i own a 97 4x4 with a 4.6 windsor and a mr2 5 speed. my question is. why didn't it come with a factory tach when alot of the automatics do (doesn't make any sense to me) and since it didn't how hard is it to install an aftermarket tach. i've heard many different ways to do so but wich is the most fail proof and less likely to mess up something else. also does anyone know if they make a tach that will fit in a pillar pod. any and advice would be appreciated

 

The tach had nothing to do with type of transmission and everything to do with Trimline.

The tach was just another carrot that got dangled....
"Oh, you want a tach? Let me show this XLT model for only twentyseven hundred and fifty dollars more..."

 

Sounds like he answered your first question, but tachs are easy to install, they won't mess anything up unless you do. Just follow the directions that come with it and you should be fine. And yes they make tachs that fit into a guage pod. Just find out the size of the pod and find a tach that is the same, you can check summit, jegs, or just go straight to auto meter.

 

XLT five speeds got tachs

Adrianspeeder

 

If he has an XL he doesnt have a tach.

 

some 97 f-150 did not have tachs...Ford felt they were not needed...at some point in the production run, they made it an option, I have seen some xl with a tach, and some xlts with out a tach, on the 06 xl service loaner I recantly had truck did not have a tach....I seldom look at the speedometer/tach when I drive.

 

Our 97 is an early 97. Though it was special ordered to get the M5OD.

Adrianspeeder

 

My 02 Xl Sport has a tch, but it's a five speed. Like raoul said it all has to do with the trim and your options

 

did it atleast come with a shift light?

 

No.
It didn't even come with a Bud light.

(...It may have but, the guy that prepped the trucks at the dealership drank them)

 

 

No ford trucks come with a shift light. And WTF do I want a computer telling me when to shift for? There is a reason I like manuals.

Adrianspeeder

 

Does anyone know if the wiring is there if you wanted to add a different dash out of another truck that has a tach?

 

that's a good question. i was kind of wondering the same thing when i came across a gauge cluster with a tach for 50 bucks. i called my nearby dealer and asked if it would work, they didn't know. (and they call themselves "blue oval certified" )

 

If you have a 97 or 98 it is a direct swap. Just plug and play, other than the odometer readings.