Does anybody know if a stock gauge cluster for a 97-03 ford w/ a tach will fit my 97-03 ford w/o a tach? Basicaly i would like to know if i buy one from a junk yard and plug it in, will the tach work??

 

due to the PATS system, FORD service will have to reprogram to get the key to work.

 

'97-'98 F150's didn't have PATS,so you could swap in a cluster from those 2 years with no problems-if your truck is a '97-'98. '99-up have PATS,so no way around that unless you want to get the EEC reprogrammed.
JL

 

oh well then i dont think ill be doing a stock gauge swap. i guess ill just go the aftermarket route and get a piller pod and a small tach unless theres something out there better than that

 

sorry i didnt inculde 02 f150 4.2

 

i bought an ebay cluster for around $45 iirc. i did the swap before learning about PATS. i swapped back so i could get the truck to run. i will get the guys at the dealership to do the swap because i like the indash rather that something on my steering column. i have searched this forum but other than someone suggesting getting the keys from the cluster donor truck and retumbling the lock cylinders there do not appear to be any good answers

 

so the dealership has to reprogram what?? and do all of the ford dealers have the computers to do this?? im not to familar with the PATS system

 

PATS=
Passive
Anti
Theft
System

The EEC and the instrument cluster are electronically married to each other,and the key transponders are programmed to the EEC so it'll allow engine start if the key matches what's in the EEC program.
JL

 

oh ok thanks for the input and advice i looked on ebay and found a couple of gauges but the seller didnt even know what pats is. thanks again everybody

 

of course the miles will be different, so it will be a matter of knowing the miles before and after so you will know how many miles your truck really has on it

 

if its a digital odometer then dont worry about the mileage, if its the old school kind, then yeah its not gonna be accurate.

With that said... if it is the old school kind, i pretty much wouldnt even bother. I put an aftermarket tach in mine with no problems at all. it was like 30 bucks for el cheapo at autozone, but it works perfectly. The hardest part was tapping into the tach signal at the PCM, had to take out the battery and battery tray to get the PCM connector off so I could see what was what in there. Then just mount it somewhere convenient, i mounted mine near the bottomn of the dash panels, i really only check it when im towing, and its not in the way of feet or anything else.

 

The digital odometer won't be accurate either.
JL

 

so the computer doesnt store the current milage in it? i figured when you put the new cluster in the truck that the digital odometer would read the same because its all computer stored

 

no, it is in the cluster. my 2002 f150 would do everything but start with a different cluster. it showed 79,000 miles but the factory cluster registered 113,000. i do not understand how the speedometer/odometer would be off as some have remarked. i cant see what that would have to do with anything

 

emitchum's right.The EEC doesn't know the mileage,nor does it care what the mileage is. There are alot of "big brother" conspiracy theorists out there that spread these rumors when it's simply not the case. The EEC has a section of programming called the VID block. That's the Vehicle ID block,and it's got pertinent information for that vehicle like PATS key info,rear axle info,and the VIN #,but nowhere in the EEC is there a place to store or monitor mileage of the vehicle.
JL