"New" 92 3.0 5speed ranger

[eaglec1978]

Hi guys new here been looking for a while but first posting. I hope this the right area but i just picked up a 92 3.0 5 speed ranger for cheap. Guy told me the engine andbtrans was from a newer truck but didnt know more than that and that because of this the speedo/tach wasnt working. This is my first square body and first 6 cylinder ranger so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction to getting this fixed if possible

 

[saskbill]

Well the tach will be electronic not so much in my wheelhouse.

The original speedo on a 92 should be a gear-driven cable (with an electronic pick-up for the cruise control, if equipped). If you crawl under the truck the sending unit should be right there on the side of the trans, with cable going towards front of cab. If its there, then matter of following cable into dash, pull speedo cluster - see if it is hooked up right or possibly cable may be broken.

If it is a newer trans, it may not have a place to mount a speedo gear, as later units used, I believe, wheel sensors for speed (somebody else more knowledgeable on newer models can take it from here). If you find no cable and pickup unit hanging off the side of the trans, or it is tied up under the truck with no place to mount it to the trans, this could be a problem.

 

[RonD]

Yes, what saskbill said

I assume 2WD, 4WD would have speedo hook up on transfer case so it would still work

Speedo/odo was cable driven until 1995 model year, that year dash used electronic speedo/odo and some sort of VSS(vehicle speed sensor), these changed locations and types over the years.

Look here for speedo info: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/speedometer.shtml

You will have an M5OD-R1 trans, these manual transmissions were used in Rangers from 1988 until end of production, 2012

From the pictures in above link you can see the combo VSS/Cable drive that would have been used on your '92 originally.
From 1995 to 1997 same setup was used just no cable drive, but the worm gear on the output shaft of trans was still there and used to drive the VSS.

So have a look at current transmission, it could still have the worm gear inside and just need the cable drive/VSS combo installed to get your speedo back up and running.

1998 to 2000 Rangers had VSS on rear axle, so if trans is from that year you may be able to pull the tail shaft housing and add a worm gear and tail shaft housing that has hole for speedo hookup.
In 2001 VSS was back on trans but don't think it can be changed to cable drive

Worst case is to add a Dakota Digital cable drive: http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=886/category_id=-1/mode=prod/prd886.htm

Expensive, and you still need to make sure you have a VSS and it is working to use this


Switching instrument panels(to 1995 or up) is a possibility, still need to make sure you have a working VSS, and feel comfortable about making wiring changes

 

[eaglec1978]

Thanks guy's yeah I figured it would something like yall are saying just havent had a chance to lift the truck to get under it yet but defenitely appreciate the insight so far. It is a 2wd truck that appears to have been lowered just not sure how much or how it was done as again havent had a chance to climb under it yet but it actually rides pretty good...lol.

 

[RonD]

And for a quick and not too expensive add-on you can get a GPS speedometer to use temporarily or as long as you want

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I have a free app on my android phone called DigiHUD. It does GPS speed and a few other things.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[eaglec1978]

Thanks again guys for the info so for. Been a while since ive been on any forum but so far this seems like a good one. As far as digihud ive had that on my last 3 phones and love the app and the hud view is cool at night. Looking forward to the boards.

 

[eaglec1978]

Ok guys so I finally got a chance to slide under the truck and who ever did the motor trans swap used a 5 speed out of a newer truck without the spot for the speedo gear so my question now is it possible to swap the tail shaft from an older transmission onto this trans? Would much rather do this than swap the whole trans of possible as id really like to get the speedo and odo working even if it's off.

 

[AllanD]

Yes a 2wd tailshaft from an 88-94 trans will swap right on.

It can easily be done without pulling the trans

You will need the tail-shaft itself, the speedo drive and driven gears
(this is both the ring shaped "worm" gear and the pinion that goes on the VSS unit that goes on the end of the cable)

You will also need the location "ball" and the Retaining C-clip that hold the worm gear in
place...

But I've never seen a 2wd output shaft that didn't have the provisions for the speedo gear...

 

[eaglec1978]

Thanks for the verification on this I was pretty sure but just needed that extra nudge I guess. So far the truck is doing me well just a few things here and there like today the radiator started leaking from where the upper trans cooler line comes out. I wish it didn't even have that since its a manual shift truck. Looks like I've got the next project lined up...lol