Gauge cluster swap. XJ cluster into my MJ

[Backroads]

Got a cluster from what had a build date of 89, to swap into my 86 with dummy lights.

 

Everything was good except the speedo cable is different where it connects to the back of the speedo gauge. I didn't really pay attention to that at the JY or I would have known better! On mine its a metal tab that locks the cable in place, on the new one its got a ring groove around it, and from pics I've seen it has plastic tab on it that locks it into place. Without doing major modification to my truck (don't care about the cluster) is there any way to make it work?

 

I also thought of just swapping the old gauge into my newer cluster, but the bolt holes are different and the gauge doesnt sit in it right! Thanks for any advice.

[Backroads]

nevermind! Little digging and I found Eagle on naxja saying just what I suspected.

 

eagle:

 

There were two styles with full instruments and mechanical speedos. I haven't been able to verify if the change was mid-year in the 1987 model run, or if the change came with the introduction of the 1988 model run. If you have an '88, a cluster from an '88, '89 or '90 should fit. Beware of anyone saying a cluster fits '87 thru '90, because it doesn't work that way.

 

Get a flashlight and perhaps a mirror and stick your head up under your dashboard. What you're looking for is the connection from the speedo cable to the speedo. If it has a metal push-on sleeve with a thin black metal retaining clip, that's a "Type I" speedo (basically the 1987 style). If the speedo cable ends in a white nylon push-on connector with NO retainer clip, that's a Type II cluster for 1988 thru 1990.

 

Everything else is interchangeable and the electrical connections will plug in. Either one requires replacing the oil pressure and coolant temperature senders if you're going from idiot lights to full gauges. You can make either cluster work in the "wrong" year by replacing the speedo cable.

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