How much work would it be to add one of the off-road auxiliary instrument clusters to my 1990 LWB? It didn't come with the off-road package. I see that I could get the instrument cluster from a junk yard or even off Ebay. Is all of the wiring/instrumentation that I would need readily available or easy to add to my engine? I guess I need something to read the voltage on the charging system and the oil pressure? What about physically mounting it to the dash?

thanks,
steve

Should just be like any other gauge install, mate. Tap into switched power down in the console for both general power and illumination, then run them up to the area with a solid ground. You'll then need to run your signal lines from the oil pressure sending unit (OPSU) and wherever you tap for your battery voltage.

If you're going to have to source gauges, might as well find quality units from the likes of Autometer. I suspect common, 52mm gauges will fit with minimal trimming - although I've not tried yet.

The inclinometers are often pointless. Mine shows upwards of 15? incline every time I leave a stop light, and swings wildly about on any turn. It's more comical novelty than anything else. I think a compass would be more useful, or perhaps, given these guys' penchant for overheating, a proper coolant temp gauge.

If you can't find a factory pod, you might find a universal out there somewhere, too.

Good luck.

That's some real solid advice there!

It's almost a plug and play job.
The wiring for the pod is already installed in your truck. It's located in the center of the dash under the vent looking thing.

You will need to get the oil sending unit from the donor truck or order a new one. You also need to remove the oil light in the speedometer pod. Don't forget to do that or things will not work right.

It's been awhile since I've put one in, but I know the screw hole are in the metal part of the dash. You just need to locate them. Pull the pod yourself, from the donor truck, so you can get an ideal how things go.
Good luck and have fun. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

IMHO, the stock oil pressure gauge is junk, marginal at best, too highly damped, and often inaccurate. I prefer a mechanical gauge. I'd tee the port where the oil light sender lives, and use the light and a mechanical gauge. The inclinometer dances when the damping oil inside leaks out. There's a cast bullseye thermal expansion diaphragm in the back of the gauge that cracks over time and lets the glycerin out, but it can be repaired with something like clear rtv that stays flexible, and then you can drill a small hole in the top and refill with compass fluid, sealing the hole with more flexi stuff. If you want another gauge in there, like atf temp, there are ball in curved tube inclinometers available from many OR stores that do a very good job. You need two, one mounted fore/aft, and one side to side.

Amen to the oil pressure gauge. Mine reads about 15psi at hot idle and in the 35-40psi range tooling down the road. An Autometer reading from the same oil gallery port reads 25psi at hot idle and 70psi at RPM. And as Fasteddy said, really slow to react.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate it.

I managed to find a cluster from a guy selling it on a Toyota Land Cruiser forum (of all things). He shipped it to me for $45 so now I have it in hand. I need to look at the wiring and then figure out what I want to do with the gauges. But I'm first curious about the physical mounting. It looks it requires two or three screws to hold it down in the front? I guess that I'll need to make holes in my existing dash surface to mount it?

thanks,
steve

It it's a Mitsu middle cluster it will almost plug and play. If not, you'll need to find a way to get it to mount up and receive power. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I'm hoping he sold you a Mitsu unit rather than a Toyota one.

It's definitely the OEM Montero one. Even the same color (brown) as my dash.

steve

That's cool! He probably bought it thinking he could use it for his toyota.

In the middle of your dash on top there's a little vent looking plastic piece. It comes off and you can fish the wiring harness connector up through that hole to plug into your gauge pod.

Then you simply need to screw the pod in place and you're pretty much done. I don't recall if there are already captive nuts in the dash for it under the paint but I would think it's possible but maybe someone else knows.

If not, you can easily drill 2 holes and use sheet metal screws to hold down the pod. Just don't over tighten the screws down since the pod's plastic base is probably very brittle with age. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />