qtrmill
Member
- Joined
- March 25, 2010
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Freeport, Bahamas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '92 XLT
If you have a tach that you think has gone bad just because it is always up around 3000 rpm? It's not busted - just needs some old fashioned TLC... Here goes:
You'll need:
T-20 and T-15 Torx driver or bit
Something to pry the dash trim off
Soldering Iron and maybe some solder/flux
1. Start with the basics... pull out the ashtray as far as it'll go then unscrew the two T-20 screws. Pull the ashtray out and set it on the floor.
2. Gently (emphasis on GENTLY - these trucks are getting on in their age and the trim can be brittle) pry out the driver's right A/C vent and the 4X4 controls/fake vent. For some reason, my 4X2 is prewired for 4X4 and even has bulbs behind the 4X4 lights in the dash?!? Disconnect this and set on the dash.
3. Key in and turn to unlock the shifter. Shift all the way down to "L". Then, even gentler than before, pry the trim piece off the mounting tabs and take it all the way out. You may need to turn the whole thing to the right to get it to come all the way out like I did.
4. Remove 7 x T-15 screws that hold the plexi cover in place. Remove the plexi along with the black shroud in between the dash and the plexi.
5. Slowly pull the tachometer out of the cluster. Just prying with your finger works best.
6. Put the tach down on a cloth or something soft so the dial/needle don't get damaged. Take a look at the soldering on the "top left" of the circuit board. You'll more than likely find some cracks in one, two, maybe a lot of them. These are the ones that need repair - duh... :
7. Warm up the soldering iron and slowly fill the cracks up. I managed to get away with using just the factory solder. If you get impatient and pull the solder off with the soldering iron, you'll need to re-fill with your own solder.
8. Press the tach back into the cluster and fire the engine up - after putting it into Park first, of course...
9. Then, shut off the engine, put it back in "Low" and go step by step backwards, putting all the bits back in the dash.
Time involved - about an hour.
If you're like me and waited YEARS to fix this, try not to stare at the newly working tach while you drive!
You'll need:
T-20 and T-15 Torx driver or bit
Something to pry the dash trim off
Soldering Iron and maybe some solder/flux
1. Start with the basics... pull out the ashtray as far as it'll go then unscrew the two T-20 screws. Pull the ashtray out and set it on the floor.
2. Gently (emphasis on GENTLY - these trucks are getting on in their age and the trim can be brittle) pry out the driver's right A/C vent and the 4X4 controls/fake vent. For some reason, my 4X2 is prewired for 4X4 and even has bulbs behind the 4X4 lights in the dash?!? Disconnect this and set on the dash.
3. Key in and turn to unlock the shifter. Shift all the way down to "L". Then, even gentler than before, pry the trim piece off the mounting tabs and take it all the way out. You may need to turn the whole thing to the right to get it to come all the way out like I did.
4. Remove 7 x T-15 screws that hold the plexi cover in place. Remove the plexi along with the black shroud in between the dash and the plexi.
5. Slowly pull the tachometer out of the cluster. Just prying with your finger works best.
6. Put the tach down on a cloth or something soft so the dial/needle don't get damaged. Take a look at the soldering on the "top left" of the circuit board. You'll more than likely find some cracks in one, two, maybe a lot of them. These are the ones that need repair - duh... :
7. Warm up the soldering iron and slowly fill the cracks up. I managed to get away with using just the factory solder. If you get impatient and pull the solder off with the soldering iron, you'll need to re-fill with your own solder.
8. Press the tach back into the cluster and fire the engine up - after putting it into Park first, of course...
9. Then, shut off the engine, put it back in "Low" and go step by step backwards, putting all the bits back in the dash.
Time involved - about an hour.
If you're like me and waited YEARS to fix this, try not to stare at the newly working tach while you drive!