Intalling factory speed control?

[davidfuller]

I recently bought a 99 Sport 4x4 5Spd manual, without factory speed control. I have a 95 Sport 2x4 5Spd manual with factory speed control. It seemed that all of the wiring harness was there in the 99, so I thought I'd just try transferring the servo unit and steering wheel switches from the 95 to the 99. Apparently I'm missing something, since the speed control doesn't work in the 99.

I put the parts back in the 95 and it works fine, so I know all the parts are OK.

Has anyone out there installed a factory speed control into an Explorer that didn't come that way from the factory? I'd really hate to have to install one of those cheesy after market units!

thanks in advance,

 

[Okrazie1]

Ford makes an accessory speed control kit that will work in your Explorer. I put one in my '99 last year. It consists of the control switches, the servo unit and cable, a trim piece for the back of the steering wheel, a "watchspring" switch for the steering column, wiring harnesses, necessary hardware, and detailed pictorial instructions. The box had "Professional Installation Required" stamped on it, but I did it myself in about four hours. One dealer I contacted about it charged $150 for the installation. The part number for the kit is F87Z-9A818-CA. This kit is for the 4.0L OHV (which I see you have due to the manual tranny) and will work on either the manual or automatic transmission. The only difference I have seen between the kit and a factory install is the "cruise control" light in the instrument panel doesn't light up when the cruise is engaged, but I have enough sense to know if I have my foot off the gas and I'm not losing speed that the cruise is on. The list price for the kit is $300, but I got it for $265.50.

 

[davidfuller]

Doug,

Thanks. I know about the Ford unit you've got, and I was concerned about routing the cables and bolting on the servo, etc, plus the fact that I *really* liked the controls on the steering wheel that the factory unit has.

Is the servo unit vacuum operated? Did you have to pull cables through the firewall? How does the unit sense the speed?

Seems a shame that Ford doesn't offer the same hardware for installation as the factory units. The wiring harness is all there, it seems, maybe just a couple of pieces would make it work. Probably not a technical issue, but a marketing one (as in, "we can make more money this way").

BTW, nice pix of your truck. Mine's the same color. Is yours auto or manual?

David

 

[Okrazie1]

As you can see from the pictures, the kit has the controls on the wheel. The unit is electrically controlled. There is a small wiring harness that needs to go through the firewall, but this is easy to accomplish. The servo mounts in the factory location with one bolt, so no problems there. It picks up speed info from the GEM module, if I remember correctly. It was not a hard install, just somewhat time consuming.

Thanks for the complement. Mine is a manual, too.

 

[davidfuller]

Doug,

I stand corrected. Your installation is exactly what I'm looking for: controls on the steering wheel and non-vacuum servo. When the local Ford dealer parts person showed me the kit they listed, it looked like the controls were mounted on the turn signal stalk, and the servo was some kind of tinker toy box. Cheesy, cheesy.

Thanks for the part number, I'll go down and order it tomorrow. I hope I can get it before I drive 1600 miles to Albuquerque next week!

Now if only I could get used to the apparent lack of power in this 4WD version. It has significantly less power than the 95 2WD I have (which has 150K miles). But I needed the 4WD (so I convinced myself) to get up the hill from the barn, especially with a trailer.

I noticed you have added some goodies to your truck. Did you find that the new muffler and plugs gave you more power? Or just more sound level? I've already put in the K&N air filter.

David

 

[Okrazie1]

David,

I may have picked up a little power with the mods, but not much. It does help to make up for the bigger tires. The muffler I have is the "performance" brand from Meineke. It gives the exhaust enough of a rumble to hear while accelerating, but you don't notice it when cruising. It seems that nobody makes a cat-back system for the '99 Sport, so thats why I had the work done at Meineke. I was thinking about going with a Superchip for more power, but decided against it when the gas prices went up.

 

[davidfuller]

Yeah, I've heard that putting in a chip requires going to the high priced gas.

I didn't know they didn't make a cat-back system for the 99 Sport. I've been vaguely checking into them, and I was put off by the cost (over $400), just to add a few horses.

But then again, these bolt on blower units are suppost to add lots of power, if you're willing to pay over $3000! Whew! Seem almost cheaper to just buy a new one, now that Ford has started putting the 5Spd behind the SOHC. . .

I stopped by my local Ford dealer and ordered the Speed control kit. I wish I had asked where you got yours, since mine cost over $320. But I had to get it installed before my trip to New Mexico, so I didn't have time to get back to you. It should arrive Thursday, so I'll have time to install.

Thanks again for responding to my original question. I had just about given up hope of getting one in. Did you take those pictures this morning for me? Or did you already have them? Either way, thanks.

David

 

[Okrazie1]

I got my cruise control from a local dealer, but I had my brother order it for me. He gets a discount due to his business. The price may have gone up some since I bought mine, too.

No problem with the help. I had to do some digging around to find that kit myself. The dealer I bought the truck at was no help in finding it.

I had taken the pictures yesterday, but decided not to put them with the original reply. Digital cameras are great for that kind of stuff!

 

[davidfuller]

Doug,

I installed the speed control this morning, and learning _many_interesting_ things!

First, I spent about 2 hours, pulling the steering wheel and installing the watch spring unit. Then I noticed that the old and new units had the same part number. Oh well. Next I installed the switches and trim on the wheel and mounted that on.

Then, as I was splicing and cutting the new harness in, I noticed that the existing harness had wires that the instructions said weren't there. Then I had the brilliant idea to call the 800 hotline, and talked to a _very_ Texas gentleman in Fort Worth. He said if the harness was already there I didn't need to install the one in the kit. I mentioned that I had tried that with parts from my '95 and it didn't work. He said the servo controller was very specific to the year and model, that's why it didn't work.

I pulled all the new harness I had installed (fortunately not too much), put the truck together enough to test drive, and Lo, it worked! I even get the green cruise control indicator to light up!

I figure that, if I knew then what I know now, I could have gotten an cruise control installed in about 1 hour and (I'm guessing here) $150. Ain't hindsight wonnerful. Know anyone who wants some slightly used harness?

But hey, I'm still grateful you wrote and showed me your installation. Otherwise I would still have been trying to figure out why the parts from the '95 didn't work, or ended up with a cheesy box hanging off my turn signal lever.

Thanks again,
David

 

[Okrazie1]

I went back and looked at mine, and I had the harness there already, too. Wish I had seen that before I put it in. You would have thought that it would have said something in the instructions. Oh well. Glad it worked out for you.