instrument cluster with tach

[MROLDV8]

Looking at some of the Gen 2 photos on this site, I noticed an instrument cluster with a tach in place of the giant fuel guage that my '90 has. If I were to find one with a tach at my local wrecking yard, would it just 'plug and play' in my car or is there any re-wiring I'd have to do. Even though it's an automatic, I just don't like driving without a tachometer.

MR

[RedSIBaron]

should be plug and play man, we went to bestlers pull and pay in northern kentucky (exit 8 after the cinci airport exit on 275) and they have A LOT of camrys, shoudl be atleast one with the cluster if you dont have one already...

[MROLDV8]

Thanks a lot...that's good news. There's a pull-it-yourself yard in Milford near where I work. If they don't have one I'll give Bestlers a shot.

MR

[atobe]

you can also swap over your odometer so you won't end up with some cluster with like 200k miles

[MROLDV8]

Originally Posted by atobe

you can also swap over your odometer so you won't end up with some cluster with like 200k miles

LOL...I have 198K on it now.

MR

[RedSIBaron]

how do you swap over hte odometer? kuler2.0 would like that im sure

[IvanHoe]

If you do a search, there are threads that already have dealt with this very subject.......

I replaced my gauge cluster for the Tach cluster, and YES, it's plug and play for sure......junkyards charge around 40-50 us for them and they are around on eBay as well......
It's a 5 minute swap....MAX!

Originally Posted by atobe

you can also swap over your odometer so you won't end up with some cluster with like 200k miles

It's not 100% the same odometer, the old one wont screw into the tach cluster....at least without not some mods.....

[white90dx]

Make sure you get one from a car that has the same motor as your car. If not, the tach will read wrong.

I have successfully swapped the complete speedometer section from one cluster to another with no problems or modifications. For registration purposes, I wanted to keep the odometer correct. Your best bet to make sure they match is to get either a late model ('89-91) or early model ('87-'88) to match your car (check the way the speedo is marked to see the difference).

-Charlie

[IvanHoe]

Originally Posted by white90dx

Make sure you get one from a car that has the same motor as your car. If not, the tach will read wrong.

I have successfully swapped the complete speedometer section from one cluster to another with no problems or modifications. For registration purposes, I wanted to keep the odometer correct. Your best bet to make sure they match is to get either a late model ('89-91) or early model ('87-'88) to match your car (check the way the speedo is marked to see the difference).

-Charlie

I was wrong about swapping the speedo, no mods are needed, but I remembered why I didnt do it....I was nervous about pulling the needle off and screwing up "true zero"....
another thing about making sure you get the correct engine cluster is besides the accurate tach(different redline),...the speedo on the v6 is also different from the 3sfe ones(tire size differences between the 2 options)

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Originally Posted by IvanHoe

I replaced my gauge cluster for the Tach cluster, and YES, it's plug and play for sure......junkyards charge around 40-50 us for them and they are around on eBay as well......

HOLY CRAP, your yards charge that much for a 17-year-oly guage cluster?!?! The list price where I work is $22 and I usually charge my customers $10.

Also: what trim level came without a tach? Of the 4-dozen or so Camrys that I've seen in our yard, every single one had a tach. When I think of it, tho, we've never had a "DX" model in our stock...being the Sherlock I am, I begin to suspect it is a US-only thing.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by IvanHoe

I was wrong about swapping the speedo, no mods are needed, but I remembered why I didnt do it....I was nervous about pulling the needle off and screwing up "true zero"....
another thing about making sure you get the correct engine cluster is besides the accurate tach(different redline),...the speedo on the v6 is also different from the 3sfe ones(tire size differences between the 2 options)

Speedos are compatible between the V6 and 4 cylinder. The max reading is different and the odometer won't match. The difference in rolling diameters between the 14" steelies and 15" alloys is minimal with the correct size tires.

You don't need to pull the speedo needle to swap the speedo. Don't pull it. There are three screws on the back and it pops right out as a complete assembly.

Tachs are incompatible because the will read wrong - not because the redline is wrong (though it also is). The tach is based on how many ignition pulses there are (3 per revolution on the V6, 2 per revolution for the 4 cylinder). A V6 tach on a 4 cylinder will read low and a 4 cylinder tach on a V6 will read high.

-Charlie

PS. Yes, I have tried most of these combinations.

[typesix]

"Even though it's an automatic, I just don't like driving without a tachometer."

Used to think like that when only 3 speed trannys were around, but have found that having a tach on auto tranny is more necessary than on manual for knowing what gear is in use to maximize mpg.

[IvanHoe]

Originally Posted by typesix

"Even though it's an automatic, I just don't like driving without a tachometer."

Used to think like that when only 3 speed trannys were around, but have found that having a tach on auto tranny is more necessary than on manual for knowing what gear is in use to maximize mpg.

[sillysspeed]

Switching the gauge cluster is a good mod!!!! I switched out my odometer to read the correct mileage too.

[HomeGrown]

Originally Posted by white90dx

Speedos are compatible between the V6 and 4 cylinder. The max reading is different and the odometer won't match. The difference in rolling diameters between the 14" steelies and 15" alloys is minimal with the correct size tires.

You don't need to pull the speedo needle to swap the speedo. Don't pull it. There are three screws on the back and it pops right out as a complete assembly.

Tachs are incompatible because the will read wrong - not because the redline is wrong (though it also is). The tach is based on how many ignition pulses there are (3 per revolution on the V6, 2 per revolution for the 4 cylinder). A V6 tach on a 4 cylinder will read low and a 4 cylinder tach on a V6 will read high.

-Charlie

PS. Yes, I have tried most of these combinations.

This subject comes up on every cluster swap thread I've seen. There are certain circumstances in which you DO have to pull the needle and swap speedo face-plates. I had to do that with the '89 (IIRC) cluster that I put into my '91. The mounting screw locations were different from one to the other. It was really no big deal to pull the needle though. It was either that, or instantly have 80k more miles on my car.