gauge cluster swap

i am planning one doing the gauge cluster swap because i happen to be blessed with those "idiot" lights. i know how to do everything, i am just curious to know how accurate the gas guage is. i read somewhere that it isnt very accurate after the swap. also is it illegal to "roll" the odometer from the new odometer to the real milage on the xj?

I did the swap in my '96. Gas guage still works fine, it's just a lot smaller.
I tried to "roll" the new speedo. to match the original, it didn't work for me but has for others. I ended up putting the orig. back in and missing out on the trip odometer.

Mike

I never had a problem with the gas gauge. The specs are the same, so unless you get a bad gauge you're fine. The gauges are not very well made, so of course you could get a bad one, especially if yours is salvaged from a wreck. The one I got for my 95 had a bad voltmeter, because its innards are glued together and sometimes come apart. The gauge is calibrated by adjusting the position of the glued-on piece. I can't remember the exact construction details after a few years, but it is possible to open the meter up, and reglue it so that it reads correctly.

I don't know about legality on a reset odo. I didn't worry about mine, since I intend to drive it until it is junk and mileage is not an issue, but figure it should be all right as long as you're honest when you sell it, and explain what you've done. I was able to reset mine with a very fine dental pick, reaching in between the barrels to move the individual barrels. Work from small to large, so that when you move the numbers, you don't roll over a larger one that you've just reset, or you'll have to do it all over again. It's been a long time since I did this, so I don't remember exactly how I did it, but it wasn't very hard.

Hi there,

I did the swap on my '92 and the gas guage works great, even the low fuel light seems to illuminate about the right time. Who needs a GIANT fuel guage anyway? I'd rather have the tach and guages than idiot lights anyday.

It always baffled me why Jeep thought that it was necessary to give most autos the tach and make manuals without them(3 out of my 4 5-spd 4.0s didn't have one).

Thats what the up-shift light is for!!!:clap:

But seriously, most (not all) 5 speeds, especially the older ones, were strippers as far as options go, so most missed out on a tach.

its only illegal if you change it out in the attempt to make people think it has fewer miles on it than it really has.