[DougJ]

Hi all, first post here. I asked this question on another board and no one seemed to know anything about it, so here's your chance to shine!

Can I swap a newer gage cluster with tach and all engine instruments into my 1996 tacoma? It's just got a speedo, fuel and temp gages. This truck has a standard odometer rather than the digital that comes on the later trucks, are there compatibility issues there? I can do the swap myself and should be able to have a shop adust the new ODO to the current milage if it's a digital and the wiring is compatable.

Sound workable?

Thanks, Doug

 

[wslytoy]

gauge swap

Hi all, first post here. I asked this question on another board and no one seemed to know anything about it, so here's your chance to shine!

Sound workable?

Thanks, Doug

Won't work, sorry man! The wiring isn't compatible, and plus the speed sensor is different on the 98's and up, I believe it starts in 98. The 95.5-97 have a mechnical speedo as where the newer trucks have an electrical speedo. Sorry to bust your bubble! Peace, Wes

 

[spidiracer]

I was wondering why i got a ticking sound in my cluster... i have a 97 and the speedo cable must be loose or something... its driving me crazy!

 

[wslytoy]

speedo cable

I was wondering why i got a ticking sound in my cluster... i have a 97 and the speedo cable must be loose or something... its driving me crazy!

that's pretty weird, you might wanna get a new cable, I'm sure that'll be fun puttin in,haha!

 

[97TacoDude]

I was wondering why i got a ticking sound in my cluster... i have a 97 and the speedo cable must be loose or something... its driving me crazy!

I have something lose behind my dash too. It's annoying to the point where I'm ready to take it apart to investigate. It sounds like a wire slapping into plastic or something of the like.

 

[DougJ]

Sound

Thanks for the info guys, I'd like to have some engine gages so I'll try to figure something out...

As far as odd sounds from back there, if the frequency of the sound is related to speed it's probably the cable. On my '89 (which is now my daughters) I had that problem several years ago and just lubed the cable. It's not hard to do at all. If I remember correctly I took the cable loose top and bottom, made a little funnel and taped it to the cable up top, and poured in some lube. After it sat for a little while I had lube dripping out at the bottom.

Quiet as can be and has stayed that way for years now. You're working up under tha dash, but it's not hard. You do have to be careful not to make a mess though! I think I was planning on using some cable lube for my motorcycles, but ended up just using motor oil.

Hope that helps!

Doug

 

[ByrdDog20]

Doug,

YES, you can swap out your cluster, I've done it three times. You need to find a cluster with mechanical odometer like yours, it should also come out of a truck with the same engine you have. Take your time finding the right one and it is a breeze, just remove one and replace with the new one.

After you track down the new one, take it to a speedo shop and have the mileage adjusted to match your truck.

Like I say, piece of cake. I wouldn't drive one without the tach and temp.

Good luck

 

[wslytoy]

gauge swap

Doug,

YES, you can swap out your cluster, I've done it three times. You need to find a cluster with mechanical odometer like yours, it should also come out of a truck with the same engine you have. Take your time finding the right one and it is a breeze, just remove one and replace with the new one.

After you track down the new one, take it to a speedo shop and have the mileage adjusted to match your truck.

Like I say, piece of cake. I wouldn't drive one without the tach and temp.

Good luck

I didn't mean he couldn't do it period, from what I gathered, he wanted to add a newer,97-04, digital gauge, which can't be done at a reasonable cost or amount of time!

 

[DougJ]

Ahhh, you guys are both right, and I appreciate the input. I figured the same year (or type) would be straightforward, but I was thinking about the newer type just for ease of resetting the ODO. I've never had it done, but I have talked with someone that had a mechanical speedo replace and the solution for the milage mismatch was just paperwork, no actual matching new ODO to actual milage. Does it matter? Yeah, it does to me. For resale and just to be straight I would want the thing right.

ByrdDog20, you've had no problems with resetting a mechanical ODO? I'll have to ask around, if that's an option then my problem is solved.

Thanks guys
Doug

 

[spidiracer]

Well I'm gonna try lubing the cable this week then... drives me crazy... I'm glad i'm not the only one with the problem though, lol. Sad thing is i had the dash apart a few weeks ago to clean some spilled soda in the vents (they dont move when covered with pop) thanks to the previous owner, should of done it then.
With the new gauges. (if its mechanical) couldn't you just run it til it was the same mileage as your current truck and pop it in? Or is that a bad idea...

 

[ByrdDog20]

I took mine to Houston Speedometer, they charged somewhere around $100 to reset it. Worth the money to not have to explain the mileage diff to the next owner. Otherwise a plug and play operation. I have no idea how you would reset a digital odometer. I do know they do not reset themselves to what the ECM has for mileage. Wink-wink.