After months of searching at my local Pick & Pull, I finally found an excellent condition factory cluster with tach. The one I had in my truck until now is also one I found at the junkyard from an older ('84?) truck, but the factory tach only works when it feels like it, and lately that's been hardly ever at all.

For some reason, even though the truck is loaded with literally every option that I know of, it didn't come with a tach. What determined if a truck got a tach?

Anyways, while swapping clusters I noticed the coolant temp gauge is different. I have the difference highlighted in the photos below. The old one had a narrower "normal" range for the coolant temp, while the new one, normal is right off the "C" mark. I'm wondering why this is, if this is an engine specific thing, year of cluster... anyone know?

I have green 168 bulbs with the factory blue things removed and it looks excellent at night. I also painted the dials red with a permanent marker (didn't have orange) and it turned out decent. I tried painting them on my last cluster, but I just don't have a steady enough hand. Magic marker was FAR easier and the results just as good IMO.

This new cluster is in darn good shape, almost as if it were NOS. I feel like the gauges are more accurate, even though it does exhibit the ICVR problem with wandering gauges, but nowhere near as bad as the old one. The oil gauge is no longer pegged up at (H) like it used to be, it's actually seemingly indicative of oil pressure now-- nice and high when cold, and drops down toward center at a warm idle. And low and behold the tach works 100% now. The old tach taking vacation whenever it felt like it was driving me nuts.

Lastly on my searches through the boneyard, I noticed some clusters are a little different in that the turn signal is moved closer to center, and the signal indicator is more of like a "long line" (for lack of better description) instead of a short arrow like my newer cluster. I kind of like that line indicator better (or just want to be different, perhaps?)-- Is there any way to swap out just the plastic film with the indicator, or does the whole bezel have to swap?

Does anyone have a picture of the indicator lights on this weird (maybe 1980 or old style?) cluster? I'd be curious to see the difference with the lights lit... Otherwise I might try using a drill battery on a junkyard cluster to see the difference.

Are any of the other indicator lights different between the years? Any other info you folks could add about the different cluster variations would be most helpful.

Here's pics showing the difference in cooling temp gauge, and also a bigger pic of the cluster showing red dials and overall condition of cluster. I was very surprised to see this nice cluster just sitting on the floorboard of a mid 80's Bullnose. The truck I found it in had it's own cluster still in it, so this one is an orphan cluster, thus I have no way of knowing what it came out of. Someone already did all the hard work pulling it out, I literally just had to grab it and pay for it

(Old cluster, believe it's from an '84)


("New" cluster, not sure what year, maybe '85?)


("New" cluster in truck)

 

I almost want to say a tach came if it was a 4x4. I've never seen a 2WD truck with one that I can remember. Seeing as yours is a 4x4 though, this seems incorrect. I'm reading that there was apparently something called a "Sports instrumentation" option that included the resettable trip meter and the tach. This would coincide with my build just below, seeing as I have both.

For years I thought the tach was standard equipment until I joined here.

Mine was a moderately optioned base model F250. Factory 6,000rpm tach, trip meter, hood light, door pockets, C6 auto, 300 I6, and 4WD.


This is my cluster. Original, untampered, February 1985 cluster.



I would say the one you swapped in was at least earlier than 1984.


From what I am gathering on the net, the letters under the gauge went from red to white around 81-82, then the "C" got closer to the line around 84.

 

The sales brochure for any given year has everything you ever wanted to know about what was available as options.

 

Tachs, and the accompanying trip odometers, were an option and had nothing to do with 2wd, 4wd, or the Tim level like Custom or Lariat. And, there were some differences like you've seen with the gauges, but I don't know why they changed nor if it was only in the face/scale.

As for the high beam indicator, I've read that the 80 trucks had one that was so bright it was painful, although I've not seen one myself.

 

Well, my 1980 has white lettering under the gauges...I believe my gauges are original, although I can't know that for certain. Perhaps red lettering was part of the sport instrumentation package? I do have the large gap on the temperature gauge, however.

And to Gary's comment about the high-beam indicator...mine is extremely bright, although I wouldn't describe it as painfully so. But I can see why they redesigned it for 1981.

 

Perhaps the person that thought it painful was like me - needing cataract removal. Bright headlights at night have gotten to the point they are painful - which is why I've started the countdown to surgery.

 

I can easily believe someone with eye issues would have difficulty with it. It was particularly annoying to me the first time I drove it at night after my LASIK.

 

My '80 original cluster did not come with a tach, in fact it had idiot lights even being a Ranger Lariat. It also did not have a gap on the temp gauge, nor has any of them until yours that I can remember. The high beam indicator was bright and the signal indicators were scooted one spot toward the center in 1980 only, one change made in the printed circuit and one in the pinning of the plug. The first replacement cluster and bezel came from an '84 with a tach, and the second from an '86 with a tach. Guess what? The tachs are made different too, and the older one worked better for me.

 

I've actually been thinking about moving the turn signals in a notch as the steering wheel blocks my view from them in the current position. So, that was the way they were in '80?

 

I agree that further toward center was the better position. My steering wheel blocks my indicators and it's annoying because I won't be able to tell if I've left my turn signal on.

So no-one knows why the temp gauge changed? Looking at both of mine, the C did not move, the first hash mark left of normal did.

I may have to buy a 1980 cluster and play around with it. I'd like to see the turn signal indicator lit, the icon looked different then the later ones.