tachometer questions 3.0 '92 ranger

[J_L_K_64]

so i have a 1992 ford ranger, 3.0L, V6, automatic transmission, 2WD, that does not have a tachometer, and i was wanting to do some customizations, one being switching out the OE guages for an aftermarket set, and i was curious can i install a tach even though there isn't one now? and if so where could i purchase a decent one and would they include instructions or where could i find instructions?

i'm wanting to do some more "upgrades" as well, like switiching out the original air intake and getting something like a cold air intake setup, and getting a lower valance that includes fog lights, and a tonneau cover (for better gas milage) and such things

 

[graff104]

You can wire up aftermarket tach gauges pretty simply on the '92 I believe. (someone correct me if I am wrong)

You could use a stock cluster from a 91-92 that already has a tach.(earlier ones MAY work but later won't) Its even very simple to switch your odometer over if you want to keep accurate millage. Also a great time to upgrade to colored led bulbs

You have a stock cold air intake no use wasting your money on one. Thats how I feel anyways. Some people feel different, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

Fog lights is a very easy upgrade. I highly recommend it even though i haven't got around to it yet I know several that have and am a little jealous.

If your wanting to increase fuel millage I would look into underdrive pulleys search around there is alot of info on them for the 3.0.

 

[J_L_K_64]

to put in a tachometer, do i need to do any kind of drilling or anything through the firewall? or would it be something extremely simple like a bolt on thing?

i'm not too worried about keeping EXACT milage, but i'm thinking that my stock is pretty close, if not dead on, but were you meaning switching it over to electronic?

about those colored led bulbs, do i need to upgrade the wiring or anything, i mean, do they draw more power than regular bulbs, i've read somewhere that you should upgrade wiring ig you're goign to switch your headlights to leds but i'm not sure about the guages bulbs though

i wanted to switch out the air intake stuff mainly because my ranger runs kinda rough, and i was thinking it was because of it not getting enough air into the engine, was also thinking of maybe getting a cowl induction hood for that purpose as well, trying to get some of the heat out of the engine area

been wanting to get a new lower valance and fog lights for the longest, and from what i understand it should be a pretty simple deal, probably like a half days work or something, but that would be later on, for looks mostly, but sometimes we do get some pretty thick fog around here (iowa)

and i've never heard of anythign about underdrive pulleys, i'll have to look around and find out about those

edit^ just read some about the underdrive pulleys, sounds like a great idea, but from what i've read, the increases seem kinda small, for my situation, i'm not convinced it would be worth it though, i just drive around in town and maybe drive about 10 miles every other day, or every 3 days


thanks for the pointers, appreciate the help

 

[scotts90ranger]

figure out when in '92 yours was made, that will determine what year cluster you need to use. '89 to early '92 are the same and mid '92 to '94 are the same, other than that the non tach to tach cluster swap is super easy and the cleanest tach install possible, aftermarket tachs are tacky mounted on the dash or steering column. I believe there's a writeup I did a long time ago about the cluster swap, you simply dissassemble both clusters and use your old speedometer and even your odometer is correct...

 

[J_L_K_64]

cool, if it's going to be easy i'll love it, lol, but i have to go find out the exact month and all that, not too sure right now, but no, i was not going to to do the dash mounted or colum mounted tach, that's one of the worst thigns you could do to the interior, at least in my opinion, and i'll have to go looking for your write up to after i find out the date it was made

just went to look at the date, and it tells me that is was made on 6/92

i was looking around on ebay, and i'm wondering, could i just swap out my old cluster that has no tachometer, and get this one that does have a tachometer?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPEE...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

what i mean is, could i just take out my original one, plug in this one then go?

 

[graff104]

yep its a simple pug and play. You can even switch out the speedometer panel to keep your stock millage.

The leds are plug and play also. There is a very good thread in the interior section about them. I got blue and love them!

 

[snake]

He meant plug and PRAY...

 

[graff104]

He meant plug and PRAY...

Yeah mine didn't work the first try... Turns out i messed up the plug part.

 

[J_L_K_64]

He meant plug and PRAY...

hahaha, yeah, when it comes to accessory electrical things i'm pretty good at those, like putting in steroes, aftermarket speakers, underlighting, stuff that really shouldn't be on a truck or car basically, lol this is all totally new to me though and i'm trying to get it figured out before i even attempt it, i wanna know how to do it before i actually do it

but i'm wanting to put in a tach on this truck because when it shifts from 1st into 2nd and 2nd into 3rd it tries to overrev, kinda like it gets stuck at the highend of the gear and doesn't want to go into the next gear, and i'm wanting to see at which point this happens, the rpm's it gets stuck in

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'd go for a '93/94 cluster, but if it doesn't work, go with a '89-91 cluster, if you get it from a junk yard they should let you swap, I had to the first time I did mine as the first one was broken...

 

[graff104]

If you look at them they have the warning lights in slightly different places. Just remember where yours are when you go to the junkyard. Mine seems to rev really high also. Gets all the way up to the redline at 5k then hangs for a second or so then shifts.

 

[J_L_K_64]

cool, thanks for the advice everyone, really appreciate it

i'm thinking of just ordering a cluster from an aftermarket magazine i have, one that's white during the daytime, and black at nite, only the numbers and needles show (fairly cheap too, $100-$125 overall)


and yeah mine does get pretty high in the RPMs (not sure exactly how high though) then finally shifts to the next gear


somethign like this but for a ranger (couldn't find the exact picture, but this is close)