I have been searching this forum for a couple of days for info on swaping a column and instrument cluster from a 1993 F 150 to a 1995 F 350. I got a 1993 F 150 that had an engine compartment fire for cheap. It has a lot better interior in it than my F 350. It is an XLT and mine is an XL. I am thinking of switching the whole interior over to my 95.

I have the E4OD trans and the 93 has some other auto, maybe an AOD-E, not sure though. Anyway the 93 doesn't have the OD cancel button on the shifter. I really want to switch columns because mine is shot. The shifter feels like it is about to fall off. I have scabbed it back together once and it is getting bad again, and the bearings in the wheel just took a crap. Neither one has the airbag so I don't have to wory about that. Has anyone rewired the OD cancel button to use another type of switch? The dash in the 93 has the buttons for the push-button four wheel drive. Would one of those buttons work?

I have seen references about the instrument clusters that 92-93 ones interchange, 94-95 ones interchange, and 96 ones are on their own. I have also seen in some of the posts that I read that they may be able to be rewired to work. The 93 has a tach cluster and my 95 doesn't. That is why I want to change it. Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can make this change? If not does anyone have a tach cluster that will work with my 95 that they would want to trade for the tach cluster out of the 93 I have?

Sorry this is so long, but I need to know this information before I get started on this project.

Thanks

Steve

 

Assuming the options are the same, the column swaps right over. The 92-96 trucks (and the 97 F250/350) have the same steering column and basic wiring harness, except the 95 and up have ODB stuff shoved into the harness.

I had a later year tach cluster in my 93 for a while, and it worked fine. Others have reported that they are different, and my experience didn't reveal that. Maybe the later year cluster I bought was mislabeled, who knows.

Anyway, the connectors push in just fine, but if you want the older cluster to work for sure in the new truck, you have to pop a few wires out of the connectors and move them around so the idiot lights for ABS and Check Engine and one other I don't recall off the top of my head, work correctly.

The connectors themselves fit though.

 

Frederic, thanks for the reply.

What would be the best way to find out which wires to put where in the plug for the cluster? Would I need a year specific wiring diagram to compare which wire is which?

Steve

 

Yes, you need the wiring diagram of the 93 and the 95. Normally I could look that up and give you the wire colors and positions to move around.... but my web server seemed to have died so... unfortunately I cannot.

The best source of wiring diagrams is "Mitchell". Some libraries have them.... photocopy the interior pages and compare the diagrams side by side, and make a list of what has to move. If I remember correctly its four wires.

 

Great. I can do that. I also read that there might be a problem with a charging issue. Will switching the wires you are talking about fix that if it is a problem. Do you have any input on rewiring the OD cancel button? Does it sound like what I said earlier would work?

Thanks

Steve

 

Can't speak to the wiring difference, etc between the 93 and 95, but I recently added a factory tach to my 95 cluster. I got a cluster from a 95 with tach (engine size doesn't matter) and was able to swap my speedometer section (the cluster actually is a combo of 3 pieces...the two ends differ whether there is a tach or not..but the center speedo section is unchanged and they all basically unplug from the cluster body.) I had been told that you are best to stay with the same model year though because there are wiring differences, but don't know for sure. I couldn't tell whether mileage would be maintained in the cluster or not, so to keep my mileage original, I swapped the center section (speedo and odometer) to be safe but I suppose you could just swap the whole cluster if that isn't important. Otherwise, the plug in was identical and the truck already feeds the tach signal to the cluster even though it never had a tach so there is no modifications needed to make it work. Total job was quick and easy and it works great.

 

Do a search subford had a post of what wire were what . The lights will no be in right places but it will wok for you. ie. the is no airbag light on the 93.

The year break down roughly is 92 -93 ,94-95, 96 - 97 (hd) There r crossovers .

U will have to add wires for air bag (wait the F350 has none. ) Why swap collonm just swap plastics. ETC. Good luck

 

OK as for the gauge cluster, I don't know. But let me help a little on the steering column. I have a 1996 F-250 4X4 with the 7.5 460. My column was in desperate need of being shot. I called ford up and was told that I had to have a steering column for my year and model of truck and that it was going to cost me $1500. I did some research and found out that the dealer was just trying to sell me a new part. Another thing that I was told on a lot of forums and from wrecking yards was that because I had the overdrive button in the shifter that I had to get a column that has one in it. Now here is what happened...

I found a column in a wrecking yard. Get this, it was in a 1987 ford bronco. Also when I got the column home I discovered that if the column does not have the overdrive button in the shifter all you have to do is unbolt your wiring plug off the old column and bolt it to your "new" column.

Hopes this helps anyone who is having column problems.

 

I probably should have phrased it differently. There is a difference in the location of some of the warning lights, etc between the two clusters, so what I actually ended up doing was swapping in a complete tach cluster (including the 'case' with circuit wiring) after having switched my existing speedo into it so all the lights work fine too. The male pigtail from the truck snaps right in. You end up taking all 3 pieces out of the case to do this (the outer ones overlap the edge of the inner speedo one) but this is very easy. Oh, a good idea while apart is to go ahead and check and/or replace all your instrument bulbs while it is apart. Lots easier out than later.

 

Yes, the clusters are different, and a diagram will tell you what the wiring actually is. You can, with a pin, finishing nail, or bent paperclip, remove each wire from all three connectors and move them around so that you've rewired the connectors for the different-year cluster.

Charging is not an issue if you get the wiring right, as the charging light and resistor in parallel will be wired correctly at that point - a necessary part of the charging circuit.

 

Couldn't you just swap the tach into your 95 cluster?

 

I just replaced my '96 non-tach cluster for a '97 cluster with tach. After swapping out the speedo (I like mine that says 341k) the tach cluster went right in. I also have a non-tach cluster from a '93 that I installed while mine was out (I love to experiment) and everything worked fine short of a few burnt bulbs. The "new" cluster is working great. Thanks for the idea. Also, there are some instructions on how to do this swap in the FTE tech area.

To answer the last post, unfortunately no. The cluster casings are different. I was concerned about this but everything is working correctly.

 

with respect to the OD vs non-OD shifter arm, as that's just held in by a knurled pin, you should be able to just take that arm off you current one (with the wiring harness) and slide it in the new column.