I would say it is doubtful it would "fit" your Explorer in native T-Bird/Cougar form. I have one destined to become part of my 93 Ranger, which has a similar instrument panel as your Explorer. For mine I took a different tact. I purchased a second mechanical instrument cluster like my original and carefully gutted it. With a lot of modification the guts from the above cluster can be made to fit within the confines of the donor cluster housing. I did end up with a empty trip odometer reset stem hole but nothing can be done about that.
People who say the digital instrument panels "burn out" are not fully up to speed on them. The incandescent bulbs can and do burn out and need to be replaced which is a bit of a pain. I converted mine to LEDs that are brighter and have a much longer life.
Another consideration is day vs. night. Unlike a regular cluster that has no backlighting during the day, the digital cluster needs to be driven at full brightness to combat daylight. At night however you want to dim it down so it matches the rest of your lighting like the radio, headlight switch, etc. I had to design a custom circuit board to handle this and interfaced it to the cluster.
The plastic backlit warnings (ABS, Check Engine, etc.) have to be shifted around and wired appropriately and I have not done this yet but it won't be too difficult.
Yet another consideration is the alert warning system. For this aspect I hacked into my existing "chime module" and interfaced that to the digital cluster as well. This is very custom. I added a square red reset button on the dash near the headlight switch. In the event I'm driving along and the fuel level gets low enough to trigger a low fuel alert, the chime will begin to ding ding ding and the low fuel indicator will be on. Just so I don't have to drive 10 miles listening to the chime alert I can press the reset button and cancel the chimes until the ignition key is switched off. Should I stop and shout off then somehow forget to gas up, it will immediately remind me when I turn the Ranger back on. This also functions for low oil and so forth.
The factory single wire engine coolant temp sensor will not work with these clusters. I had to order the two-wire type for a 3.8 1989 Cougar that came with this digital cluster, and it needs a second wire added for it. Neither temp sensor wire is grounded on the engine like was the case with the mechanical cluster.
Also a extra pin connection has to be added to the PCM (EFI computer) for a data link. This is the most difficult part of the mod. Your MPG readout will not function without it.
In addition there has to be some way to control the cluster functions. I bought a T-Bird digital cluster switch assembly and put it in a replacement AC vent assembly. The Ranger has a AC vent in the dash center with only one vent on the right half. The left portion is styled to look like a AC vent but isn't. I cut this out to fit the cluster control switch assembly which looks completely non-hacked and totally factory.
This project is not for the inexperienced (electronically) and is not for the faint of heart.
Other mods my Ranger has are: A electrochromic rear view mirror that auto-darkens at night, from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Power windows, power door locks, overhead console (painted to match my Burgundy interior) from a Explorer with digital compass and outside temperature readout. An amber 12 volt LED istalled inside the Explorer overhead console comes on with headlights and lights the area between the seats faintly, I have a cup holder there. Six modifications to the intake/fuel injection (3.0 now gets 30 MPG on highway about 20 in the city) engine internals are all stock. Vacuum switch actuated transmission 4-3 kickdown for better passing power, manipulates the ground for the 3-4 shift solenoid, computer still has control over torque converter lockup. I replaced the electrolytic capacitors in the EFI computer.
If I add one more piece of electronics to this truck it's going to turn into V'ger.
