Chevy Avalanche Club - Articles - Swapping GM gauge clusters for an upgraded appearance for your interior.

Swapping GM gauge clusters for an upgraded appearance for your interior.

Submitted By: bluedevil Date: September 21, 2008, 07:34:01 PM Views: 8280

Not feeling adventurous enough with your GM truck or SUV to install a new gauge face, but still want something different? There’s a way to do this without disassembling your factory instrument cluster and worrying about breaking or repositioning the needles. With the newer model GM SUVs and trucks, you can actually swap instrument clusters with just about any other GM vehicle. Some of the more popular instrument clusters include the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Avalanche North Face, Chevy Silverado SS, GMC Denali or Hummer H2. Factory instrument clusters are readily available from the dealer, or from aftermarket retailers. Keep in mind that the newer GM trucks and SUVs have the computer as an integral part of the Gauge Pod itself, so ordering the right part that is compatible with your truck is very important. The instrument clusters are very easy to install without the hassles of tampering with needle position or brittle gauge face appliqués. These units simply plug into the factory harness and bolt in place.

The Hummer H2 has a cool instrument cluster that would look sporty in any GM SUV or pickup truck.

This standard, boring instrument cluster in this GMC works fine, but when you want to add some spice to your interior, we opted to use the H2 instrument cluster.

The first part of the procedure in swapping out the instrument cluster is to pull back on the dash fascia.

There are four 7mm bolts around the entire instrument cluster. These are easily removed.

Make sure that the steering wheel is set to its lowest position and that there is enough room to pull out the cluster.

With the bolts removed, the original instrument cluster easily pulls away from the dash. The factory harness must then be carefully unplugged from the rear of the cluster.

The Hummer H2 instrument cluster is exactly the same size and plugs into the wiring harness. It fits into the same location as the original.

Make sure to carefully plug in the harness. It should not be forced into position and it locks into place.

Before you replace the factory bolts and fascia, make sure that the instrument cluster is operating properly.

The finished installation looks great and adds a sporty look to your vehicle.

Some aftermarket manufacturers provide a mileage sticker that indicates when the instrument cluster was changed. This is a good idea to have, if and whenever you decide to sell your vehicle.

[Source: ChevyTruckWorld]

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