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The “Go Baby” Speedometer Wire Mod

I’ve done this mod on a 1997, 1999, and 2001 Tacoma. As near as I can tell, all Tacomas come equipped with a governor that limits the stock speed to somewhere between 105 and 108 MPH. My 1997 V6 4X4 had a governor on it, and my 2001 V6 4X4 has one now. So after fooling around under the truck, I figured out a way to disable the governor quickly and easily, without the need to remove or reprogram any vehicle computer chips.

Be warned, it ain’t the most sophisticated mod you ever saw, but it is effective. Also, this mod only works on manual transmission trucks- NOT automatics. But why would you want anything else?

You’ll need two 24-inch pieces of 16 or 18-gauge wire, electrical tape, a connection crimper, two butt connectors, two blade connectors, and a low-profile 12-volt toggle switch, and a Phillips and flat-head screwdriver.

Before going any further, I’ll not comment on the advisability of driving at very high speeds in a truck. To each his own. Personally I like to haul ass every once in a while, and the whole idea of a “governor” is galling to me. As if we don’t already have enough idiotic legislative restrictions on every aspect of our lives. Believe me when I tell you that this comes in handy those times when you absolutely need to get gone in a hurry.

The quickest, dirtiest way to disable the governor is to pull the signal sending plug from the end of the transmission, right before where the driveshaft exits the tranny housing. It’s the one in the middle of this picture:

Not that you want to do this, because if you do, you lose your speedometer signal instantly and it's a pain to climb under your truck to disconnect or reconnect the plug when you're on a high-speed run from "whoever".

So instead, for the time being just disconnect the plug and the clips that hold the plug wires secure to the chassis.(shown below) This is so you'll have the slack in the wires necessary to make your connections. More about that shortly.

This is some other plug that may be attached to the target plug by the protective hard plastic wire covering. Just disconnect this plug, and pop out any of the retainers that may attach the wires to the truck. This is so you can draw the entire harness up into the cab.

This shows the wires you want on the correct plug. I spliced into the center wire (the blue one) and it worked perfectly. You may want to pause at this point and take a short drive down the driveway, to verify that your speedometer is not receiving a signal.

In the cab, remove the four screws from the corners of the shift console, remove the screw from the side of the pushbutton 4WD knob (if so equipped) otherwise just unscrew whatever shift knobs are present. (I have to reiterate, this doesn't work on an automatic so don't bother.) Then carefully lift the shift console cover up, being careful not to over-stress the tabs of the console to the rear of the shift console.


Remove the four screws securing the shift boots. (don't mind those other wires, those are from some amp my friend had in her truck.) Then remove the plate and shift boots as one unit. You'll then see the wires you disconnected from underneath the truck. Carefully draw those up into the cab, as below.

Open the wire cover and draw out the wires. Find the blue one...

Cut it and crimp on a couple of butt connectors...

Crimp on a pair of 24 inch 16-18 gauge wires and then tape the hell out of them...

Stuff them back into the split wire covering...

...and then apply even more tape to close the split covering.

Now time to modify the shift console. Figure what size hole you need, and drill away. I used a 12-volt low profile rocker switch from radio shack, and I located it on the driver’s side just behind the forward-most console trim screw.



Taking into account the bracket that the trim screw attaches to, as well as the rise of the transmission hump under the shift console cover, this is the perfect place to mount this type of switch for this application. Once you’re sure it will fit securely, remove the switch and set it aside.

Punch a hole through the corner of the transfer case boot, fairly high up on the boot. Then draw the wires through, leaving enough slack to ensure that that wires won’t bind up on anything, but not so much slack that they might get tangled on something else. Then replace the boots/boot plate and secure it with screws.

Pull the wires through the hole you made in the shift console cover and replace the shift console cover. Replace the shift knobs and pushbutton 4WD. Reinstall the trim screws.

Crimp a female blade connector on each wire and tape them up to prevent any shorts. It’s overkill, but you can never have too much overkill.

Slip the blade connectors onto the blades and snap the switchinto the hole you drilled. Don’t forget to reconnect the wire retainers underneath the truck and re-connect the plugs to the tranny and whatever elsethat other plug was.
You’re done!

Now take ‘er for a test drive.

Note: When you break the connection, be prepared. First, you will defeat the governor. Second, you will lose your speedometer (speedo comes right back on as soon as you flick the switch to the "on" position". Third, you will lose your cruise control (I assume the cruise gets a signal from the same plug or from the speedometer). Fourth, after a few miles your "check engine" light will come on. I don't think that this mod does any engine damage, but who knows? After you switch the speedo back on, the light should go off within 20 miles or so. If not, you can always pull your EFI fuse, turn the ignition on and wait a few minutes, then replace the fuse. That should reset everything and the light should go off. Finally, (and I'm not one to pussyfoot around) you won't be putting any miles on the odometer while the switch is off. I'm sure this is some kind of felony, but then again, everything is a felony these days.

Questions or comments to sam@samsonfab.com