Gary Lewis Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Gary, I bought one of these cables brand new...actually, I think I have two of them (2 different brands) and I also have a new VSS, and I bought a new plug/pigtail for it as well. It's all on the shelf waiting for me to get to the CC installation. I can get you the info on the cables though...pretty sure they started using that style VSS and cable in 1988 (when the 5spd arrived). Cory - I may need the cable info, but hang on a bit. I found a handy page on a swell web site that seems to have some info on this: Documentation/Driveline/Speedometer Gears, Cables, & Sensors. And it says "Trucks with speed control, aka cruise control, had a sensor to determine vehicle speed. From 1980 through 1985 those were in the speedometer cable under the brake master cylinder, as shown on the left, below. But in 1986 they moved to the end of the speedometer cable and were inserted into the transmission for 2wd vehicles or into the transfer case for 4wd vehicles, as shown on the right, below." And then it has this illustration: So, assuming the author is correct, and you know what they say - if it is on the internet it must be right - then I think I just need an '86 and later cable. Right? But, if you have the part numbers for that awa the connector then it would be appreciated. However, I'm in hope that the web site will have that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Gary, I bought one of these cables brand new...actually, I think I have two of them (2 different brands) and I also have a new VSS, and I bought a new plug/pigtail for it as well. It's all on the shelf waiting for me to get to the CC installation. I can get you the info on the cables though...pretty sure they started using that style VSS and cable in 1988 (when the 5spd arrived). 86 is the earliest I've seen with that vss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 86 is the earliest I've seen with that vss You missed my reply/confession. 😩🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 And now for the VSS. The ends of the speedo cables are different. The pic below shows the Bullnose cable on the bottom and the one that was in the VSS on the top - which is only ~6" long. The Bullnose inner cable will go in, but the outer part won't because it is .431" OD and the later cable is .393" and the VSS opening is .396". And below are two pics of the VSS itself. On the right you can see down into where the speedo cable goes, and I'm thinking about boring that out to take the .431" end of the Bullnose cable. The OD of the VSS is ~.900" so there's plenty of meat to allow that. Another approach would be to buy a new later model cable to fit. But I'm not finding it in the MPC. Does anyone know when they started using the VSS? And a part number for it or the cable that fits it? Also, I'm not finding the connector that fits it. I would have thought it would be with the EEC stuff I took off Huck, but it hasn't shown up. Thoughts on any of this? Gary, The parts I have are as follows: Aftermarket VSS: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bwd-vehicle-speed-sensor-s8063/3460630-P Plug / Pigtail for the VSS: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bwd-electrical-connector-pt331/20974573-P Cable #1: http://atpautomotive.com/speedometer-cable-y-805 Cable #2: https://www.autozone.com/drivetrain/speedometer-cable/pioneer-speedometer-cable-ca-3018/77606_0 The two cables appear to be the same. Far as I know you can buy them anywhere. One of mine came from RockAuto (I think) and the other from LMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Cory - I may need the cable info, but hang on a bit. Gary, Ignore the cable info I posted...you can even delete it. The ones I have are for 2wd and are going to be too short for a 4x4 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 86 is the earliest I've seen with that vss You missed my reply/confession. 😩🤣 Oops. Must have crossed paths going to space and back  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Gary, The parts I have are as follows: Aftermarket VSS: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bwd-vehicle-speed-sensor-s8063/3460630-P Plug / Pigtail for the VSS: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bwd-electrical-connector-pt331/20974573-P Cable #1: http://atpautomotive.com/speedometer-cable-y-805 Cable #2: https://www.autozone.com/drivetrain/speedometer-cable/pioneer-speedometer-cable-ca-3018/77606_0 The two cables appear to be the same. Far as I know you can buy them anywhere. One of mine came from RockAuto (I think) and the other from LMC. Thanks, Cory! Amazon has the cable for $18 delivered, and the pig tail is $13 + shipping. I have plenty of spare speed sensors that go in the cable so can cabbage the connector off of one, and with that pig tail make up my own cable to plug into the existing harness. And, since I think it makes sense to put the sensor ahead of the whip-like speedo cable this seems like the right approach. (Ford must have thought so as well.) Plus, I get a whole new speedo cable out of it. SOLD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Ignore the cable info I posted...you can even delete it. The ones I have are for 2wd and are going to be too short for a 4x4 anyway. No prob. I can find the right cable. Gotta be about the same price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 No prob. I can find the right cable. Gotta be about the same price. The two brands I have are ATP and Pioneer. I know they come in longer versions, so you should be good to go with the next size up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 No prob. I can find the right cable. Gotta be about the same price. The two brands I have are ATP and Pioneer. I know they come in longer versions, so you should be good to go with the next size up. Ok guys, I've just gotten back from a test run with the red, white, and blue jets. Here are my notes: Red/.125: Initially I thought it was better than the .105 but after some more testing I don't think so. Has too much off/on/off. White/.154": Constantly twitching. On/off/on/off. On one slight downhill I watched it go from 10" of vacuum to 20" to 10" to 20" to 10" and it just kept doing that until the grade changed. Very unacceptable. Blue:.189": Not much difference than the white. Apparently by .154" there's really no restriction so the .189" didn't make any difference. So I think I accidentally found the sweet spot at .105". But that's still not as smooth as I want, so I've gotten the green light to order the one-piece 1986 and later speedometer cable and a pigtail for the VSS. I'll make up a cable that will plug into the VSS on one end and the connector where the current speed control sender is connected below the master cylinder on the other. It'll be a plug and play arrangement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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