I'm looking to do some small upgrades in the near future. I've ordered a set of white gauges for my intrument cluster, but still would like something a tad bit nicer. Are the gauges from a 3rd Gen ram interchangeable with those of a 2nd Gen? (Meaning, could I put 6 individual gauges from a 3rd Gen into my '97 cluster?)

Also, this one a little simpler, how difficult would it be to replace my radio with a newer styled (read: '02-'05) one? I'm tried of not being able to play all of my burnt CDs on the old CD players, but I don't want to go aftermarket.

What do y'all think? Feasible? Rediculous? Easy? Hard? Let me know...

 

I couldnt tell you about the guages... I would say trial and error is the best way to figure that out... maybe someone else has some insight.

The shape of the actual radio is going to be different.
2nd gen is totally square - 3rd gen has rounded corners and a different mounting.

 

Good Question on the interchange, I haven't seen anything like that for Dodge and Ford, the only one I know that changes is GM.

The radio question I know. The third generation does not fit I tried. I bought it off ebay and in reallity it was more expensive than aftermarket. So I sold back on ebay took the money and bought an MP3 player a 400W amp and a 10" Sub to match all sony components, it sounds awsome, and only cost me about $50 more. Got to love Ebay.

 

Why/how did it not fit? I know that the wire conectors are different...

 

 

LOL quoting yourself.........

 

well.... they missed it the first time.

 

What I meant to specify were the dimensions. If the rounded corners or the tabs are the problem, that can be fixed with a hacksaw and some filler. Will the radio fit in the slot? And does anyone know about the gauges? I like having the digital read-outs at the bottom, but do not like the styling of the '98 - '01 clusters... Maybe I'm just too picky? Haha...

 

The metal frame of the radio is the same... so some creative sawing, body putty, paint might be able to make it work.

The digital numbers are one reason the guages won't work..I never thought of that until you mentioned it.
On the 98+ the odometer gets its info from the PCM. On the older style there is a cable to drive the odometer. ( I think )
There would be no practical way to make them interchange.

The guages themselves I am not sure about.. but to go to a digital odo would be nearly impossible.

 

dodgedlr, maybe you can check out the other the other thread on the same subject. I posed a similar question, I have a 97 without the tach in the dash, could I swap it to another 97 cluster with the tach, would it work, would the odo reset itself or would I need to have a dealer do that?