Can I add cruise control to a Truck with no oem cruise control

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cubandeathgrip

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I have a basic model, came with no cruise control.
Can I add cruise control by getting all the hardware from a salvage yard.

IE, cable, main unit under the hood, along with selector lever on steering column?
If so, would it be plug and play?


thanks
 

someotherguy

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Absolutely. I see a 1998 C2500 w/305 in your sig, so if that's the truck you mean.. go to the boneyard, find a Vortec small block equipped truck with cruise.

Get the cruise module off the firewall with the cable to the throttle body...and don't forget to hang onto those big screws that hold the module to the firewall. They're self-tappers and you'll find dimples in your truck's firewall to locate the module correctly.

There *might* be a special bracket or two along the cable to hold it in place and one near the throttle body - look at your truck, and look at the donor truck, especially right near where your accelerator cable reaches the throttle body. If they look different, grab the brackets.

And this is where memory is really fuzzy as I have only added cruise to ONE Vortec-era truck that didn't have it previously, but IIRC - the wiring for the cruise is a separate connector just above the driver's side main bulkhead wiring pass-through. See the pic; I am about 80% sure :D that the white block above the main gray one is the connector to the cruise.

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You'll need to bring along whatever wiring behind the firewall is associated.. and that's where the fuzzy memory fails me. It may be part of the main dash harness, or it may simply interconnect with the steering column/multifunction switch wiring.

At any rate you'll also need a cruise-compatible turn signal lever and its associated wiring so you may want to get the steering column too if it's available and not too expensive. They're not going to let you take it apart just to buy the lever and wiring. Do be aware you can't just swap a cruise-equipped column into your 1998 model unless it is also from a 1998 truck (or 1999-2002 classic body/GMT400) because 1998-up has the Passlock antitheft and the column has that little extra bit of gadgetry involved. If you do swap one of those in you should move your tumbler over to it (no biggie if you have keys for both columns) to keep your existing key and Passlock resistor value in the tumbler.

Richard
 
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