hi guys, Searching has yielded no definite answer for me to these questions.

I had an issue removing my needles from my cluster in my 07 sport. Now, my tach and fuel don't work properly. so a few questions:

is there a trick to removing the needles?
can the entire cluster be swapped out with another used one without effecting the PATS system as in, will my truck be immobilized once the computer sees the new cluster?

 

surly someone must have replaced their cluster in an 07 or newer?

 

I believe a member named Jp7 was the first to successfully remove and reinstall needles on a 2004+ cluster and have it work properly afterward. After that he was the go-to for '04+ cluster questions. There's some special trick to getting them off that is completely different than the 1993-2003 clusters that only require a fork to remove.

After some searching I found a couple of links for you...

Clicky: https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...ger-dvd-69913/
Clicky: https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...cluster-83001/ (click on the picture to view the video)
Clicky: https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...-inside-83005/
Clicky: https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...-galore-69885/

I added other links because Jp7 likely noted needle removal/installation in his cluster build thread.



Why did you need to remove the needles in the first place???

Swapping clusters around isn't as easy on '04+ as it is on the '03 and older trucks. I believe you must swap over the odometer screen thing because it communicates with the PCM. I am sure that Jp7 has covered this is a thread or two. I've found a couple threads asking the same question and they more-or-less say either a: swap just the faces using your existing backing plate and odometer or b: swapping odometer to the new cluster.