As the title goes, I am hoping someone can tell me one way or the other if this is going to be a straight swap or not. I was hoping to know before I pulled the dash and possibly found myself in a position that requires more time than I thought.

I have a black dash from a 2003 FX4 level 2 that I was going to put in a 1999. For what it’s worth I am a 40 year old mechanic, so I’ve removed my fair share of dashes. Not a particularly fun job, but there are worse things IMHO. I am fairly certain that almost all of it is a straight swap, the only part I’m not sure on is in regards to the HVAC system.

I think I heard that maybe the heater core box, or how the HVAC system operates behind the dash may have changed in 2003-2004? I don’t know if this is correct because I am getting conflicting information when I look up these changes. I am hoping that the heater box and all the motors, vacuum lines, etc… are the same. But it would be extremely helpful if anyone can confirm if it is the same or not😀👍

Also I should clarify, the dash I am going to be putting in is COMPLETELY BARE. No wiring, no brackets, no ducting, it is just the dash itself. So I will be moving everything over from the 1999 dash, then installing it in the truck. I’m just hoping to know if it’ll be a straight swap, and I won’t need to modify some things?

If anyone can give me any information on this, I would be super appreciative. I am 90% sure it’s a straight swap with no modifications? But I don’t want to pull the dash out first thing Friday night, with the plan of driving it to work Monday morning. But find out only when the dash is out, that I have to fabricate several things to make it work😝👍 Thanks again for any info you guys might have

 

car-part shows 1998 - 2005 as being the same

 

You are awesome!😀👍 That was super clever, I totally didn’t even think of that!

I’ve been going through a huge parts list and checking for the interchangeability. I didn’t think to check it through car-part… that’s pretty much a guarantee if that’s the consensus of all the salvage yards👍

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

 

With as many trucks as I've pulled apart in the junkyard, 1995-2003 are pretty much guaranteed to swap around, especially since you're just using the bare dash. 2004 gets dicey because they moved the fuse box, and I don't know if the 2004+ dash frames have the provisions to hold the pre-2004 fuse box.

 

Put in a new Heater core while you are in there, have to pull the dash to swap these out in 1995 and up Rangers
Might also put in a new Blend Door actuator motor, can be done with dash in place but a pain, and not an expensive part

 

100% on the heater core! Believe it or not, that’s how this whole project got started. My heater core went out and so I went ahead and temporarily bypassed it to stop the leak. I happened to go to a salvage yard that day and found an fx4 with a black interior. I knew the dash basically had to come out to do the heater core, so I thought “ that would be pretty cool if I went ahead and converted it to a black interior?”. So I basically snagged as much of the interior as possible.

Maybe I’m insane, but I thought it would be a pretty fun project😀👍

 

That is a big project, post a pic or a few when you are done or progress pics, lol

Just a heads up, I reverse my heater hoses at the firewall every 2 years or so to reverse the flow thru it, grandfather taught me that, cores seem to last longer, stay cleaner

What kills heater cores is the build up of debris which blocks flow of coolant in a tube, doesn't effect heat much when that happens
Coolant has an anti-corrosive component that prevents rusting/corrosion, which is why you need to change it on a schedule
Once flow thru a tube stops no more rust protection, coolant can't flow thru it any more...................................
And it will rust/corrode in that tube and start to leak

 

I will definitely try and take some pictures when I do this swap😀👍. So far I’ve got…

-2003 black dash
-The black door panels (out of a 2002 which I didn’t know came in black).
-The black air bag
- 2003 silver instrument cluster
-black sun visors and clips
-black grab handles
-black shorty console
-black seat belts
-black and blue FX4 seats
-black carpet

Only things I don’t have are the black A-pillar trim. Which are impossible to find, because they would have to be out of a 2002. Since the trim is different starting in 2003.

Also I don’t have the B-pillar trim because my 1999 truck is a regular cab. And as rare as black interior is, I’m not even sure they made a black interior on a regular cab. I could be wrong, but if they did it was only a handful.

So yea, this is probably one of my craziest car projects I’ve ever done. And anyone who sees won’t even know what I did, unless they are a diehard Ranger fan. But I think it’ll be pretty neat to make a 1999 FX4 level 2… even if it is just for me😀👍

 

Was this an automatic Level II?

 

Yessir, it was an automatic

 

I am also missing the fx4 shifter handle as well as the ****. I’ve looked high and low for one of those, but haven’t found them yet. So if ANYONE has either them, please let me know😀👍. I know they will be pricey, but hey it’s only money😁

 

Good luck finding them. I used to spend way too much time searching for junkyards with 2002-2003 Fx4 Level II's so I could buy the shift levers to resell. It's getting very hard to find them now, but they do pop up from time to time. Sometimes you get lucky, other times you really have to do some legwork.

I ran the Fx4 shifter in my truck for some time, but ultimately, they don't work great with body lifts. I also much prefer the Hurst or Core short throw that I replaced it with.

 

I’m considering a hurst shifter, only thing I’d there seem to be as many unsatisfied customers as there are satisfied? You have to vent them so they don’t leak? They are really noisy? The shifter will fall out of adjustment because bolts will back out of them? So you are constantly fiddling with them…

Straight up, good and bad… what is your honest opinion on them?

 

You are correct, there are many issues with them. I notched a vent into the purple mounting plate on mine, which prevents it from building pressure that causes leaks.

As for the bolts backing out, I tossed the Hurst supplied bolts in the garbage and ran longer ones so I could put a locking nut on the back of them all. Loose hardware is no longer an issue for me.

As for the noise, it takes trial and error to knock out. There are no good rubber isolators I've found that work well, and anything you put between the shift lever and it's mounting stud generally ends up getting squeezed out so you continually have to replace it. I ended up getting some heavy-duty foam that I cut to fit around the shifter stud, and that dampens the noise from the shifter significantly. But I have yet to find good rubber isolators that won't squeeze out from between the stud and the lever, so I just have them bolted together with no isolators because I'd rather not have to worry about messing with isolators every few months. I'm a volume 20 out of 40 on the radio kinda guy, and that keeps the lever noise and rattles at bay for the most part.

The final thing I hate about the Hurst is the price, especially now. It was bad enough back in 2016 or so when I bought mine, but it's gotten even worse now.

 

So all in all, which would you do regarding the shifter. And let’s say money doesn’t factor into any of them… everything is free and you have your choice.

Would you do an fx4 shifter, hurst or coreshifter?

 

Probably the Core Shifter, as long as they don't have availability issues.

I forgot to mention that the Hurst supplied **** is garbage and mine peeled apart within six years. It's also tiny, and I much preferred the **** from the Fx4 lever. I don't care to find one of those again, so I went with a SickSpeed **** and an adapter. It's the same size as the Fx4 ****, so feels much better.

 

Really🤔 Core shifter is your favorite👍. So the arm and the **** they supply is perfect right out of the box? Or did you change the arm as well as the ****?

 

Core shifter is better because the price is lower.

As for the lever, I am still running the Hurst lever which has been fine, but I am running a body lift AND a newer Explorer center console, so I have to run a custom shift lever extension to both lift the lever up, and also move it back. Works out perfect for me and I still keep the short shifts.

 

In case anyone else is going to try this swap, I can confirm 100% that a black 2003 FX4 dash will swap straight over to a 1999… so it will also go in to a 2002,2001,2000,1998 as well.

I just got done doing the swap and I can confirm everything transfers over no problem. You don’t need to drill holes, cut or modify anything. Everything from your old dash will move right over to the new one. Pulling the dash is actually fairly easy… the hardest part is just the transfer of everything between the dashes.

I had the dash on the ground in about an hour, and I was taking my time. Plus I pulled a lot of my interior, since I wanted to make it as easy as possible. But if you are trying to do it quickly, that dash comes out easily in 30 minutes if you know what you’re doing. Transferring the ducting, the brackets, computers, etc… and then reinstalling everything took me the better part of the day. I was fortunate in that I didn’t run into any problems, so everything went rather smoothly. So if anyone else is going to do this swap, It is possible to do in one day, but I would plan on it being two just in case😀👍

But yes, I just wanted to let you guys know that swapping in a black dash into an older Ranger is in fact a straight swap😀👍

 

 

My next day off, I will install the black door panels, A pillar trim, and the rest of the black interior. I have the FX4 level II seats in it, which was a little tricky because it’s a regular cab. But anyway… just wanted to post proof that a black dash swap in a 99 is possible😀👍