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87 MJ/XJ after market gauges anyone?

M

madwild

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Los Angeles CA
Ok, my MJ is an early 87 that has the idiot light guages. I want to have a working tach, temp and volt guages. Obviously I do not need a speed or a gas gauge. I cannot do the easy guage swap because my MJ has the shifter on the steering column, therefore it also has the shifter indicator on the guage cluster itself.
I am forced to look for an after market set up. I have considered having a multi guage one like the ones people put on hondas, the big circular one that has the tach and the rest in the big guage itself. Like this one http://www.revotechnica.com/meter.htm

Or (this is what I am hoping) get some good ideas from this forum. I would like to place them near the side of the plastic driver corner molding, with an after market molding. Does anyone know who sales these types of moldings and guages? Any better ideas? Pictures? thanks.
herbert
 
oh yeah, another thing that I wrote on the topic opener was that my mj is the early MJ, without the ballast resistor. For what I heard the early 87 guages are not compatible wit the the rest of them. That's what I have read so far. I'll check out the comanche club.
 
hubs97xj said:
Not sure if it's doable on an early MJ, but there are two threads floating around where guys hacked up the cluster to install aftermarket gauges. Here's one; the other, IINM, basically replaced the face of the panel, which may not be an option for you.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=992769
Click to expand...
Thanks for the thread. Very nice!
I saw two threads at the comancheclub. They did required to hack into the gauge. What i did noticed is that their gauges had screws to remove the gauge and my early 87 doesnt have the screws. I am leaning towards an aftermarket setup. So if anyone has anything aftermarket or can lead me to a link it would be appreciated.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.794459,-118.261995
 
I bet you can pick up full guage clusters from 85-96 XJs all day long at the junk yard for cheap.

Get a couple of them and try to meld the XJ into the MJ shift indicator. See what you come up with.

Sounds like a cool project.
 
Cottontail said:
I bet you can pick up full guage clusters from 85-96 XJs all day long at the junk yard for cheap.

Get a couple of them and try to meld the XJ into the MJ shift indicator. See what you come up with.

Sounds like a cool project.
Click to expand...
Yup. I have seen too many xjs at the jy. I dont think it will b a problem to take them out. And play with them. Matter of fact i have a full mech gauges cluster at home. But, since i read somewhere that the speedo cable is completely diff from 84-early87s like mine versus 87-90. Ealry 87s are renix but they have some differences like no fuel pump ballast resistor and the ignition relay(metal box) is different too.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.861840,-118.160278
 
Not sure how involved you want to get, but the early style MJ/XJ column is sourced from GMs parts bin.
It would be some work, but you you could find a late '70s to late '80s GM column shift column that has the gear indicator on the column itself. Swap the top of the column onto the MJ column assembly, then put a conventional XJ gauge cluster in the dash.
 
tbburg said:
Not sure how involved you want to get, but the early style MJ/XJ column is sourced from GMs parts bin.
It would be some work, but you you could find a late '70s to late '80s GM column shift column that has the gear indicator on the column itself. Swap the top of the column onto the MJ column assembly, then put a conventional XJ gauge cluster in the dash.
Click to expand...

You are right! I wonder how intricate this job would be. And if it would be a straight swap or would i need some type of mod. A straight swap would be perfect. Matter of fact. Doesnt some auto yjs have the shifter indicators righ on the column itself? Could that be an option?


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.856687,-118.180192
 
The column probably isn't a straight swap. Chances are most car columns are too long to swap into an MJ. I was think you could build a franken-column using various parts to get a gear indicator on the column itself.

Not so much help on aftermarket install. The gauges in my MJ are in a center dash pod, aimed at the passenger. The other set I've fooled with, on Zoomy97acr's MJ, are mounted in front of the passenger seat.(They're both race trucks.)
I've thought about cutting the idiot lights out of my instrument cluster and installing 1" or 1 1/8" gauges in the cluster itself, cutting the dash out behind it to accommodate the gauge bodies, but this might not be an option for a street truck.
 
I understand what you are saying. Ill check out the info you gave me and thanks for the help. I have jk axles in my mj and it developed a nasty clicking on it. Turned out to be a wornout taperred tierod end on my draglink that connects on the knuckle. Since i have jk axles on my mj and the previous place where i took it to get the steering fix decided to weld(without telling me, or giving me better options) the knucke small so that my draglink tappered tierod cut be tighter(bad idea cuz after 6 months the weld started to come off and i have the clicking) now im forced to put a new draglink with heimjoints on both ends. Is $394 too much for this?
I know this is not part of the gauges tread so dont feel obligated to answer. I just wanted to vent about my shop experience. Back to the guages...


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.929857,-118.360728
 
madwild said:
oh yeah, another thing that I wrote on the topic opener was that my mj is the early MJ, without the ballast resistor. For what I heard the early 87 guages are not compatible wit the the rest of them. That's what I have read so far. I'll check out the comanche club.
Click to expand...

Dunno about that - my 87XJ received an 89 gage cluster. Replaced the oil pressure sensor and the coolant temperature sensor in the head, drop-in fit, and alles gut! Ran it for ten years. (I know that isn't relevant to your shift indicator, but the gages are compatible.)

The ballast resistor you're likely referring to was a "voluntary recall" from mid-1988 forward, and was also installed OEM at that point. Why? NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness.)

Apparently, some wussies were complaining about fuel pump noise, and the ballast was added as a current-limiter to reduce pump speed (and noise.)

Hey - you want a quiet ride? Buy a Caddy!

My 1987 didn't have one.
My 1988 had one, but it blew and got bypassed.
My two 1989s and my 1990 had them, but they never failed, or I'd have removed them (my wife doesn't mind a little vehicle noise, either. She notices a noise is "missing" usually right after I do - I'm just a bit more in tune with mechanical things than she is...)

Another thing I just thought of - it was a standard Saginaw column, as used in GM vehicles of the era. I know plenty of GM vehicles had the A/T shift indicator as part of the column housing - I'm sure it would take some adapting, but your column could probably stand a refresh by now anyhow (it's only been 24 years.) This could present another option...
 
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