This is a lengthy post, but covers what the instruction manual doesn't with some other recommendations. I have the original Instruction sheet from Ford in .pdf and the below document in MS Word that I can send, if anyone requests it. The pictures in the original Ford instruction manual are much more detailed than what you can find on scanned copies. Hope this helps.
1. Read the Ford Mustang Gauge Pack (M-6304GP-PACK-MA) instructions fully.
2. Nice to know items before starting:
a. Before you disconnect your power, make sure you open your doors and move your seats back if you have electric seats. (When you pull the door handle and open the doors, the windows drop about ¼” to clear the window molding. I am recommending this because after I disconnected power, the driver’s side door wouldn’t shut properly because the window wouldn’t fit under the molding since it was in the full up position.)
b. The dash is made out of plastic only, no metal. So don’t sweat getting any metal shavings in the wrong place when cutting the hole for the installation.
c. I was unable to secure the Accelerometer as designed to the underside of the Gauge Pod (black bundle taped to a plastic holder with clips inside the Pod assembly). With the accelerometer clipped into place as designed, I was unable to get the Gauge Pod front mounting clip to engage correctly.
3. Remove the Instrument Cluster Bezel.
a. Bezel pulls off. Reach in to the large gauges and find edge and pull towards you. (You might want to drape a clean shop towel over the top steering wheel plastic cover to protect it against scratches when maneuvering the bezel free.)
4. Unbolt and pull the Passenger Air Bag partially out.
a. DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE FOR 10 MINUTES (this will insure the air bag will not accidently discharge and seriously injure or kill you. Remember to open the doors and move the seats all the way back, if electric, before you kill power.
b. Remove the glove box. Remove the four screws under glove box. Release the glove box latch and then tilt box to release the two rubber stops. Carefully maneuver the glove box free of its location.
c. Look up under the dash to find a black box connected to underside of the air bag holder. Behind the box, at each upper back corner are two clips. You have to feel your way. Depress each clip. The box is now being held by two plastic tabs slid into holes. Slide box back while lowering back end. Box will now hang free only connected by wires.
d. Under the Air Bag holder, there are two silver screws holding the airbag in. Remove the screws. The air bag is free except for the wires. Push air bag forward and the air bag with the panels will be free. You can now pull the airbag partially out enough to allow you to gain access to the right side, center Air Vent panel screws.
5. Remove the Center Air Vent panel.
a. Remove the screw on left side and two on right side. Unclip charger plug.
6. Remove the Instrument Cluster.
a. Undo the two top screws holding the Instrument Cluster in place. Pull the bottom of the cluster to unseat the two clips holding the bottom of the cluster in place.
b. Remove the electrical connector at the back of the cluster and remove the cluster.
7. Mount the Mustang Gauge Pack Mounting plate.
a. Place the paper template on dash and tape down with painters tape.
b. Using the self tapping mounting screws, screw the screws right through the paper template until they are through the underside of the dash. (If you need to drill holes, use a small drill bit remembering the screws are self tapping. The holes shown in the Ford instructions manual are deceptively large. ) Remove the template and screws.
c. Mount the Gauge Pack Mounting plate loosely and mark the outline of the Connector Hole with a Sharpie. Then remove the Gauge Pack Mounting plate.
d. Utilizing a razor or Exacto-Knife, cut the outline of the connector hole through the dash pad down to the hard plastic dash base. Remove the top dash pad and foam from the hole.
e. Utilizing your 90 degree die grinder cut your hole for the connector. Make sure you do a thorough cleaning job. (I placed a piece of thin cardboard under the center air ducts below where I was grinding to catch the debris.)
f. Screw down the Gauge Cluster Mounting plate.
g. Place the Gauge Pod front spring steel mounting clip in the Mounting Plate hole. Then install your Gauge Pod by carefully inserting the Gauge Pod front mounting tab (plastic) into the center of the clip (already in the mounting plate.) Press the front of the pod securely to the base and then secure the front of the Pod to the base with the two screws provided. (Note: I fully installed the Gauge Pod front steel mounting clip on the Gauge Pod front mounting tab first and could not get the clip to engage into the base correctly. This is why I did it this way. In retrospect, I should have test fitted the base to the pod assembly before securing the base to ensure it fit correctly and the clip was located correctly.)
8. Route the wire harness under the dash.
a. The Factory Instrument Gauge connector harness has a plastic wrap keeping it rigid. I routed the Gauge Pod harness to tie in to the point where this plastic wrapped stopped (wire hinge point). I unwrapped the tape on this plastic sleeve (behind the connector) which then exposed about 6 – 7” of the factory wire to work with. I then staggered the splices for wires 1, 3, and 5, soldered them and wrapped them with some electrical tape. I did not stagger cut wires 12 and 13. I left them twisted and tied them into the 12 and 13th wire right at the point the OEM wire stopped twisting before going into the connector. (The twisting of the wire cancels/minimizes interference and should not be untwisted.) After taping up these two wires I rewrapped the plastic sleeve around the bundle and rewrapped the sleeve.
b. There is a ground above the knee knocker panel on the right side where the factory wiring harness goes across. (From the driver’s seat, take a look below the steering column and to the right. You will see a silver bolt that is holding a factory grounding point already. I tied in my ground here.)
c. I then ran my harness along this route (above the knee knocker panel) and down the wire harness (above you left leg kick panel) until it gets the firewall pass through as shown in the gauge installation directions.
9. Route the wire harness through the firewall and to the Oil Pressure sender unit.
a. Jack up the car and remove the left front wheel. Remove the rear inner plastic fender liner and voila! You can now see where the pass through is.
b. Cut the rubber nub off the end of the small pass through (cut just behind the bulb) and route your wire harness. I followed the factory harness along the inner fender well and back up to the engine compartment, just in front of the air box. I also removed the plastic rivet on the front inner plastic fender liner in order to gain access to the rest of the factory wiring harness.
c. Remove the Factory Air Cleaner box to gain access to your wire route and the Oil Pressure sending unit. Unplug the MAF sensor plug by pulling the red tab out (located on bottom of connector) and then unplugging the connector. Loosen the air inlet hose clamp, unclip the top of the air box from the bottom and remove the top of the air box. Remove the one 10mm screw holding the bottom of the Air Cleaner box in place and lift the Air Cleaner box carefully up and out.
d. Route the wire harness to the Oil Pressure Sending unit. The sending unit is located just above the oil filter and cooler assembly on my 2013 LS. (I routed the wire under the air box and down between the ABS brake lines and fender wall. I also used an 18” length of Thermo Sleeve I picked up from summit racing to sleeve the portion of the wire running down to the connector.)
10. Installing the pressure sending unit.
a. Remove the pressure sending unit connector. Push down on the locking tang and twist the screwdriver slightly to unlock the connector.
b. Utilizing a 13/16” deep well socket unscrew the factory oil pressure sending unit.
c. Place a towel under the oil pressure sending unit hole, and let the residual oil drain out of it. Do the same for the sender unit too as it will also have residual oil in it.
d. Once you have the hole fairly clean and somewhat oil free, take your new sensor and apply some thread sealant on the threads. (I used Permatex High Temperature Thread Sealant).
e. Carefully screw in the sensor into the hole. (It took me several tries to get the threads going, as I couldn’t see what the hell I was doing.) Tighten it by hand and then finish tightening it up with a 7/8” deep well socket and ratchet per the factory manual torque settings. Do not over tighten! (I snugged it up and then made sure the connector locking pin was on top.)
f. Connect the new connector. (I folded the wire over to provide the wire some strain relief and secured it around the oil pressure sending unit connector neck with a wire tie (The factory plug was also folded back for wire strain relief.) I then folded back the oem connector and routed the wire with the OEM connector back up the wire harness running over the back of the alternator. I secured the wire to the lower antilock brake line, leaving a sag in the harness to allow for engine torque and movement.)
11. Reinstallation of all the components is in reverse of the disassembly.
Email: [email protected]
Mustang Gauge Pack Mounting Instructions
I want to give credit where credit is due. I used a document from Jeadams2 from Mustang Evolution forum found here: http://www.mustangevolution.com/forum/f356/t305651/ as a base to start from.1. Read the Ford Mustang Gauge Pack (M-6304GP-PACK-MA) instructions fully.
2. Nice to know items before starting:
a. Before you disconnect your power, make sure you open your doors and move your seats back if you have electric seats. (When you pull the door handle and open the doors, the windows drop about ¼” to clear the window molding. I am recommending this because after I disconnected power, the driver’s side door wouldn’t shut properly because the window wouldn’t fit under the molding since it was in the full up position.)
b. The dash is made out of plastic only, no metal. So don’t sweat getting any metal shavings in the wrong place when cutting the hole for the installation.
c. I was unable to secure the Accelerometer as designed to the underside of the Gauge Pod (black bundle taped to a plastic holder with clips inside the Pod assembly). With the accelerometer clipped into place as designed, I was unable to get the Gauge Pod front mounting clip to engage correctly.
3. Remove the Instrument Cluster Bezel.
a. Bezel pulls off. Reach in to the large gauges and find edge and pull towards you. (You might want to drape a clean shop towel over the top steering wheel plastic cover to protect it against scratches when maneuvering the bezel free.)
4. Unbolt and pull the Passenger Air Bag partially out.
a. DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE FOR 10 MINUTES (this will insure the air bag will not accidently discharge and seriously injure or kill you. Remember to open the doors and move the seats all the way back, if electric, before you kill power.
b. Remove the glove box. Remove the four screws under glove box. Release the glove box latch and then tilt box to release the two rubber stops. Carefully maneuver the glove box free of its location.
c. Look up under the dash to find a black box connected to underside of the air bag holder. Behind the box, at each upper back corner are two clips. You have to feel your way. Depress each clip. The box is now being held by two plastic tabs slid into holes. Slide box back while lowering back end. Box will now hang free only connected by wires.
d. Under the Air Bag holder, there are two silver screws holding the airbag in. Remove the screws. The air bag is free except for the wires. Push air bag forward and the air bag with the panels will be free. You can now pull the airbag partially out enough to allow you to gain access to the right side, center Air Vent panel screws.
5. Remove the Center Air Vent panel.
a. Remove the screw on left side and two on right side. Unclip charger plug.
6. Remove the Instrument Cluster.
a. Undo the two top screws holding the Instrument Cluster in place. Pull the bottom of the cluster to unseat the two clips holding the bottom of the cluster in place.
b. Remove the electrical connector at the back of the cluster and remove the cluster.
7. Mount the Mustang Gauge Pack Mounting plate.
a. Place the paper template on dash and tape down with painters tape.
b. Using the self tapping mounting screws, screw the screws right through the paper template until they are through the underside of the dash. (If you need to drill holes, use a small drill bit remembering the screws are self tapping. The holes shown in the Ford instructions manual are deceptively large. ) Remove the template and screws.
c. Mount the Gauge Pack Mounting plate loosely and mark the outline of the Connector Hole with a Sharpie. Then remove the Gauge Pack Mounting plate.
d. Utilizing a razor or Exacto-Knife, cut the outline of the connector hole through the dash pad down to the hard plastic dash base. Remove the top dash pad and foam from the hole.
e. Utilizing your 90 degree die grinder cut your hole for the connector. Make sure you do a thorough cleaning job. (I placed a piece of thin cardboard under the center air ducts below where I was grinding to catch the debris.)
f. Screw down the Gauge Cluster Mounting plate.
g. Place the Gauge Pod front spring steel mounting clip in the Mounting Plate hole. Then install your Gauge Pod by carefully inserting the Gauge Pod front mounting tab (plastic) into the center of the clip (already in the mounting plate.) Press the front of the pod securely to the base and then secure the front of the Pod to the base with the two screws provided. (Note: I fully installed the Gauge Pod front steel mounting clip on the Gauge Pod front mounting tab first and could not get the clip to engage into the base correctly. This is why I did it this way. In retrospect, I should have test fitted the base to the pod assembly before securing the base to ensure it fit correctly and the clip was located correctly.)
8. Route the wire harness under the dash.
a. The Factory Instrument Gauge connector harness has a plastic wrap keeping it rigid. I routed the Gauge Pod harness to tie in to the point where this plastic wrapped stopped (wire hinge point). I unwrapped the tape on this plastic sleeve (behind the connector) which then exposed about 6 – 7” of the factory wire to work with. I then staggered the splices for wires 1, 3, and 5, soldered them and wrapped them with some electrical tape. I did not stagger cut wires 12 and 13. I left them twisted and tied them into the 12 and 13th wire right at the point the OEM wire stopped twisting before going into the connector. (The twisting of the wire cancels/minimizes interference and should not be untwisted.) After taping up these two wires I rewrapped the plastic sleeve around the bundle and rewrapped the sleeve.
b. There is a ground above the knee knocker panel on the right side where the factory wiring harness goes across. (From the driver’s seat, take a look below the steering column and to the right. You will see a silver bolt that is holding a factory grounding point already. I tied in my ground here.)
c. I then ran my harness along this route (above the knee knocker panel) and down the wire harness (above you left leg kick panel) until it gets the firewall pass through as shown in the gauge installation directions.
9. Route the wire harness through the firewall and to the Oil Pressure sender unit.
a. Jack up the car and remove the left front wheel. Remove the rear inner plastic fender liner and voila! You can now see where the pass through is.
b. Cut the rubber nub off the end of the small pass through (cut just behind the bulb) and route your wire harness. I followed the factory harness along the inner fender well and back up to the engine compartment, just in front of the air box. I also removed the plastic rivet on the front inner plastic fender liner in order to gain access to the rest of the factory wiring harness.
c. Remove the Factory Air Cleaner box to gain access to your wire route and the Oil Pressure sending unit. Unplug the MAF sensor plug by pulling the red tab out (located on bottom of connector) and then unplugging the connector. Loosen the air inlet hose clamp, unclip the top of the air box from the bottom and remove the top of the air box. Remove the one 10mm screw holding the bottom of the Air Cleaner box in place and lift the Air Cleaner box carefully up and out.
d. Route the wire harness to the Oil Pressure Sending unit. The sending unit is located just above the oil filter and cooler assembly on my 2013 LS. (I routed the wire under the air box and down between the ABS brake lines and fender wall. I also used an 18” length of Thermo Sleeve I picked up from summit racing to sleeve the portion of the wire running down to the connector.)
10. Installing the pressure sending unit.
a. Remove the pressure sending unit connector. Push down on the locking tang and twist the screwdriver slightly to unlock the connector.
b. Utilizing a 13/16” deep well socket unscrew the factory oil pressure sending unit.
c. Place a towel under the oil pressure sending unit hole, and let the residual oil drain out of it. Do the same for the sender unit too as it will also have residual oil in it.
d. Once you have the hole fairly clean and somewhat oil free, take your new sensor and apply some thread sealant on the threads. (I used Permatex High Temperature Thread Sealant).
e. Carefully screw in the sensor into the hole. (It took me several tries to get the threads going, as I couldn’t see what the hell I was doing.) Tighten it by hand and then finish tightening it up with a 7/8” deep well socket and ratchet per the factory manual torque settings. Do not over tighten! (I snugged it up and then made sure the connector locking pin was on top.)
f. Connect the new connector. (I folded the wire over to provide the wire some strain relief and secured it around the oil pressure sending unit connector neck with a wire tie (The factory plug was also folded back for wire strain relief.) I then folded back the oem connector and routed the wire with the OEM connector back up the wire harness running over the back of the alternator. I secured the wire to the lower antilock brake line, leaving a sag in the harness to allow for engine torque and movement.)
11. Reinstallation of all the components is in reverse of the disassembly.
Email: [email protected]
