Here's a shot of the stock gauges right before you get started. Now, start the car and take note of where the needles are. It would be a good idea if you filled up the tank with gas close to home to eliminate any doubt as to where the gas needle goes. I repeat....start the car, and take note of the oil, battery, and water temp gauges. **(for the 1999+ guys, don't worry about the tach and
speedo, we'll get to that after we take everything apart). ***(for the 1994-1998 peeps, before you get started, go drive around and find out where your tach reads at a certain MPH (at 60mph for example). THIS way, you can follow a friend in his car afterwards and pin in the MPH and then by your observations, pin in the RPM as well. So go hit the highway, and in 5th gear, find out how fast you are revving at 60mph. Now write that down, and save it for later. (phew)....now let's start removing stuff!!!
sidenote - (One theory I had about lining up the needles earlier, was to take note of where the needles were after the car was turned off, this way, all you had to do was place them back, install, turn on and go. WRONG. So don't bother.)
Step one, the headlight knob. As you can see in this blurry photo, there is a tab that holds the knob to the shaft. You have to use the small flathead screwdriver to pull on the tab towards you, then pull the knob off. Yes, you will scratch your knob like I did, that's because Ford has a special tool, we don't. So get
crackin'. Don't be suprised if this takes you about 15 minutes to figure out. Just be patient, and it will come off. If you want, take it down to the Ford service center and have a tech pull it off for you. But I think you'll do fine with the flathead.
OK, step 2 was remove the 2 screw/bolts from the upper part of the bezel.
Step 3 is remove the bezel. Now, it's held on with clips, so don't be suprised if it doesn't come out right away...just keep applying gentle pressure, pulling on it evenly, and it'll pop out. Don't be afraid to break it, just keep pulling evenly until it gives.
You will see the 4 screws that hold the pod in place. Use the 7mm socket that you used on the bezel screws to remove it. This is why socket extensions are a godsend. ;-)
NEXT PAGE
