Ok before we get started I am gonna try and see if I can remember what tools I used and you should gather a similar arrangement.
For those that really need any explanation, I am going to show you how to replace a speedometer cable and a speedometer gauge, this information will also be able to tell you how to remove other gauges if needed.
If your wondering why you need to do this, maybe your speedometer is bouncing all over the place, this is caused by a rotating magnet rubbing against a cup that has gotten out of balance within the speedometer. When this happens you will hear a grinding noise coming from the dash, usually at speeds above 35 mph.
Other causes for a funky speedometer could be a speedometer cable failure, this happens when the ends either get rounded off or just plain wore out. A speedometer and just quit working if this happens.
Vehicle speed sensors do fail. This is the sensor mounted in the transmission, usually the gear inside the transmission will shear off or gets broken when you try and remove it. Usually you only need to remove these to fill the transmission with fluid in manual transmissions only, seeing as how ford decided these transmission didn't really need a way to put fluid in the transmission. This how to does not show how to remove and replace this sensor.
1 average size Phillips head screwdriver
1 average size flat head screwdriver
1 7mm socket
1 ratchet to fit said socket 1/4 inch most likey
1 set of various extensions for said ratchet
1 t-15 Torx socket or screwdriver (socket is better)
1 12mm socket, regular or deep it does not matter
1 3/8 size ratchet for said socket
1 medium size extension for said ratchet
1 average size pair of pliers
1 3/16 socket or screwdriver
1 marker
1 door trim removal tool, or a fork, no, your not gonna eat your speedo....
1 1/8 inch socket or screwdriver
Disclaimer: I can not and will not be held responsible for any damage you do to your car. This is mearly a guide to help people who generally know what the difference between a wrench and a ratchet are. If you are unsure, don't attempt this. Good luck
Ok, so the first thing we need to, and this is not required, but by doing this, it makes pulling the cluster out a ton easier.
You need to jack up the car, and put it on stands. Crawl underneath the car and locate the speed sensor and cable. Now to me, it is a hell of a lot easier to get to that sensor and cable from the bottom then from above. The pin holding the cable in, as seen in pic 1, will need to be pried out with the flat head screwdriver. It will be tough, it may break, not to worry its not a huge deal. The pin looks like the one in pic 3. Once you get it out and again don't worry if you break it. Pull the cable out of the socket slightly sight is loose from the sensor and that's it for being under the car for now...
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Now we can proceed to th interior of the car. Locate the steering column, it's the long thing that has your steering wheel and turn signal switch attached to. It has a black plastic housing around it, this needs to be removed. Look under the column and remove the 4 Phillips head screws located in pic 4. Once those are out use your flat head screwdriver to pry on the left side of the plastic, separating the top from the bottom.
Be gentle, As you can see in pic 6, the focus On my camera doesn't like being close to items, but more importanted there is an electrical cord that needs to be twisted out and separated from the plastic. This should release he bottom plastic cover. Onward...
Pic 4
Now, with the plastic cover removed you will have access to the four 12mm bolts that hold the column to the dashboard. The bolts are gold in color and you can't miss them in pic 5. Use your ratchet and what ever extension you feel comfortable with to remove these four bolts.
Once the last bolt is remove the column will drop a few inches, not to worry, this is normal for most males after removal.
Pic 5
Pic 6
In pic 7 you can either use your t15 Torx, or a 7mm socket to remove the 2 screws on the left side of the column, the 3 screws in pic 8 and the 3 screws in pic 9. In my opinion a socket and ratchet work nice for the ones in pic 9.
Pic 7
Pic 8
Pic 9
You will need to pull the black plastic bezel covering your gauges forward, but not too much, youll see some wiring you need to take care of.
In pic 10 you will need disconnect the cable for the mirror and in pic 11 you will need to disconnect the cable for the rear defrost.
Once those are disconnected, you should be able ro remove the black plastic instrument bezel and set it off to the side.
Pic 10
Pic 11
Once that is out of the way, you will have access to another four screws that are black in color, you can either use your Torx or 7mm socket to remove them. Pic 14 gives you the best view.
Pic 12
Pic 13
Pic 14
Now this is the part where pull the other end of the speedometer cable comes in handy. You will need to grasp the cluster and firmly pull it toward you, the speedo cable, since it is disconnected, will come with the cluster, along with 3 electrical cables.
Dont pull too hard or you will break the plastic clip that holds the speedometer cable to the speedometer. Just pull it far enough for you to get your hands in behind the cluster.
If you don't pull the sensor end of the speedometer cable, pull the cluster forward will prove difficult, mainly because you don't have enough slack in th cable to get your hand in their to disconnect it.
Pic 15
Here in pic 16 you will see the 3 electrical connections that will need to be disconnected first. The you can disconnect th speedometer cable. The speedometer cable is disconnected by pressing on the white plastic collar, once it is disconnected, inspect it.
From this point you can replace the cable, it comes out from the engine bay, just use your flat head screwdriver to pry that puppy out of there. Installation is the reverse, you will notice that the new one will just snap into place on the firewall, you will just need to fish the rest of it where ever it needs to go.
Pic 16
Pic 17
Now once the cluster is removed, use kid gloves, this stuff can be easily damaged.
Remove the 6 gold colored screws shown in pic 18 with your t15 Torx screwdriver or socket. You do not need to remove the 3 screws on the front part of the top of the cluster. These just hold th clear plastic to the black housing.
Pic 18
Here in pic 19 the two at separated, again be gentle. Begin removing th gauges one at a time starting with the one on the far left as in pic 20.
It is good to note that all the gauges are the same between all years and all configurations. Which was a surprise to me, but all speedometers work in all configurations, tach or no tach, same goes for the fuel gauge and the water temp. Just double check the ford part numbers stamped on th gauges themselves to be sure.
Pic 19
Pic 20
Pic 21
Pic 22
Pic 23
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/nowak161/Speedometer%20How%20To/100_0065.jpg[/
Once the tach is removed the speedometer gauge should pretty much just fall out, just like Dr. Phil's hair.
Pic 24
[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/nowak161/Speedometer%20How%20To/100_0066.jpg
Now you can just replace the old speedometer with your new one and be done with it, but your Mileage will not be the same, unless your That lucky. Do the right thing and put the correct mileage on your car. I will show you how, it's not that hard, just be slow and patient.
Take your marker out and with one hand, hold the needle at zero, but you must be gentle here, try not to hold these things with much force. Place two marks on the housing and on the cup to use as reference points for when you reinstall the needle. Next, Use your door trim removal tool or your fork, yes I said fork....and here you thought I was joking.....soo,...use this "fork" and gently pry off the speedometer needle.
This may take a little bit of force, it's on there pretty good, just be gentle and patient and it will eventually come off.
Here in pic 25 you will use your 3/16 socket or screw driver to remove the 3 screws holding the gauge face to the speedometer assembly.
Pic 25
Now here pictured poorly in pic 26, you will see a white clip if sorts, this can be popped out with your flat head screwdriver. Once this is removed, the odometer should be loose but not yet ready to come out.
Pic 26
Pic 27
Pic 28
Here in pic 29 you will want to use your 1/8 inch socket or screwdriver to LOOSEN, DO NOT REMOVE, unless you really, really need to. Learn from my mistakes. Removeing these screws aren't such a big deal, it's the cup, it is very sensitive and gets out of whack when it gets played with like that. My dumb ass took it apart and then set it down. This caused the cup to get out of balance a little. The cup is not solid on the rod and does move around. This is why I would rather have you not pull it apart unless you have to. Pic 30 will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Basically you just need to loosen the screws enough so that you can squeeze the odometer out of its socket.
Pic 29
Pic 30
Pic 31
Pic 32
If you look closely here at pic 33, you will notice some little stubbies on the odometer. These are your mounting tabs and are to be used as reference when placing your new odometer in the speedometer assembly. The bottom tabs will sit flush against the metal housing if the speedometer. Once this is achieved, you can pop the white plastic clip back into place and the tighten the screws. Ensuring that the white corkscrews running to the odometer and trip odometer havent fallen out of its mounting holes.
Now it's just a matter of reverse the directions and putting it all back together. Just follow the reverse of all the directions I gave you, and you should be right back where you started, except that now your speedometer works, and you can go pay that speeding ticket that got you here in the first place...
Pic 33
Pic 34
Pic 35
Pic 36
This concludes the step by step how to remove and replace a speedometer and cable. I hope you enjoyed this episode by Anomalous, I am not apologizing to anyone I have offended, but I am am sorry for my piss poor sense of humor. Stay tuned for more,.....maybe...
Please let me know how I did, if any changes or corrections need to be made. All critcisizisms welcome.
For those that really need any explanation, I am going to show you how to replace a speedometer cable and a speedometer gauge, this information will also be able to tell you how to remove other gauges if needed.
If your wondering why you need to do this, maybe your speedometer is bouncing all over the place, this is caused by a rotating magnet rubbing against a cup that has gotten out of balance within the speedometer. When this happens you will hear a grinding noise coming from the dash, usually at speeds above 35 mph.
Other causes for a funky speedometer could be a speedometer cable failure, this happens when the ends either get rounded off or just plain wore out. A speedometer and just quit working if this happens.
Vehicle speed sensors do fail. This is the sensor mounted in the transmission, usually the gear inside the transmission will shear off or gets broken when you try and remove it. Usually you only need to remove these to fill the transmission with fluid in manual transmissions only, seeing as how ford decided these transmission didn't really need a way to put fluid in the transmission. This how to does not show how to remove and replace this sensor.
1 average size Phillips head screwdriver
1 average size flat head screwdriver
1 7mm socket
1 ratchet to fit said socket 1/4 inch most likey
1 set of various extensions for said ratchet
1 t-15 Torx socket or screwdriver (socket is better)
1 12mm socket, regular or deep it does not matter
1 3/8 size ratchet for said socket
1 medium size extension for said ratchet
1 average size pair of pliers
1 3/16 socket or screwdriver
1 marker
1 door trim removal tool, or a fork, no, your not gonna eat your speedo....
1 1/8 inch socket or screwdriver
Disclaimer: I can not and will not be held responsible for any damage you do to your car. This is mearly a guide to help people who generally know what the difference between a wrench and a ratchet are. If you are unsure, don't attempt this. Good luck
Ok, so the first thing we need to, and this is not required, but by doing this, it makes pulling the cluster out a ton easier.
You need to jack up the car, and put it on stands. Crawl underneath the car and locate the speed sensor and cable. Now to me, it is a hell of a lot easier to get to that sensor and cable from the bottom then from above. The pin holding the cable in, as seen in pic 1, will need to be pried out with the flat head screwdriver. It will be tough, it may break, not to worry its not a huge deal. The pin looks like the one in pic 3. Once you get it out and again don't worry if you break it. Pull the cable out of the socket slightly sight is loose from the sensor and that's it for being under the car for now...
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Now we can proceed to th interior of the car. Locate the steering column, it's the long thing that has your steering wheel and turn signal switch attached to. It has a black plastic housing around it, this needs to be removed. Look under the column and remove the 4 Phillips head screws located in pic 4. Once those are out use your flat head screwdriver to pry on the left side of the plastic, separating the top from the bottom.
Be gentle, As you can see in pic 6, the focus On my camera doesn't like being close to items, but more importanted there is an electrical cord that needs to be twisted out and separated from the plastic. This should release he bottom plastic cover. Onward...
Pic 4
Now, with the plastic cover removed you will have access to the four 12mm bolts that hold the column to the dashboard. The bolts are gold in color and you can't miss them in pic 5. Use your ratchet and what ever extension you feel comfortable with to remove these four bolts.
Once the last bolt is remove the column will drop a few inches, not to worry, this is normal for most males after removal.
Pic 5
Pic 6
In pic 7 you can either use your t15 Torx, or a 7mm socket to remove the 2 screws on the left side of the column, the 3 screws in pic 8 and the 3 screws in pic 9. In my opinion a socket and ratchet work nice for the ones in pic 9.
Pic 7
Pic 8
Pic 9
You will need to pull the black plastic bezel covering your gauges forward, but not too much, youll see some wiring you need to take care of.
In pic 10 you will need disconnect the cable for the mirror and in pic 11 you will need to disconnect the cable for the rear defrost.
Once those are disconnected, you should be able ro remove the black plastic instrument bezel and set it off to the side.
Pic 10
Pic 11
Once that is out of the way, you will have access to another four screws that are black in color, you can either use your Torx or 7mm socket to remove them. Pic 14 gives you the best view.
Pic 12
Pic 13
Pic 14
Now this is the part where pull the other end of the speedometer cable comes in handy. You will need to grasp the cluster and firmly pull it toward you, the speedo cable, since it is disconnected, will come with the cluster, along with 3 electrical cables.
Dont pull too hard or you will break the plastic clip that holds the speedometer cable to the speedometer. Just pull it far enough for you to get your hands in behind the cluster.
If you don't pull the sensor end of the speedometer cable, pull the cluster forward will prove difficult, mainly because you don't have enough slack in th cable to get your hand in their to disconnect it.
Pic 15
Here in pic 16 you will see the 3 electrical connections that will need to be disconnected first. The you can disconnect th speedometer cable. The speedometer cable is disconnected by pressing on the white plastic collar, once it is disconnected, inspect it.
From this point you can replace the cable, it comes out from the engine bay, just use your flat head screwdriver to pry that puppy out of there. Installation is the reverse, you will notice that the new one will just snap into place on the firewall, you will just need to fish the rest of it where ever it needs to go.
Pic 16
Pic 17
Now once the cluster is removed, use kid gloves, this stuff can be easily damaged.
Remove the 6 gold colored screws shown in pic 18 with your t15 Torx screwdriver or socket. You do not need to remove the 3 screws on the front part of the top of the cluster. These just hold th clear plastic to the black housing.
Pic 18
Here in pic 19 the two at separated, again be gentle. Begin removing th gauges one at a time starting with the one on the far left as in pic 20.
It is good to note that all the gauges are the same between all years and all configurations. Which was a surprise to me, but all speedometers work in all configurations, tach or no tach, same goes for the fuel gauge and the water temp. Just double check the ford part numbers stamped on th gauges themselves to be sure.
Pic 19
Pic 20
Pic 21
Pic 22
Pic 23
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/nowak161/Speedometer%20How%20To/100_0065.jpg[/
Once the tach is removed the speedometer gauge should pretty much just fall out, just like Dr. Phil's hair.
Pic 24
[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/nowak161/Speedometer%20How%20To/100_0066.jpg
Now you can just replace the old speedometer with your new one and be done with it, but your Mileage will not be the same, unless your That lucky. Do the right thing and put the correct mileage on your car. I will show you how, it's not that hard, just be slow and patient.
Take your marker out and with one hand, hold the needle at zero, but you must be gentle here, try not to hold these things with much force. Place two marks on the housing and on the cup to use as reference points for when you reinstall the needle. Next, Use your door trim removal tool or your fork, yes I said fork....and here you thought I was joking.....soo,...use this "fork" and gently pry off the speedometer needle.
This may take a little bit of force, it's on there pretty good, just be gentle and patient and it will eventually come off.
Here in pic 25 you will use your 3/16 socket or screw driver to remove the 3 screws holding the gauge face to the speedometer assembly.
Pic 25
Now here pictured poorly in pic 26, you will see a white clip if sorts, this can be popped out with your flat head screwdriver. Once this is removed, the odometer should be loose but not yet ready to come out.
Pic 26
Pic 27
Pic 28
Here in pic 29 you will want to use your 1/8 inch socket or screwdriver to LOOSEN, DO NOT REMOVE, unless you really, really need to. Learn from my mistakes. Removeing these screws aren't such a big deal, it's the cup, it is very sensitive and gets out of whack when it gets played with like that. My dumb ass took it apart and then set it down. This caused the cup to get out of balance a little. The cup is not solid on the rod and does move around. This is why I would rather have you not pull it apart unless you have to. Pic 30 will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Basically you just need to loosen the screws enough so that you can squeeze the odometer out of its socket.
Pic 29
Pic 30
Pic 31
Pic 32
If you look closely here at pic 33, you will notice some little stubbies on the odometer. These are your mounting tabs and are to be used as reference when placing your new odometer in the speedometer assembly. The bottom tabs will sit flush against the metal housing if the speedometer. Once this is achieved, you can pop the white plastic clip back into place and the tighten the screws. Ensuring that the white corkscrews running to the odometer and trip odometer havent fallen out of its mounting holes.
Now it's just a matter of reverse the directions and putting it all back together. Just follow the reverse of all the directions I gave you, and you should be right back where you started, except that now your speedometer works, and you can go pay that speeding ticket that got you here in the first place...
Pic 33
Pic 34
Pic 35
Pic 36
This concludes the step by step how to remove and replace a speedometer and cable. I hope you enjoyed this episode by Anomalous, I am not apologizing to anyone I have offended, but I am am sorry for my piss poor sense of humor. Stay tuned for more,.....maybe...
Please let me know how I did, if any changes or corrections need to be made. All critcisizisms welcome.