I got the 2.5L Ranger, 2000 model year, and there is no factory tachometer in the instrument panel. After looking around the rest of the dash, I would have no idea where to mount an interior aftermarket tach. So, I talked about it with my dad, who suggested a hood mounted tach like they had on the old muscle cars. I thought it was a great idea, but I can't find any. Now I'm sure someone on this site has had the same problem with no place to put a tach. Could you guys give me any insight on this matter?

 

people that add an aftermart tac usually put them on the steering column

 

most i see now adays are in the cowlpanel and are liquid filled

 

I thought about putting it on the steering column, as I did in a 86 F-150, but it would block the speedo pretty significantly. Would it be pretty hard for switch out the instrument panel for one with a tach and do the wiring?

 

just slap it on the dash, if you mount it outside its going to get weathered and still block your sight some.

 

im selling a tach if your interested, its brandnew just i dont have the box i was using it for my v8 project but gave up hope

 

why not swap to gauges with a stock tach?

 

Yeah thats a good idea. You should look on ebay for a stock gage cluster. I bet you could do the swap for fairly cheap.

 

pontiac usd to have hood mounted tack on the old firbirds and gtos-maybe at a swap meet you can find 1

 

how hard is that gonna be to take apart the dash, take out the old instrument panel, find the correct wiring and solder it on, then put it back together?

 

theres no wiring, you just unplug your stock gauges, and plug in a 98-03 gauge WITH tach. I did it on my 99

 

wow. that sounds alot easier than i imagined. does it connect with some sort of pin connector?

also, is it possible to correct the mileage on the odometer on the new panel i would install? i would like to keep everything as close to original as possible but with a tach.

 

I bought one out of a 96 explorer, swapped out the milage board and odometer from the old to new, then plugged in. tach works and everything, clean stock look, and accurate miles :]

 

You can correct it by breaking into it and turning the mileage reader thing diffrent directions, but then I think you have to put it on your title. Otherwise its a big law suit.

Not sure somone should know better then me.

I would just try to find a stock unit around your mileage, anything around 5k should matter too much

 

so i just pull one from a ranger or explorer, detach all wires from mine and switch out the odometers. what years are compatible with each other?

 

the salvage yard should be able to tell you. as long as the guage faces are the same design your set.

 

Heres a couple how-to's to swap guage clusters, and the odometer.

Gauge cluster swap
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/tech/?p=109

Odometer swap
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/tech/?p=131

This is what you want. It doesn't matter if it has a gear indicator for an automatic trans, they are removable and you can swap it for a blank.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/98-99...spagenameZWDVW