2005 and up dash swap on a 99-04

[HoleshotzPerf]

I was just wondering if anyone else out there has done this swap yet? I got it done a few weekends ago and it went much easier then I thought, I pulled my old dash right off (the plastic only, not the frame) and the 2005+ dash swapped right in, everything lined up perfectly. The only things I had to do were lengthen the power pedal wires to relocate it to the spot on the 05 and newer trucks, even my manual a/c unit mounted up the exact same way as the 05+ climate control unit. I even wired up the factory upfitters and factory brake controller to work.

I should note that i did have a complete 05+ dash at my disposal that I picked up for super cheap so this would probably not be economical if you had to buy all the parts straight from Ford Just wanted to let everyone know it was doable and share the info.

[thesmokinstroke02]

post some pics up man

[fordmugg]

pics pics pics

[Dave]

Originally Posted by HoleshotzPerf

I was just wondering if anyone else out there has done this swap yet? I got it done a few weekends ago and it went much easier then I thought, I pulled my old dash right off (the plastic only, not the frame) and the 2005+ dash swapped right in, everything lined up perfectly. The only things I had to do were lengthen the power pedal wires to relocate it to the spot on the 05 and newer trucks, even my manual a/c unit mounted up the exact same way as the 05+ climate control unit. I even wired up the factory upfitters and factory brake controller to work.

I should note that i did have a complete 05+ dash at my disposal that I picked up for super cheap so this would probably not be economical if you had to buy all the parts straight from Ford Just wanted to let everyone know it was doable and share the info.

My question is does everything work? The Brake controller and message center will not properly work without the 05 up PCM

[HoleshotzPerf]

Originally Posted by Dave

My question is does everything work? The Brake controller and message center will not properly work without the 05 up PCM

I had to take somewhat of a shortcut to get the brake controller to work, it was the easiest solution I could find without really getting into heavy wiring / electrical work.

I had both pigtails for the factory brake controller, I simply spliced the brake controller wiring pigtail into the brake controller plug in my truck and then I only used 2 wires on the other pigtail coming off the factory controller, one was a ground and the other was the power wire which I hooked up to one of the upfitter switches so I could just turn it on and off as needed. Although, I do not even have a trailer with brakes yet, I did test it briefly on a buddies trailer and it works fine.

[Dave]

Thats awesome How about the message center in the dash?

[Evil Eye]

Great post! Glad to hear you got it done and that it works great.

[Dave]

Oh i forgot. We need pics of this

[HoleshotzPerf]

Originally Posted by Dave

Thats awesome How about the message center in the dash?

I am still using the 04 gauge cluster, that's the only thing I did not swap because the dash I bought did not have one and I figured the time/cost involved would outweigh the benefits. Ford actually makes a trim piece that goes in place of the message center buttons which I guess is made for the less equipped 05 + models that do not have the message center.

I should also note that anyone who tries this with a factory 99-04 radio will need a 05 + or aftermarket radio as the size is a little off. I have a clarion unit so I didn't need to deal with that.

I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow after I clean the truck up. There is a big construction area right by my house and after all the rain up here last night, I just couldn't resist playing around in the mud

[dayusex]

can you post up pics for wiring the trailer brake controller? I would really liek to ad the 05 dash and that. Thanks!