- Thread starter
- #141
The odometer comes set at zero. I set it at 115k because I think that's how many miles are on it. It shows 15k, I'm assuming by the shape the vehicle is in, it has only rolled once.
My TLC experience (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter sogncab
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
The odometer comes set at zero. I set it at 115k because I think that's how many miles are on it. It shows 15k, I'm assuming by the shape the vehicle is in, it has only rolled once.
- Thread starter
- #142
Install wasn't that hard. I basically just followed the instructions as best as my OCD/ADD brain could.... I get sleepy reading instructions. I speed read through, toss them off to the side, the refer back to them later way my true inner retard comes boiling out and something isn't working. I do have a few questions for Dakota Digital, but nothing that really matters right now. All of wires are a mile long, and I've got a semi tidy rat's nest behind the cluster. If I can trim those down, (I'm betting I can), that would clean up a bunch of that. I'm sure some of their specific jumper cables can be had in custom lengths as well. Right now it really doesn't matter. I want the extra length, just in case things have to be juggled around with the new engine.
It wasn't difficult to put in, but it was time consuming. All in all, I've got at least 8 hours screwing around with it I bet.
I didn't want to cut anything in the factory harness. Hindsite, I should've started earlier and found a roached third generation set of gauges to cut the plug out in the back. Making pins, soldering the pins, heatshrink, then getting those pins into the correct place took a minute. Even then, what I did isn't a great solution. I was thinking about making a male plug using the cnc to mark out the hole locations, then finding some small brass rod, (or making my own on a lathe), so I have something a little less jury rigged going together. I think it'll be fine, but might be a problem later. If it is, I'll do something more clever.
I removed the original gauges first. Found a diagram from here somewhere and printed that off. Then started on figuring out how to make a connection to the factory barrel plug. This is what I came up with.
Basically a solderless connector, sans insulation.
-The top one is the way it came out of the package.
-Then I ground the one end basically in half.
-Folded it together to make a pin, (which was fidgety AF). Easy to make it too small, also easy to be too big. It took some trial and error, mostly error....
-Then soldered my wire to it, and put heatshrink on so just the end was exposed.
I needed a ground. I needed signal for: Left Turn. Right Turn. Hi Beam. Fuel Level. Dimmer. And I needed a switched hot from the ignition. I also needed a fused constant hot, which isn't in the plug.
The ground in the factory plug, I only used that for the fuel level, no where else. Earth for the brain box I pulled from the chassis, and the constant power I pulled from a previous owner's installed EZ harness setup. I have no idea what is running off of it, if anything, but it is energized, and I put that on a 3amp fuse and one of the circuits. Soldered splice, with heat shrink. While this is amateur hour, I'm doing the best I can.
I had this all together, then I forgot a few things after I had it nicely heatshrinked together, and had to take it all back apart, and do it again. This time I didn't have enough heat shrink that was large enough, and I just did a tape wrap. I'm not a fan of doing it that way. It's too tight and not as flexible as it could/should be. It'll work, just not my favorite.
I folded the wires over, zip tied them to the Toyota harness, then wrapped the hole thing in tape. Leaving a tail hanging off, so when some poor bastard, probably me, gets to take this apart, it does so easily. I thought I had a picture of it wrapped, but I guess not.
Once again, this is not ideal, this is not perfect.
You have to mount a switch to control the center screen. The bracket has two holes in it. I drilled one out a bit bigger, backed out a bolt on the parking brake mount, and affixed it there. It's fairly out of the way. Doesn't stand out, and I didn't have to make any of the dash holes larger. Which is good, because I don't think I've got a uni-bit that is the correct size anyways.
The first sender I installed was the speedometer unit. That was pretty simple. Basically take out the cable, thread in the sensor. There is a little brass unit that comes with the kit. I slid that into the transfer case first, then the sender into it. Hand tight, that's it. It comes with an extension. I don't see a need for it in this application, and did not use it. The cable that plugs into the sensor, I zip tied to the crossmember in two places, then strapped it in to the original spots on the frame, then along the firewall. I think I secured it in a few other places with zip ties as well.
Don't be a douche. Trim zip ties off with a good flush trim cutter. That way there isn't a razor sharp tail hanging off that is sure to rip your hand or testes to shreds when you least want them to.
It wasn't difficult to put in, but it was time consuming. All in all, I've got at least 8 hours screwing around with it I bet.
I didn't want to cut anything in the factory harness. Hindsite, I should've started earlier and found a roached third generation set of gauges to cut the plug out in the back. Making pins, soldering the pins, heatshrink, then getting those pins into the correct place took a minute. Even then, what I did isn't a great solution. I was thinking about making a male plug using the cnc to mark out the hole locations, then finding some small brass rod, (or making my own on a lathe), so I have something a little less jury rigged going together. I think it'll be fine, but might be a problem later. If it is, I'll do something more clever.
I removed the original gauges first. Found a diagram from here somewhere and printed that off. Then started on figuring out how to make a connection to the factory barrel plug. This is what I came up with.
Basically a solderless connector, sans insulation.
-The top one is the way it came out of the package.
-Then I ground the one end basically in half.
-Folded it together to make a pin, (which was fidgety AF). Easy to make it too small, also easy to be too big. It took some trial and error, mostly error....
-Then soldered my wire to it, and put heatshrink on so just the end was exposed.
I needed a ground. I needed signal for: Left Turn. Right Turn. Hi Beam. Fuel Level. Dimmer. And I needed a switched hot from the ignition. I also needed a fused constant hot, which isn't in the plug.
The ground in the factory plug, I only used that for the fuel level, no where else. Earth for the brain box I pulled from the chassis, and the constant power I pulled from a previous owner's installed EZ harness setup. I have no idea what is running off of it, if anything, but it is energized, and I put that on a 3amp fuse and one of the circuits. Soldered splice, with heat shrink. While this is amateur hour, I'm doing the best I can.
I had this all together, then I forgot a few things after I had it nicely heatshrinked together, and had to take it all back apart, and do it again. This time I didn't have enough heat shrink that was large enough, and I just did a tape wrap. I'm not a fan of doing it that way. It's too tight and not as flexible as it could/should be. It'll work, just not my favorite.
I folded the wires over, zip tied them to the Toyota harness, then wrapped the hole thing in tape. Leaving a tail hanging off, so when some poor bastard, probably me, gets to take this apart, it does so easily. I thought I had a picture of it wrapped, but I guess not.
Once again, this is not ideal, this is not perfect.
You have to mount a switch to control the center screen. The bracket has two holes in it. I drilled one out a bit bigger, backed out a bolt on the parking brake mount, and affixed it there. It's fairly out of the way. Doesn't stand out, and I didn't have to make any of the dash holes larger. Which is good, because I don't think I've got a uni-bit that is the correct size anyways.
The first sender I installed was the speedometer unit. That was pretty simple. Basically take out the cable, thread in the sensor. There is a little brass unit that comes with the kit. I slid that into the transfer case first, then the sender into it. Hand tight, that's it. It comes with an extension. I don't see a need for it in this application, and did not use it. The cable that plugs into the sensor, I zip tied to the crossmember in two places, then strapped it in to the original spots on the frame, then along the firewall. I think I secured it in a few other places with zip ties as well.
Don't be a douche. Trim zip ties off with a good flush trim cutter. That way there isn't a razor sharp tail hanging off that is sure to rip your hand or testes to shreds when you least want them to.
- Thread starter
- #143
I mounted the box on a piece of industrial velcro. Also the compass. The clutch pedal mount seemed like a good spot. You can see it in the upper left. It's basically the only clean thing in there....
It'll have to come out again. I think velcro is the right solution here.
There's a chubby white wire with a blue chaser towards the bottom of the opening. That's for the ammeter that you won't be using anymore. I used a short machine screw and a nut to fasten those together, then wrapped up with a mile of 3M Super 33+ tape.
Water temp sender is pretty straight forward. Take the old one out. Clean up any threads that need it, wrap in teflon tape, re install. I pulled the air cleaner. That wasn't neccessary. You can get at it just fine with it in place.
Here you can see the three sensor wires coming out of the firewall on the left side of the vehicle.
The wire here is for the water temp sensor. I didn't like the idea of it making a tight bend, so I made a gentle loop to change directions, then ziptied the whole mess to the bracket that once held the rotationg speedometer cable. Does anyone know how many rpm that cable turns going 60mph? It can't be much, but it had me curious.
Once again, nicely trimmed zip ties. Nobody likes snagging their anus on something sharp like that. (Don't ask my how that could happen, let's just start with the worst case scenario, and back out from there. Pun intended.)
It'll have to come out again. I think velcro is the right solution here.
There's a chubby white wire with a blue chaser towards the bottom of the opening. That's for the ammeter that you won't be using anymore. I used a short machine screw and a nut to fasten those together, then wrapped up with a mile of 3M Super 33+ tape.
Water temp sender is pretty straight forward. Take the old one out. Clean up any threads that need it, wrap in teflon tape, re install. I pulled the air cleaner. That wasn't neccessary. You can get at it just fine with it in place.
Here you can see the three sensor wires coming out of the firewall on the left side of the vehicle.
The wire here is for the water temp sensor. I didn't like the idea of it making a tight bend, so I made a gentle loop to change directions, then ziptied the whole mess to the bracket that once held the rotationg speedometer cable. Does anyone know how many rpm that cable turns going 60mph? It can't be much, but it had me curious.
Once again, nicely trimmed zip ties. Nobody likes snagging their anus on something sharp like that. (Don't ask my how that could happen, let's just start with the worst case scenario, and back out from there. Pun intended.)
Green Bean
SILVER Star
This is really helpful. PM sent.
Thanks for posting!
- Thread starter
- #145
Next up. Oil pressure sender. Once again, super simple. Route the cable in a smart path, and secure it. The old sender spun off easily enough. The new one had notches in the lands for a wrench, and I thought that meant left hand threads, but apparently its just pipe thread. Sending a tap through mine might've been a good idea. I cleaned up the thread goop as best I could with a pick, but it was a little snotty to get started, and didn't go in super smooth either. I used teflon tape here as well.
Top side. I pulled the battery, battery tray, and the muck deflector from underneath the battery. Maybe not neccessary? I wasn't in the mode or mood for hassle, and it's just a few fasteners to get everything out.
I like to write the mileage on oil filters with a paint marker. I should do the date too. My brother does that.
Bottom side. Simple.
Video isn't supported here. I took a couple of 10 second videos showing the different gauges you can have in the center. It's pretty slick. I'm going to drive it home tonight, and get the speedometer spot on by connecting my phone using Bluetooth. That's a cool feature. Navigating the menu screens using the switch in the dash works, but it's much easier via a device.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. This is slick. It doesn't look out of place, and the functionality of it is great. I'll be able to do a whole lot more once I have a signal from the Cummins' ODB port as well when that happens. I should be able to display boost and a few other things on the center screen if I want.
Wait time is about what you expect with a population that wants to play pandemic. It took about 3 months. Maybe a twinge less. I could care less on something like this. I'm genuinely surprised it didn't take longer with the state of things being what they are.
Top side. I pulled the battery, battery tray, and the muck deflector from underneath the battery. Maybe not neccessary? I wasn't in the mode or mood for hassle, and it's just a few fasteners to get everything out.
I like to write the mileage on oil filters with a paint marker. I should do the date too. My brother does that.
Bottom side. Simple.
Video isn't supported here. I took a couple of 10 second videos showing the different gauges you can have in the center. It's pretty slick. I'm going to drive it home tonight, and get the speedometer spot on by connecting my phone using Bluetooth. That's a cool feature. Navigating the menu screens using the switch in the dash works, but it's much easier via a device.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. This is slick. It doesn't look out of place, and the functionality of it is great. I'll be able to do a whole lot more once I have a signal from the Cummins' ODB port as well when that happens. I should be able to display boost and a few other things on the center screen if I want.
Wait time is about what you expect with a population that wants to play pandemic. It took about 3 months. Maybe a twinge less. I could care less on something like this. I'm genuinely surprised it didn't take longer with the state of things being what they are.
Green Bean
SILVER Star
I noticed that in your write-up you mentioned needing to wire the turn signals. Our 1970 has the turn indicator lights mounted on the dash outside of the instrument cluster. Do you know if we can keep those functional? Or are folks just abandoning the old turn signal dash lights?
This is exactly what I did with mine. Perfect spot. It’s out of the way and removable with Velcro.
- Thread starter
- #148
I'm guessing you could do both if you like. While monkeying with the settings, I accidentally shut mine off.
It's just a signal.
You can also have that stuff show up on the center screen, but I don't care for it
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #149
Whoa. I should've gotten a new windshield first thing. Now that I'm driving home from work with the sun low in the sky, it was like driving through a kaleidoscope. To the point I thought it was getting kinda dangerous. I could easily not see one of the idiots in this town that thinks sidewalks are just a decoration.
Nice write up and Cruiser, also good to see another Minnesotan. I don't there are too many rigs in the state on the road anymore.
- Thread starter
- #151
Minnesota winters are brutal on vehicles. Mine will not be driven in the slop
- Thread starter
- #152
Looks like the Method 704 in a 16x8 will not work. A 17x8 likely will, but I'm not sure I'm thrilled with that wheel size. Might seem kinda big for this vehicle.
I made my cross section template incorrectly the first time. Wrong dimensions, and I didn't leave a space for the hub, so there's no way I could've centered it and gotten it flat against the studs.
I pushed it flat against the studs with one in either side of the template so I knew it was clocked correctly. Not hyper accurate, but accurate enough to give it a go/no go call. You can see here, I've already got a ¼" spacer in the front. I'm not sure why, I didn't put them on.
And it's no go. Sad face. Depending on how you hold the template, it either hits, or it's just too close. How much flexure is in a wheel or this assembly? How much clearance would be required?
If I go with a 17" wheel, I might be able to ditch those spacers. I'm neutral on this style spacer, as it's not a second set of studs, but it's still moving the force further out on the stud with essentially zero material supporting it for that ¼". Not that this rig is going to get wheeled hard or anything, but wheels never fall off in the garage. If it's going to fail, it'll probably send me cartwheeling through the ditch and into a packed daycare center playground, and I'll be known for years as the daycare tragedy.
I made my cross section template incorrectly the first time. Wrong dimensions, and I didn't leave a space for the hub, so there's no way I could've centered it and gotten it flat against the studs.
I pushed it flat against the studs with one in either side of the template so I knew it was clocked correctly. Not hyper accurate, but accurate enough to give it a go/no go call. You can see here, I've already got a ¼" spacer in the front. I'm not sure why, I didn't put them on.
And it's no go. Sad face. Depending on how you hold the template, it either hits, or it's just too close. How much flexure is in a wheel or this assembly? How much clearance would be required?
If I go with a 17" wheel, I might be able to ditch those spacers. I'm neutral on this style spacer, as it's not a second set of studs, but it's still moving the force further out on the stud with essentially zero material supporting it for that ¼". Not that this rig is going to get wheeled hard or anything, but wheels never fall off in the garage. If it's going to fail, it'll probably send me cartwheeling through the ditch and into a packed daycare center playground, and I'll be known for years as the daycare tragedy.
EWheeler
GOLD Star
If you properly torque your lug nuts, the studs should never see a shear force. The clamping force from the lug nuts is intended to create enough friction between the rotor face and wheel mounting surface such that the only thing the wheel studs are doing is providing the clamping force. So, your comment about moving the force out further on the stud with essentially zero material supporting it is not really a valid concern unless you don't like to torque your lug nuts
If you like the 16" methods and a small spacer is required to make them work, a small spacer wouldn't bother me if it were my truck.- Thread starter
- #154
If you properly torque your lug nuts, the studs should never see a shear force. The clamping force from the lug nuts is intended to create enough friction between the rotor face and wheel mounting surface such that the only thing the wheel studs are doing is providing the clamping force. So, your comment about moving the force out further on the stud with essentially zero material supporting it is not really a valid concern unless you don't like to torque your lug nuts
I've always been kinda anti spacer. I'm going to email Method and see if there is any custom options, or if they are worth the money. If the cost is exorbitant, I'm not interested, and I'd just go with the Corsa Dakar wheel.
I'd probably narrow up the wheel to a 7" and change the backspacing to get the clearance I want. I'm kinda doubting it is an affordable option, but you never know.
Or, I should just get over 17" wheels. It'll probably look fine. It's not like I'm going to 22's or something.
- Thread starter
- #155
I went full retard today. I'm going out to western Minnesota for a match, and there's some barren areas. Being that I've got the dumb plastic fuel tank, and only 12 gallons of capacity, I was going to make some sort of rack to hold some cans out of 2x4's, then mount the cans somehow. Then I realized I've got pile of Baltic Birch plywood drops that are basically useless, and a cnc....
I basically made a plug to go in the hole of the bumperette. I stacked up enough ply to make it 4" thick. I had to grind on it a bit to get it in, and loosen up the bumperette. Once in place, and the bumper tightened back down, it's not going anywhere. I made a plug to go where the bumper tit goes, and put a screw through that just as a backup, but I don't think it's necessary at all.
I stood on it, and the bumperette does most of the flexing, so it should be good enough for a 275 mile road trip with 65#'s of fuel hanging off of it.
As I'm typing this out. I just realized I don't know if there is enough room to just pull it out once the bumperette is loosened up.... Crap.
I also hooked up my tach on the new gauge cluster. I was going to skip it since I didn't feel like pouring any effort into something that was just going to get torn out again in a few months. But it's one wire, from the ground on the coil to the control box. Pretty simple and took maybe half an hour all said and done. I like having a tach
The compass module was being a little crabby being mounted at an angle. I moved it to flatter spot, and it seems to be behaving.
I need to train the unit for the fuel sender. I'm currently using the "63 Vette" parameters, and it's reasonably close. I filled up last night at 9% fuel level, and I still had one gallon left, so that's not off too far. When full I think it is showing 87%. That bothers me a little.
I basically made a plug to go in the hole of the bumperette. I stacked up enough ply to make it 4" thick. I had to grind on it a bit to get it in, and loosen up the bumperette. Once in place, and the bumper tightened back down, it's not going anywhere. I made a plug to go where the bumper tit goes, and put a screw through that just as a backup, but I don't think it's necessary at all.
I stood on it, and the bumperette does most of the flexing, so it should be good enough for a 275 mile road trip with 65#'s of fuel hanging off of it.
As I'm typing this out. I just realized I don't know if there is enough room to just pull it out once the bumperette is loosened up.... Crap.
I also hooked up my tach on the new gauge cluster. I was going to skip it since I didn't feel like pouring any effort into something that was just going to get torn out again in a few months. But it's one wire, from the ground on the coil to the control box. Pretty simple and took maybe half an hour all said and done. I like having a tach
The compass module was being a little crabby being mounted at an angle. I moved it to flatter spot, and it seems to be behaving.
I need to train the unit for the fuel sender. I'm currently using the "63 Vette" parameters, and it's reasonably close. I filled up last night at 9% fuel level, and I still had one gallon left, so that's not off too far. When full I think it is showing 87%. That bothers me a little.
1973Guppie
Supporting Vendor
would be interesting to hear if the wood holds up, I would expect some cracking with that weight......
Thanks for the Dakota Digital install posting. I am in the same process on my ’78. Your photos were helpful. My install has been a work in progress. Rainy day project, one wire at a time. Spend spare time in the evenings reading IH8MUD looking for tips and tricks and different methods others have used. This website has been very helpful!
- Thread starter
- #159
I don't think so on the cracking. There's a lot of very high grade plywood there that is all glued together. I've been wrong before. Lots of times.
It's a short term solution until I get a bumper made with a swing out rack.
- Thread starter
- #160
It's a stupid helpful website. Google virtually anything with FJ40 with it, and this site pops up.
Forums are a great thing. I'm happy this one is still healthy and alive.
