the red and black one in other posts. Anybody else in this RPM range? I'll hit 3,000 when I'm accelerating, but not much more than that.

Oil sender socket, huh? Learn something everyday. I'll look into that, thanks.

I remember someone saying there was a switch on the back of some tachs... maybe.. idk..