speedo after 9" swap?

[hiridin]

ok so theres the ring in the rear end that lets the speedometer work. i ofcourse have the 8.8 in my 98 explorer. now i know without that ring the speedo will not work. figured that out by leaving it off after a gear swap. if i was to switch to say a 9" rear end what do i do with that ring gear thing? how would i get my speedo to work. i'm really considering going to full width axles. just have to find the right price for them. anyways i also would have to have a speedometer when i get done. if i go this route what would i need to do. any help, ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Creager]

ok so theres the ring in the rear end that lets the speedometer work. i ofcourse have the 8.8 in my 98 explorer. now i know without that ring the speedo will not work. figured that out by leaving it off after a gear swap. if i was to switch to say a 9" rear end what do i do with that ring gear thing? how would i get my speedo to work. i'm really considering going to full width axles. just have to find the right price for them. anyways i also would have to have a speedometer when i get done. if i go this route what would i need to do. any help, ideas would be greatly appreciated.

that ring (thats pressed on, around the carrier) with all the rounded teeth on it that go to a sensor at the top of the housing? Thats the ABS ring i believe.

The speedo on my 92 is in the transfercase

If your 8.8 is like mine (which it should, i mean im using your old truetrac!) the speedo should be placed near the driveshaft.

but indeed if im wrong, which i probably am. You can get something aftermarket

 

[bmxking5]

Yeah, I've read that the speedo gear was in the t-case on 4x4's and transmission on 2wd's. I do remember a thread(started by dreamr I believe) that discussed the speedo gear in 2nd gens. Might want to look for that.

 

[hiridin]

ok so i've called a few places asking about this... transfer case doesn't have anything to do with my speedometer atleast not on my model. its not even the stock transfer anymore anyways. its all in the rear end. if i swap out rear ends i will lose my speedometer. that ring in the rear end if its not there or something is wrong with it it will throw a check engine light. which may or may not cause it to run incorrectly. regardless of that i know it will throw a check engine light. i had that problem. and thats what came up. the speed sensor. i can't get it inspected with a check engine light. i know there has to be a way around this. i need to know how to resolve this problem. my research has turned up more problems i will have but no answers.

 

[hiridin]

so there is a sensor in the rear end... and that with the ring gear makes up my speedometer and my abs though i don't have abs. is this sensor removable? what all goes with the sensor? wiring...? plugs...? ofcourse the sensor and the ring gear thing. could i possibly take all that out of my axle and rig it up to where i wouldn't throw a check engine light? older explorers have the speedo thing in the transfer case... i have a manual transfer case out of a 94 explorer. how hard would it be to get my speedometer to run off of that like the older explorers rather than it running off the rear end. would that even be possible?

 

[Creager]

if you remove the sensor you will leave a nice hole in the cast housing. You can probably weld it up

i have a manual transfer case out of a 94 explorer. how hard would it be to get my speedometer to run off of that like the older explorers rather than it running off the rear end. would that even be possible?

look near the top of the transfercase, on the left side of it (if you were looking at it from the back) There should be a hole the size of a quarter. The speedogear goes there. i would imagin yours is filled in with RTV or something of that fashion

1) correct speedo gear

4.56 gears and 33's = 19 tooth, 20 tooth, or 21 tooth gear. all trucks are different

2) You will need the speedometer out of a 94.

Retro fitting it would be the hard part. You could aways do something nifty like make its own stand alone gauge.

3) You will also want the cable, with the quick disconnect at the Insturment cluster end, and the flange/Link/connection for the speedogear at the transfercase.

That Link has some wiring harness to it. im not sure what its for, but im pretty sure it might be for OBD-I, so you probaby wont need it. It isnt required to get the speedo to work.

Just to note, you probably want to get a new speedometer, cable and gear. So it has a solid feel to it. Old speedo-stuff usually bobbles and bounces around, which is kinda annoying.

 

[hiridin]

if you remove the sensor you will leave a nice hole in the cast housing. You can probably weld it up

wether or not i leave the hole would depend on who buys it.
heres another idea though... what if i mounted that tone ring in the 9" like it is in the 8.8 and cut/drill a hole for the sensor to go through... mount it and be done. it sounds simple enough if it'll work. if i'm understanding this correctly the tone ring spins and the sensor "senses" it spinning and figures the speed like that and if so does the sensor have a exact distance it has to be from the tone ring. or is it spinning something that is touching the sensor or does it somehow touch the sensor when it spins. hopefully someone on here knows this. either way i think i'll call ford and see if someone might know up there. i don't really need my speedometer accurate. just there... without a cel

 

[hiridin]

1) correct speedo gear

4.56 gears and 33's = 19 tooth, 20 tooth, or 21 tooth gear. all trucks are different

2) You will need the speedometer out of a 94.

Retro fitting it would be the hard part. You could aways do something nifty like make its own stand alone gauge.

3) You will also want the cable, with the quick disconnect at the Insturment cluster end, and the flange/Link/connection for the speedogear at the transfercase.

That Link has some wiring harness to it. im not sure what its for, but im pretty sure it might be for OBD-I, so you probaby wont need it. It isnt required to get the speedo to work.

Just to note, you probably want to get a new speedometer, cable and gear. So it has a solid feel to it. Old speedo-stuff usually bobbles and bounces around, which is kinda annoying.[/QUOTE]


i figured theres a way to get a speedo in there... if i have to go that route. now its really keeping my cel off. which i still have to do

 

[Creager]

i dont know how the actual sensor works, thats beyond me.

i think your best bet, or cheapest, would be to go with the speedo-hole on the 94 transfercase. its already there, you just need to get the stuff to make it work.

The only thing im not sure about is the actual 94 speedometer gauge. I am not sure how you can fit it in there. I'd say you could probably swap out the mechinisum in the cluster. or atleast mill it to fit.

 

[Creager]

wether or not i leave the hole would depend on who buys it.
heres another idea though... what if i mounted that tone ring in the 9" like it is in the 8.8 and cut/drill a hole for the sensor to go through...

Well that tone ring as an inside diameter of 8.8 (well actually smaller because its not on the ring gear, but the carrier; you get the idea). you will need a custom ring for the 9" unless there is something already like it.

i using the 8.8 speedo on the 9" differential i think might be out of the question, unless you can get some kind of aftermarket speedo for it. Cuz think about it. the 8.8 sensor is going to be measuring in a different scale (one functioned for the 8.8) then whats there in the 9." i dunno that stuff might even be adjustable from the PCM on OBD-II

We need a wiring diagram and an exploded view of your system... haha that will make it a lil easier.

besides the 9" is a third member axle so things are going to be positioned a little differently.

 

[hiridin]

ok so getting a speedometer in there and working should not be a problem then. but i still have to have that particular sensor thats on my rear end fooled into thinking its there and working. or i'll never lose my cel. regardless of if i actually have a speedo or not. it'll throw that code. i have to figure out how to bypass it or make it work. having a speedometer in there isn't my problem now cuz that part is figured out if it comes down to that. its jus that cel. and that sensor that'll throw it.

 

[Creager]

ok so getting a speedometer in there and working should not be a problem then. but i still have to have that particular sensor thats on my rear end fooled into thinking its there and working. or i'll never lose my cel. regardless of if i actually have a speedo or not. it'll throw that code. i have to figure out how to bypass it or make it work. having a speedometer in there isn't my problem now as that part is figured out if it comes down to that. its jus that cel. and that sensor that'll throw it.

ahh ok.

I do believe there is a trick you can do with most sensors by putting a resister inline on there. Not to sure. A wiring harness guy on this site should surly know.

Maybe you can use the wires on the 94 speedo to help trick the thing? i believe its 2 or 3 wires (pretty sure its only 2) that connect to the end near the speedogear. Maybe its the same idea, and you can just splice the sucker in... and call it done (if it were that easy!)

 

[hiridin]

ahh ok.

I do believe there is a trick you can do with most sensors by putting a resister inline on there. Not to sure. A wiring harness guy on this site should surly know.

"Maybe you can use the wires on the 94 speedo to help trick the thing? i believe its 2 or 3 wires (pretty sure its only 2) that connect to the end near the speedogear. Maybe its the same idea, and you can just splice the sucker in... and call it done (if it were that easy!)

the whole tricking the sensor sounds good. i mean there has to be a way. hopefully someone jumps in.
and as far as using the wires on the 94 speedo... who knows but that does sound a little too easy... it would be nice to kill 2 birds with one stone but i got a feeling i'll end up doing one at a time.

 

[Creager]

and as far as using the wires on the 94 speedo... who knows but that does sound a little too easy...

it does sound too easy, but definatly worth a shot. it sounds right, i just need to compare a wiring diagram of the two ('94, and '98).

 

[n3m3s1s]

if i were you, i would shoot either section525 or jefe a PM and ask them what they think. i know that section tried several methods for his speedo, but im not sure how it worked out. you could send them a link to this page, but it would take them a while just to read all of it
good luck.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

I think getting a sensor in the 9" would be next to impossible.

However, installing a 97-down t-case, with speedo gear built in, would be your best bet, mechanically. Unfortunatley, the 8.8 abs tone ring sensor sends out a different electrical signal than the t-case sender. I do not know how to simply adapt the older speedo singal to the newer version. It'll take research.

You could get a 97-down dash cluster and GEM, as you are ditching ABS anyway. That will work using off the shelf parts, but will need some pretty custom wiring.

These signals are ??/hz per mph, on a set voltage. They are not resistance based.

 

[Creager]

These signals are ??/hz per mph, on a set voltage. They are not resistance based.

so tricking that signal is going to be a tuffy eh... hrmm

i wonder if there is a simular sensor somewhere that you can tap into... tricking the thing.

 

[hiridin]

so i contacted ford... went up there and talked with them about my problem. since i have a manual tranny it will have no effect on how it runs. an aftermarket speedo sounds easiest to fix the speedo part. they said that speed/abs sensor going out was a common problem. they replace them quite a bit he said. but they weren't aware that it throws a cel. so they are checking to see if there is a way to bypass or trick it or whatever. i'm kinda where i was to begin with but the speedo i can take care of. i don't have to worry about it running incorrectly. now its simply the cel. its not like i can jus yank the cel bulb. i need it to know if something is wrong. i s'pose i could always disconnect my battery and hope it stays off long enough for it to be inspected. but i'd rather not. hopefully they or someone else can figure out a trick to it.

 

[section525]

I saw somewhere where the guy put the ring right behind the transfer case output shaft (between the tcase and the rear driveshaft). Then mounted the sensor to read the ring. You could do soemthing like that. Even just make it temp if you wanted.

 

[hiridin]

that same thing had crossed my mind. but that would rack my miles up quick since it would be spinning 5.13 (since i'm going to gear it right this time) times faster than if it was in the rear end. right? either way it could work and i personally would prolly jus do that but i ran it by my dad... he jus doesn't like the idea. he liked my idea of custom fitting it in the 9". i don't doubt for a second that he couldn't make it work. i mean anything is possible, but it sounds like alot of trouble to go through. more trouble than it may be worth. and on top of that the tone ring might or might not fit anyways. he says maybe i could find another one... larger... or maybe machine it to work. he says since u can take the 3rd member out u could see exactly where the sensor needs to be in order to work. so i dunno. but this is what i wanted. possible options for me. keep'em coming... give me opinions... whatever u got...