'92 cluster swapped to '94-WITH PICS

[xequar]

Hello

So like the title says, I decided to spruce up the dash a bit. The hockey stick gauges, although they looked kinda retro-neat, just kinda sucked as actual gauges. I got the cluster from a '94, and then I got one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360129617574&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=. They're white gauge faces, with the speedometer numbers in Metric. For me, I don't care if it's in metric, and it was $18 plus shipping.

I decided to first do the face swap on the new cluster, which involved pulling the needles off, pulling off the old faces, adding new foam cutouts so the warning lights wouldn't bleed into each other, and then putting everything back together with the new white face. BAD IDEA! Despite my best efforts, I still got the needles messed up. With the cluster just in your hand, you can move the gauges super easily, so while I had the needles off, everything kinda went somewhere else. If I were to do this again, I would get the cluster installed, start the van, note where everything was, pull the cluster out and switch everything, then put the cluster back in and reinstall the needles again with the engine running. Otherwise, although everything looks good, once you turn on the key with it connected, you'll realize what a horrible horrible mistake you've made.

The speed needle was the trickiest. It turns out that when you turn on the key, the speedometer actually "primes" itself and moves the needle about 7-8 mph. But, with the needle resting on the peg, you normally don't see that motion. I found in order to get the speedometer needle back to proper position, I had to actually put it below the peg, then kinda bend it to move it to the proper side of the peg.

As for the actual cluster swap in the van, that was easy. The '94 cluster was a direct fit and direct connection, so it literally was just "plug and play." The surrounding dash trim is held in by five screws, two at the bottom, two right above where the top of the cluster is, and one behind the climate controller. The climate controller is held in by two screws at the bottom.

I had troubles getting everything disconnected from the climate controller, so I wound up just kind of twisting the panel around it to get it out of the way.



The connections for the Panel Dimmer switch and the Lights switch remove very easily, so I pulled those to allow me to move the dash.



Once I got the dash surround trim panel out of the way, it was literally just four screws holding in the cluster.



Once I got everything out, like I said, it's literally plug and play. The new cluster fits right into the spot vacated by the hockey stick gauges, and the connections match up perfectly. I just pushed the new cluster into place and bolted it back in.





The pointer for the gear indicator is just a thin cable that gets pulled by the steering column as you shift. In order to remove/install, move the shifter all the way to 1 and look on the left of the column. The little clip just pops off. As far as the pointer itself, mine was off (it was between N and oD in oD), so I found a random spot where there was a loop for me to use a bread tie. I then looped the bread tie around the cable for the pointer, and tied it tightly enough to take extra slack out of the cable. So now, my pointer is spot on. I suppose if one really were patient and wanted to experiment, one could try to simply install the new clip further up on the column. But, since it's stretched out and there's not a lot of clearance, I decided to just jury-rig it instead of futzing with the clip. Sorry, I didn't get a pic at that point.

Oh, and here's what they look like at night.




Of course, like I said before, once I got them in, I had to mess around with the needles about 20 times to get them right, and I think my speedometer might still be off my 1-2 mph. Moral of the story, kids, is that if you decide to do a face swap, make sure the thing is installed and powered up so you know where the needles go when you try to put them back!. But at the very least, it really is an easy swap (especially if you're just doing cluster to cluster), and I'm really happy with them, and no more goofy hockey-sticks!

[Matrixx]

Hi xequar

That is an excellent write up with pictures, X.
I really like that color. The blue has a very nice appeal to it at night time.

I'm sure others planning this mod. will definitely benefit from your write up for sure. Thanks.

[fede]

Thanks for the write up, Ive thought about doing this before too. But in a way i kinda like the hockey puck style gauges. They might look goofy but i think there unique. I never seen gauges like those on any other car. But i do really like how your guages turned out. Especially at night! Thanks!

[xequar]

Thanks guys!

As an update...

Be careful with the climate controller, or figure out how to disconnect everything and pull it out when you do this. I apparently kinda broke mine, as this morning it started hissing and I now have no heat.

[Farmer]

would swapping in newer guages be an option for my 86, I don't like the factory ones

[astro355]

Absolutely, it just depends on how much work you want to do.

[CaptSquid]

Shoulda added the Tools Needed.

[stoneground1]

Hey all,
I just did the same thing about 2 weeks ago. Went to the U-Pull,U-Pay place here in Albuquerque and got a 94' cluster
for $16. Nice and easy swap. Except i did the same thing with the needles. I took the cluster all apart to give it a
good cleaning. Well when i put it back in the needles went haywire. After about 10 min. though i finally got them all
back in order. Also my speedometer is probably about 2-4mph off. I didn't really take any pics other than before and
afters. Peace!!!!

Another thing about doing a cluster swap though is the mileage. I'm not sure if you did this X but it is quite a pain in the **s!
I really should have took pics of this cause it was tedious!! And as we are all aware it is highly illegal to roll back your
odometer. I didn't roll back. Actually i added about 1000 miles. lol If you don't get the numbers right the first time you
have to start all over again. And let me tell you it is not fun!!! So i sacrificed 1k miles for my sanity!! As you can see in the
pics from the old to the new. But hey when i get a new engine i will have to do this all over again.

Quick question. Has anyone ever pulled out the interior of a 97' and put it in say a 92'. I found one out at the U-Pull,U-Pay
place and it actually matches my grey and blue interior. And the windows are the same.(angled) The headliner is in mint
condition and has the cutouts for the overhead console i bought out there like a year ago. Just thought i'd ask. Peace!!

[xequar]

would swapping in newer guages be an option for my 86, I don't like the factory ones

My understanding is that the '85-'88 clusters are cable-driven, and that '89-'94 are electronically driven and quite interchangable. So, yeah, you could do it, but it wouldn't be a direct plug-and-play swap.


As far as other questions...

Tools needed
#2 Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the dash trim and climate controller
a 1/4" socket, preferably one you can use with a screwdriver, or a socket with a long extension, to remove the four bolts that hold the actual cluster in place
(1) twist-tie (if you need to "correct" the transmission gear pointer)
IF you do a face-swap, a golf divot removal tool or similar helps with removing the needles

the mileage thing
I actually didn't monkey around with the mileage at all. I thought about trying to swap the actual number dials from one cluster to the other to maintain my odometer reading, but I decided it wasn't worth it. The previous owner put small tires on my van, so the odometer's already wrong, for starters. But the bigger part of it for me is because my van's over ten years old, it's exempt from odometer reporting laws in Michigan. So, right now my odometer shows 219,xxx miles, but in actually it has 147,xxx miles. If I opt to sell the van (looking more and more likely now that I am seeing just how much rust there is), I'll swap the original cluster back into it (since I believe having km/h as the primary numbers would put off potential buyers) and tell potential buyers that the odometer's wrong and explain why. If I keep the van, then the only person who'll care about the odometer is me.


Some new info
Since I now have a few weeks on this swap, there are a couple of additional tidbits I've noticed.

First, when you put the needles back on the cluster, DO NOT push them on too far! Otherwise your speedometer (and other gauges) will not move smoothly (or will just plain get stuck occasionally).

Second-IF you are doing a face-swap and need to remove the needles, this is how to get the speedometer back to its original location. Remove the plastic shield off of the new cluster, but DO NOT touch the needles yet. Use a pair of needle-nosed pliers and REMOVE the peg at the "bottom" of the speedometer (the one the needle rests on at 0). DO NOT touch the needles yet. You'll note that the speed needle can now flop down below 0. This is good. Install the cluster and then start the van, drive it a bit and get it to operating temperature. Once you've done that, with the van STILL RUNNING, take very very very very (yes, I wrote that four times) careful notes of where all of the needles are pointing (and the speed needle will likely be below where the peg stopper used to be).

Once you've taken very very careful notes of where the needles were, then go ahead and remove them. After you've finished and are ready to replace the needles, get the van back to operating temperature and then, again with the van running, use your notes from before to get the needles back to location.

Yes, I kinda went on about that before, but it's worth repeating. The speedometer actually sort of "primes" itself when you turn on the key. Normally you'd never see that movement because the needle is resting on that peg. But, if you remove that peg, you can see the movement and where the needle would be if not for the peg.

[CaptSquid]

What about the odometer?

[xequar]

What about the odometer?

I would also be curious as to how Stoneground1 managed to get his odometer reasonably close to the original. Like I said, I didn't mess with mine because it wasn't that important to me and vehicles over 10 years old are mileage-exempt in Michigan (the Secretary of State won't even put an odometer reading on the title if the vehicle's more than 10 years old, even if it's provided).

[jinmajay]

He added miles right?

Cordless drill with speed on 3 and a hex bit.

[stoneground1]

Actually i did by hand. Tedious work. I took out the number wheel and rolled each number in order. Like i said it's a pain because if you don't get it right the first time you have to start all over. I got it close but not on target. Practice makes perfect huh.

[Lumpy]

Hey xequar -

Could you shed any light on the manufacturer/vendor/model number for the
white face thingie? The eBay link is expired.

Nice job indeed. I'd like to find a similar white face and non-hockey stick
for my 89.

Thanks -


Lumpy