Speedo not working 1998 to 2002 drivetrain swap. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Speedo not working 1998 to 2002 drivetrain swap.

1998rollover

Well-Known Member
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November 10, 2008
Messages
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City, State
Weiser, ID
Year, Model & Trim Level
1998 Mountaineer
I'm having a guy swap the whole drivetrain, V8, transmission and AWD T-case, rear axle and front 3rd member from a 1998 Mountaineer into a 2002 4x4 Sport Trac.

The final piece of the puzzle is getting the speedometer to work. It only gets one code P0500 which is it doesn't like something about the speed sensor. I cleared the code and drove around the block. Still no speedo but the light didn't didn't come back on.

The rear axle sensor is new, the Mountaineer used only that sensor. The transfer case in it also had a sensor but it of course wasn't being used. I replaced it a while ago with a good used one rather than replace the worn out chain. (The yards all wanted more $ for ones without the speed sensor.)

ABS light is not on. Didn't swap ABS pumps from the Mountaineer. The tachometer wire switch for V8 was simple.

Got any ideas, I'll print them out and take them to the guy, his only internet access right now is on a little smartphone.

It's going to be such a nice rig. I used a GPS HUD app on my phone and at 2000 RPM it's going 65. :D Runs great, just can't tell how fast it's going without a GPS and the odometer and cruise control don't work. I think he did swap the cruise control unit over.

Rear disc brakes will be nice and I got a pair of NOS earlier model Explorer badges with V8 ALL WHEEL DRIVE to stick on the fenders. :D
 



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Forgot to mention he swapped that over too. Mounted it to the inner panel by the battery. That's one of the threads he read for research on doing the swap.

One hitch he had was with a wire for the PATS B swap from the donor. The ST would not do anything at all when the key was turned to start. While checking with a test light he managed to accidentally hotwire it. :) Turned out that one of the "grounds" needed somewhat less than -12v and the test light happened to provide the correct resistance. So he measured the test light's Ohms and got a resistor to match and spliced it into that wire. No problems with starting after that. He's also swapped over the ignition key cylinder and PATS module that reads the keys. He'll also be swapping over the door locks so it won't need two different keys.

What will suck is if the ABS pump on the 98 has something wrong with it. It had three rather expensive ABS codes logged (according to Auto zone's scanner, mine that supposedly reads ABS claimed no codes stored despite the light being on) but the guy doing the swap found the locking tab on the ABS pump connector was pulled up. I dunno how that happened, I never did anything with that, the ABS light just came on one day and it no longer had antilock function.

Oh well, if a bad ABS pump/module makes the speedometer and cruise control work, that'll be good enough.

I'm from an age when we learned how to properly modulate brake pedal pressure, not pumping nor the ABS era panic "stomp and steer". ABS doesn't help a lick when the roads are so slick the car slides *sideways* across a high-crowned road into the curb after coming to a perfect, non-sliding stop using correct braking technique. Been there, done that at -21F in my 1977 Mustang coupe with 351 Windsor V8 - with studded snow tires.
 






I know on my 01 ranger my cluster has a vss input like on the 97 and before trucks. It runs off the t-case speed sensor and works perfect. It is a grey/black wire I had to hook up. I am running a 97.5 pcm and wiring and getting the speedo from a 97-98 4406 tcase.
 












If you have a t-case with the speed sensor then you can use that to wire in your speedo. You can change the gears on the sensor drive if you need to adjust the speedo.
 






If you have a t-case with the speed sensor then you can use that to wire in your speedo.

HOW, exactly to do that? I've searched and searched but have yet to find specific, detailed instructions for how to patch that into a 98 Explorer/Mountaineer system swapped into a Sport Trac. Find plenty of posts saying to do it or that the poster did it.

Tried changing the ABS module and pump and all that did was make the ABS light come on. (It was on in the Mountaineer but the speedo and cruise still worked.)

I also found on another forum where a V8 had been swapped into a Ranger then the speedo didn't work. Turned out that he'd previously swapped in a Sport Trac gauge cluster and when he put the Ranger one back in, the speedo worked.
 






Do you have a grey/black wire at the 42pin engine to body connector? Are you sure there is a speed sensor on the t-case? Only 96 and 97 had them.
 






Do you have a grey/black wire at the 42pin engine to body connector? Are you sure there is a speed sensor on the t-case? Only 96 and 97 had them.

Yes, I said in the OP that I'd replaced the TC with one that has the sensor. I just want to know exactly what has to be done to connect it into the system.
 






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