TexasBlownV8
Formerly TexasBlownV6
Glad to see you're making progress! As far as the original v6, same thing happened to one I picked up in a donor (which now has a GT drivetrain): all the coolant blew out the the thermostat housing broke, overheating/seizing the engine.
Regarding the cluster, you already got it in. Not that hard of a job mechanically to swap.
As far as the 'idiot lights', or error lights that show problems, here's siome insight:
the cluster is 'programmed' to match what is in your car upon ti time of manufacture. This specification can be described as the "as-built" configuration. Differences can include: ABS (which will show/hide the ABS error light and brake light), TPMS (tire pressure monitoring was not present in pre-2007), and traction control. Depending on what is installed in the v6 body, these features may or may not be present. Then if you plug in a GT or GT500 or V6 cluster from a car that had these and your car did not, the light will show all the time when you turn the key on. More of an annoyance, but also distracting until you get used to it.
The solution is to program the cluster to match what is in your car. It is extremely easy if you have the original cluster, using Forscan or IDS software to connect to the car and program the replacement cluster. But if you do like I did, got a 6-gauge cluster and tossed the original one, the replacement can still be pogrammed, but you have to obtain the as-built data configuration (available online from Ford), and program the code into the cluster from Forscan or IDS.
An improperly programmed cluster will still function normally otherwise, but will just show one or more of these other error lights if those systems do not exist in the car.
Regarding the cluster, you already got it in. Not that hard of a job mechanically to swap.
As far as the 'idiot lights', or error lights that show problems, here's siome insight:
the cluster is 'programmed' to match what is in your car upon ti time of manufacture. This specification can be described as the "as-built" configuration. Differences can include: ABS (which will show/hide the ABS error light and brake light), TPMS (tire pressure monitoring was not present in pre-2007), and traction control. Depending on what is installed in the v6 body, these features may or may not be present. Then if you plug in a GT or GT500 or V6 cluster from a car that had these and your car did not, the light will show all the time when you turn the key on. More of an annoyance, but also distracting until you get used to it.
The solution is to program the cluster to match what is in your car. It is extremely easy if you have the original cluster, using Forscan or IDS software to connect to the car and program the replacement cluster. But if you do like I did, got a 6-gauge cluster and tossed the original one, the replacement can still be pogrammed, but you have to obtain the as-built data configuration (available online from Ford), and program the code into the cluster from Forscan or IDS.
An improperly programmed cluster will still function normally otherwise, but will just show one or more of these other error lights if those systems do not exist in the car.
