[thegrid22593]

Hi all,

The metal piece that you put the j-hook into for the gear indicator in the dash is missing on my 85 RC.

I have an 88 RC part truck that has it and I am wondering if it’s possible to remove the metal piece and put it on the 85 or maybe I can somehow jerry rig something else to make it work. I looked down on the steering column with the truck in 1st gear and it looks like the metal piece has maybe two screws but it’s hard to tell without dropping the column.

Any ideas?


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[dodge82273]

If I recall correctly , the prnd2l thing is held to the cluster by 2 screws on your '85 I do not know if its exactly the same on the 88 due to the 85 being a cable speedo , but yeah the stick shift trucks used the same cluster WITH out that spring loaded indicator....  before you even try , look real close at the '85's , that j hook sometimes goes so far over you don't SEE it there ...  oh , I reread , the part on column is broke ? if both are NON tilt , you should be able to steal parts .....

 

[thegrid22593]

If I recall correctly , the prnd2l thing is held to the cluster by 2 screws on your '85 I do not know if its exactly the same on the 88 due to the 85 being a cable speedo , but yeah the stick shift trucks used the same cluster WITH out that spring loaded indicator.... before you even try , look real close at the '85's , that j hook sometimes goes so far over you don't SEE it there ... oh , I reread , the part on column is broke ? if both are NON tilt , you should be able to steal parts .....

I'm guessing it's broke on the 85'. I haven't pulled the dash out yet to really see but with feeling the area it should be it feels like the metal got snapped off where the piece was.

I've pulled the dash on the 88 and that brown metal piece (see photo) that the j-hook goes on is missing on the 85. So I should be able to swap? The 88 does have tilting capabilities the 85 does not.

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[dodge82273]

I honestly don't know if the 2 indicator arms are the same between tilt and non tilt columns , I will tell ya the 2 columns wires are different , your '85's wipers switch , and headlamp dimmer are not in the column like they are in the 88 .  sorry I can't be of more help on this one ..

 

[thegrid22593]

Anything I could possibly use as a replacement for this maybe something like a hose clamp kinda? Or I might have to do some welding.


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[dodge82273]

the arm should have left a part of itself attached no? and that cable / spring deal IS pretty weak , although adjustment of where the orange needle depends on bending the arm , hooking in the right slot . A tac weld ?

 

[thegrid22593]

the arm should have left a part of itself attached no? and that cable / spring deal IS pretty weak , although adjustment of where the orange needle depends on bending the arm , hooking in the right slot . A tac weld ?

Yea I gotta pull the dash on the 85 to see if there is something left from the broken arm that's missing. I can only feel with my finger right now and it definitely feels like something is there that is left over from the broken arm. I will check this out tomorrow after work. Might be able to swap the arms.

The small cable piece works fine.

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[dodge82273]

might be  ,, might , easier to drop the column down ? may have to anyway?

 

[thegrid22593]

Okay, dropped the column down and here is what is holding the arm on. Never seen these circular items before. Do I need a special tool to get these out?

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[dodge82273]

you just drill them , cut in only far enough for the peen over part to dissapear , then push the rest out of the hole  they are POP rivets a hand tool can replace them .

 

[thegrid22593]

you just drill them , cut in only far enough for the peen over part to dissapear , then push the rest out of the hole they are POP rivets a hand tool can replace them .

Gotcha! Just watched some videos on working with pop rivets, seems straight forward. I will work on this tonight

 

[thegrid22593]

Alright, update: Couldn't drill out the rivet because my gun is to large. Ended up hammering out with a flathead screwdriver and a hammer, taking the head off the top of the rivet then punching the rest out of the hole. Arm piece came right off. Going to install in the 85 today after I grab some rivets from the store and a hand tool to install them.

 

[dodge82273]

ya can even grind the rivet heads off , the rivets come in different lengths , depending on the thickness of the materials you are joining ... I'd figger doubble that of the arm as the needed length ....maybe a touch more .