I have a '95 850 T-5R that I brought over from Germany, so it has the euro dashboard and I wanted to replace it with an American one, so I don't have to convert km/h to mp/h in my head all the time. Is that something that can just be replaced, like pull the old one out and plug a new one in, or is there more to it? Also, would I need a t-5r specific dash, or are they all the same, could I just use a base 850 dash if I found one? I was looking through the forum and couldn't find anything on this subject, but if I missed it, please point me in the right direction.

 

You can swap out the gauge cluster pretty easily. There's like seven screws holding down the dash cover (including one hiding inside the drivers side vent!) - start with the one in the door jamb and work your way over past the center console - you then can pry / bend the cover up to the windshield and gain access to remove the cluster. If I recall there's two connectors plus a vacuum line for the boost guage and a couple of clips. You'd want a cluster from an 850T as the NAs don't have the boost guage. With the cluster out, its a good time to replace the odometer gears as well as they are prone to fail. To disassemble the cluster you just need a T-8 bit and the replacement gears are easy to find on eBay or Amazon. You should also be able to find instructions for removing the cluster on Youtube as part of the "how to" for fixing the odometer gears. Just take pics of the old and new cluster to prove the car's mileage as that will help add to the value.

 

" you then can pry / bend the cover up to the windshield and gain access to remove the cluster." - I would just remove the dash pad because some of the plastic underneath is very brittle.

 

I appreciate the response! I actually pulled out the cluster before to replace some lights or something, it's a bit of pain but not too bad. I was more concerned if a euro and American would be interchangeable, which it sounds like they are, I just need to make sure I get one from a turbo. Thanks!

 

There were two different manufacturers of cluster for the 850, Yazaki and VDO and from what I know they are not interchangeable

 

plenty of clusters on eBay for about $75 to 100 USD. I've gone that route in the past. Never seen a Yazaki in the US - good to know.