SR5 Instrument Cluster Swap
For 1984-88 Toyota Pickups and 1984-89 4Runners
This page assumes you have already located and purchased a compatible SR5 Cluster.
Step 1: Install the Oil Pressure Sender CAUTION: Hooking up the gauge without swapping out the "dummy light" sender for the pressure sender could damage your oil pressure gauge. If you simply must put the gauge cluster in first, unplug the wire going to the sender. DO NOT turn the key to "ON" until you have done so. As for installing the new sender, simply unscrew the old one, and screw in the new one. A good time to do this would be during an oil change, since you will lose some oil otherwise. The wire slides onto the new sender sideways, instead of straight on, like the original. |
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Step 2: Adjust the Odometer Legal
Disclaimer: The first thing to do is carefully detach the white cluster casing from the lens assembly where the black plastic meets it. Gently slide out the tabs, and set the lens/black plastic piece aside. Next, remove the speedometer assembly from the instrument cluster. To do this, turn the cluster over, being careful not to damage |
| the now-exposed needles on the face. Remove the four (4) screws pictured at right (click the thumbnail for a full sized image) and carefully lift out the speedometer assembly from the front. Turn it over and look at the back, pictured below. To adjust the reading, slide the bar (red arrows) out, and rotate the individual "barrels." It will be necessary to slide the barrels apart to adjust them independently of one another, and so re-inserting the bar wont change it back to the original reading. Using your thumbnails or a small, flat head screwdriver works well. After you have achieved the desired value, re-insert the rod, making sure it catches the small clips between the number barrels. Drop the speedometer assembly back into the cluster, put the screws back in, and pop the lens |  |
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back on. Another method I have heard of for adjusting the odometer is to swap over the number barrel from your previous cluster. This requires removing the needle and face from the cluster, unscrewing the old number barrel, and screwing in the previous one. I personally could not get the needle off without breaking it, so I did it using the first method. This other method disassembles the odometer so much you may as well just disengage the gears and adjust it anyway, but that is just my 2¢. |
Step 3: Remove the old cluster To remove the old cluster, first remove the instrument cluster "bonnet." To do this, remove the five (5) screws holding it on. Two (2) on either side of the steering column, two (2) above the cluster itself, and one (1) on the leftmost side of the dashboard, visible only with the driver's door open. Remove these screws, then lift the bonnet up and towards you. Disconnect the "Clutch Start Cancel" button (manual) or the "ECT" (automatic) button, and set the bonnet aside. The old cluster is now exposed, and it is held in by four (4) screws, one at each corner. Remove these, and reach behind it and unplug |
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the three (3) wiring harnesses, and the speedometer cable. After this is done, the old cluster can be removed and set aside. |
| At right: Cluster mounting screw locations, circled in red. |  |
Step 4: Run the wire for the tachometer First, I must confess that this writeup is based on my install on my 1987 XtraCab DLX, which was completely painless, which I'm told this process can be anything but. I was lucky enough to be able to just plug in the cluster and have everything work, you may not be so lucky. If at all possible, I HIGHLY recommend getting a cluster from your same model year. My truck came from the factory wired for a tachometer, yours may not have. Circled in red in the picture at right is the connecter for the wire coming off the coil, where the tachometer hooks up. As the picture shows, I simply jammed one end of some wire in it, and ran the wire |
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through the firewall where the hood cable runs through also. I then pulled the wire up behind the dashboard, up to where the cluster sits. Of the three (3) wire harnesses that you unplugged from the old cluster, the leftmost one (blue on mine) is where the tachometer connection is. I ran the wire through the harness at the appropriate point (see picture at left), stripped off about 5/8 inches of insulation, twisted it and doubled it over, then pulled it back into the connector. Homemade, yes, but it works perfectly, and no trouble yet. |
Step 5: Install the new cluster! Finally, you can install the new cluster. Plug in the wiring harnesses and speedometer cable (NOTE: the speedo cable is notorious for being a #@&*% to get back in - you WILL cut up your hands), and screw the cluster into place. Replace the bonnet (I did this AFTER I made sure everything worked) and you are done, hopefully. At this point, I made sure the backlighting and all the other lights worked first, turn signals, brights, e-brake, seat belt, 4WD, etc. Then I started the engine, and took it for a test drive to check out the tach. |
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Links
4x4wire.com's TrailTalk Forums - Do a search on SR5 Gauge Cluster
SR5 Gauge Cluster Swap FAQ - Self explanatory
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My truck: About as bone-stock as it gets (give me a break, I'm a poor college student) Mostly go wheeling on the beaches around Arcata/Eureka, California, where Humboldt State University is. It's a good diversion between classes, when I should be doing my homework. It's all the wheeling I have time for, sadly. In 15 years: never broken down, never left us stranded, never failed to start - your typical Toyota product. |