glundblad Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I recently finished swaping my gauge cluster in order to get a tach. It went it pretty easily except when I tried to adjust the odometer. When I attempted that, I screwed it up and the odometer got stuck. So I bought another cluster and decided to leave the odometer at the incorrect reading. Now that I have done that, I wonder if I have greatly depreciated the value of the truck. The new cluster odometer reads 165,000 miles. The truck really has 85,000 miles on it. The tach is really helpful with my wussie 3.08 gears but I almost wish I didnt do the swap. The truck (a 1987) originally came with the blue letter gauges and I bought red letter gauges. I was curious if anyone has ever seen gauge clusters with blue letters and tach? If they exist, I could put the new blue cluster in with my original speedometer. Then this anal anxiety I am feeling would go away. :shake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdocdave Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 that truck is too nice to read that mileage. its not that hard to fix the odo, if you were close i'd give ya a hand. i have wondered though if you can remove the odometer from your old cluster and swap it into the new cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I did the gauge cluster swap a few weeks ago and had the exact same thought about swapping odometer rolls. Unfortunately the speedometer assemblies are completely different (I disassembled them both...the number font is even a different size) so there's no way you can swap rolls In fact the only part of the cluster assemblies that looks interchangeable is the plastic housing they're all situated in. I rolled my new odo forward to match what was in the truck, from 137K to 196K. I found pulling the trip odo off the assembly and putting the rest in a vise worked fairly well. Pulling the C clip and finding the sweet spot where the numbers will roll is a PITA though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I have never seen a cluster without a tach that had red lettering, and I've never seen a cluster with a tach that had blue. It's a shame, though, as I like the blue lettering better, as well as the speedometer being ticked every mile instead of every 2.5 miles. But I like having a tach better. I just wish I could have the best of both worlds, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 You can swap the whole speedo assy over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 why can't you pull the speed-o gear out of the transfercase put the cable in a drill and spin it until it hits 0 again and wind it up to 85000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 The truck (a 1987) originally came with the blue letter gauges and I bought red letter gauges. I was curious if anyone has ever seen gauge clusters with blue letters and tach? If they exist, I could put the new blue cluster in with my original speedometer. Then this anal anxiety I am feeling would go away. They DO exist. There is one at my local u-pull yard. It was in an '84 2DR XJ (Limited?) 2.8L. Blue full gauge tach cluster... I discovered it after it did the cluster swap. I retained my original blue speedo/odo and the rest is red/different font from the donor... Not sure if it will work??? hmm... EDIT: Wrong year... 1984 XJ not 86 Is the wiring compatible anyone??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well I grabbed the blue cluster from the JY: It was out of a 1984 Cherokee Chief 2dr 2.8L V6 4x4 Command Trac Unfortunately, I could not swap my speedo because it is mounted differently, same goes for the tach, unable to swap either way. Looking closer at it, it would seem that someone with some electrical knowledge (i have little) could figure out how to make it work. It is pretty neat though. Here is my current gauge setup: While playing with all three gauge sets, I figured out that I could swap my original temp, oil press and voltmeter into the tach cluster. At least i'm looking at mostly blue old school font gauges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 why can't you pull the speed-o gear out of the transfercase put the cable in a drill and spin it until it hits 0 again and wind it up to 85000? I thought about that but I remember a kid doing that from high school. The high speed drill caused the speedo to run at only 60mph. That would take quite awhile. I assume these odometers would be the same way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 You can swap the whole speedo assy over. Yea, I thought about doing that but then the speedo would not match the rest of the gauge cluster. I don't think I would like that too well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well I grabbed the blue cluster from the JY: It was out of a 1984 Cherokee Chief 2dr 2.8L V6 4x4 Command Trac Unfortunately, I could not swap my speedo because it is mounted differently, same goes for the tach, unable to swap either way. Looking closer at it, it would seem that someone with some electrical knowledge (i have little) could figure out how to make it work. It is pretty neat though. Here is my current gauge setup: While playing with all three gauge sets, I figured out that I could swap my original temp, oil press and voltmeter into the tach cluster. At least i'm looking at mostly blue old school font gauges. That looks pretty good. I will need to keep an eye out for one of those. I didnt realize blue gauges with a tach existed. I have a 6 cyl engine and I think you will need to do something to the tach to get it to read properly for the 6 but I am not sure. If I can only find a 4 cyl tach, perhaps I could even swap the face of the tach with blue face and then put my old speedo in? Other than the 4 cyl verses 6 cyl issue, I am not sure why you feel it won't work. It looks like the same wiring configuration that I have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well I grabbed the blue cluster from the JY: It was out of a 1984 Cherokee Chief 2dr 2.8L V6 4x4 Command Trac They DO exist.... Now that I know they are out there, I want one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 You can swap the whole speedo assy over. Yea, I thought about doing that but then the speedo would not match the rest of the gauge cluster. I don't think I would like that too well. I gotcha. I didn't realize there were different colored gauges. My 88 and the replacement are both black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetjeep2.5 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Just picked up a blue gauge cluster in Redmond, Oregon (near Bend) at Brads U Pull it section. (Here on vacation and my mother-in-laws). Came out of a 4.0 cherokee. They have, as of yesterday, a comanche 4x2 4.0 short box, (89, I think) Standard trans. Fairly picked over, but I think the body was in decent shape. Not much to rust a body in this area. Don't know what you might get it for if you need spare parts and you live in Central Oregon. I got two sets of front signal lights and this cluster for $22.00. :brows: I am saving it as a "spare". The tripometer is missing, though, and looks like it goes through the clear cover in a different spot than the red gauge one I put in my 87 manche. If'n anyone has a spare tripometer out of one of these clusters, I would be VERY interested! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Other than the 4 cyl verses 6 cyl issue, I am not sure why you feel it won't work. It looks like the same wiring configuration that I have? This cluster came from a V6 Cherokee, the old GM 2.8L, so in theory the tach should work with a 4.0 I6. The cluster is also made in the USA. Interestingly, all later clusters are copies of the shell and made in Japan. IMO the new font gauges really don't fit the old style of our trucks, which is why some of us desire the "old blue" font. Yes, the two electrical plugs in the back are identical in configuration to my 88. However the speedo cable was the metal clip type (mine is plastic) and the speedo cluster housing itself is not moulded to fit my 88 speedo. I looked at just doing a face swap but they are riveted on the old cluster, plus the tach sweep is different so there would be accuracy issues. Hmm, I should just plug it into my truck and see what happens with the rest of the gauges... I just get alittle nervous with all this reconnecting and disconnecting of my plastic speedo cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Scored an old school font, full gauge cluster. I pulled it from a 1987 XJ 4.0L... Plug and play :cheers: It would seem that only MY 1987 had the right wiring with old school font. :cheers: If any one is in the Mobile, AL area and needs a D44, the 1987 XJ w/ 109k miles on it at Barry-U-Pull-It has one, it has the tow package and 242 so probably 3.73 gears, front axle is gone though... If I didn't already have my 97 8.25 i'd be all over it. $90 out the door at Barrys for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinSoldier Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I recently finished swaping my gauge cluster in order to get a tach. It went it pretty easily except when I tried to adjust the odometer. When I attempted that, I screwed it up and the odometer got stuck. So I bought another cluster and decided to leave the odometer at the incorrect reading. Now that I have done that, I wonder if I have greatly depreciated the value of the truck. The new cluster odometer reads 165,000 miles. The truck really has 85,000 miles on it. The tach is really helpful with my wussie 3.08 gears but I almost wish I didnt do the swap. The truck (a 1987) originally came with the blue letter gauges and I bought red letter gauges. I was curious if anyone has ever seen gauge clusters with blue letters and tach? If they exist, I could put the new blue cluster in with my original speedometer. Then this anal anxiety I am feeling would go away. :shake: PM'd you. Just saw this thread. The cluster I have came from a 1987 4.0L Cherokee according to the person I got it from. You saw the picture. Its yours as soon as I can lay my hands on a 1990 full cluster. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiBum1229 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 my 87 Laredo has the blue full gauge cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88XJSport Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Skibum I am jealous of your blue faced full cluster and your GXP. :D Nice list of vehicles. :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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