Dash interchangability and cruise brackets

[97obxwhite]

OK, I got 2 questions (1) Will the dash assembly from a 99 4.8L truck plug right into a 97 4.2L truck, and (2) Does anyone know where I can find the brackets for the cruise control cable that attach to the intake manifold (also holds the throttle cable)and the nub that the cable attaches to on the throttle body (both for 97 4.2L). Any help is appreciated.

[97obxwhite]

Anybody got any info on this?

[KingRanchMan02]

Hello 97obxwhite and welcome to FTE! Sorry no one has responded to you until now.

When you say "dash assembly" do you mean the entire dash from door to door, or just the instrument cluster? My guess is that you want the tachometer from the `99 model. First of all a V-8 tachometer won't operate correctly on a V-6 engine. Secondly, your `97 F-150 will not have PATS (passive anti-theft system) and the `99 might. PATS is evident by a flashing "theft" light in the cluster. This may make the cluster incompatible also.

You should be able to pick up the brackets that you need at a scrap yard pretty easily.

[97obxwhite]

Thanks for the info. I actually was referring to the whole assembly. I am in the process of putting power windows on this truck and the doors are from the 99. I understand that the newer truck has the PATS system and if need be I will put the old inst. cluster in the new dash. My main concern was whether I can just plug the old cluster in or if I need to switch some of the wiring over as well.

[KingRanchMan02]

In that case, I doubt that it will plug in directly. Doesn't your `97 have an anaolog odometer and the `99 a digital one? Besides that, with `97 being the first iteration of the body style, I am sure that a 2 year newer model would have considerable updates on the wiring harness behind the dash. You know what they say, "where there's a will, there's a way". Good luck!

[97obxwhite]

ok, thanks for your help. I think i might as well just pull them out and mess with it and see if i can get them to work.