Full Size Jeep Network

Hey guys! New to the forum and I'm happy I found it!

Recently I bought an 84 Wagoneer and an 87 Wagoneer, and now I'm in the process of restoring the 84 wagoneer. The 87 has been in an accident and is beyond repair so I'm mainly using it for parts.

I was wondering if it's possible to take the dashboard out of the the 87 and install it onto the 84. I feel like it may be possible, but since they are different years, and different style dashboards, I wanted to check with you guys before I attempt anything.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome!

I"m not exactly sure and I bet others will chime in with more information, but yes, I think they will 100% swap over.

There might be a couple of wires that may have different connectors, but I bet they are pretty much identical.

It will physically fit. The wiring is different though. Two examples are the headlight dimmer and windshield wiper switch is in the steering column of the 87. Good luck to you if you go down this path.

Thank you so much guys! I'll most likely give it a try and hope that all goes well! I'm going to switch the steering wheel and column as well, so hopefully everything will work out!

You'll have to swap fuel level senders as well. The newer dash's fuel gauge reads different than the old ones - pull to groud for full the other for empty (don't remember which is which.)

Personally I would leave it. The older dash is the better looking dash. I've thought about putting a pre 85 dash in my 87.

Charles Kline wrote:You'll have to swap fuel level senders as well. The newer dash's fuel gauge reads different than the old ones - pull to groud for full the other for empty (don't remember which is which.)

Personally I would leave it. The older dash is the better looking dash. I've thought about putting a pre 85 dash in my 87.

Thanks for letting me know about the fuel level!

I would prefer to leave it also, but the dashboard is worn and just doesn't look that good anymore. Plus since I'm changing everything in the interior, might as well change that too. If the colors matched, I was going to leave it alone, but the new colors are light sandy color, whereas the old is reddish orange.

I'd swap wiring harnesses, too, since there are a bunch of little differences in the electrical between the two. I feel that would be easier than trying to make the '87 dash with with the '84 wiring.

My 81 came with the dash pad removed and it looks soooooooooooooo much better without it.

I have an 85 with the pad still intact and almost want to rip it out for spite. Bondo and paint will eventually fill the holes (with a nice vintage speaker cover fabric for the am speaker hole).

HeavyMetalThunder_81 wrote:I'd swap wiring harnesses, too, since there are a bunch of little differences in the electrical between the two. I feel that would be easier than trying to make the '87 dash with with the '84 wiring.

That wont really work, not entirely anyway. Quite a few things changed between 86 and 87. So parts of it will work, but not all of it.

Although the wiring is different colors and connectors it is not fundamentally different. Many of the connectors have the same number of wires just different colors and connectors. With a careful examination of the wiring diagrams from 84 and 87 the existing 84 harness could be modified to work. All you have to worry about is the sending units (oil, temp, fuel) all of which must be replaced. The connectors to the instrument cluster must be changed along with the headlight wiring, wiper switch, and tailgate switch. You also must keep in mind the separate wiring that the seatbelt and 4x4 indicators had and integrate them into the new harness. Its a lot of work, but it is doable. If you do go though with the swap, please do us all a favor and make a write up with pictures for the forum.

If your worried mainly about how the older dash looks, it would be a lot easier to swap dash pads and paint the old dash than swap the newer one in and change the wiring, sending unit, vent cables etc.

Swapping requires pulling the led dash, so why not pull it, clean it up, paint to match your new interior, clean up connections and wiring harness (under dash on all of these rigs can use some clean-up!), and reinstall? You keep everything as an 84, keep the nicer looking dash, and don't have to screw with all the extra stuff..

Just my thoughts, but i am also looking at a modified version of the older dash to go into my 88 because i like the older dash much better.

I put a 88 dash in my 79 J10 far as the dash itself bolts right in although much easier to remove the windshield to access the bolts under windshield gasket, speedo is cable driven no problem there,my running gear is all GM so can't help with guages,HVAC control head is really different, has dual blower switch's (one for heater and the other AC) all is doable just takes time to sort it all out, BTW both dash's are same underneath factory just modified the old dash for the newer style IP, you could just strip both dash's and mod the older dash to accept the newer IP/pad/controls/etc, post pic's and let us know how it all turns out!

You'll also need a different oil sender. And not sure about hvac cabling / plumbing / wiring. If it were me I'd spend the time making the original dash look better.

Sorry about not posting for a while, been busy working and taking care of other things. I appreciate all the replies!

After considering the things that everyone said, I think I'm gonna go for it, but not immediately. It's going on the list of things that have to be done. I'll definitely keep you guys updated and will post pictures and how we're going at it.

I'm pretty determined to make this work. It'll be a crew of three possibly four working on this (yep it's a lot lol). And we're all experienced with Jeeps. Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and we reinstall the old dash, and complain that we wasted our time.

Thank you guys!!!

The wiring will be the biggest difference. EVERYTHING is different. HVAC controls, radio, dimmer switch, instrument panel and even the ignition wiring.

If you swap wiring harnesses over it will be "slightly" easier. The 84 and 87 use different starter motors. The 87 has the starter solenoid built into the starter. The 84 has the solenoid on the fender. The difference is reflected in the wiring and I doubt the engine wiring harnesses are cross compatible with each other.

The Dakota digital one is kinda cool.

Might be just as easy if your going thru all the trouble.