1990 - 1995 Gauge Cluster Removal
From Taurus Car Club Maintenance and Modification Wiki
This was done on a 1991 Taurus, however, instructions should be similar for all years from 1990-1995.
First remove the headlight switch (It just pulls out), and tilt the steering wheel all the way down.
Turn your key forward once click (do not start the car), and shift your car into first gear. Put in your parking brake to make sure your car doesn't move.
Below the first two screws you need to use are highlighted.
Second, you will need to remove the screws holding the access panel on. These require a torx screwdriver, sometimes an Allen wrench will work.
Third You will need to remove the screws that were hidden under the access panel. These also require a torx bit. There is one on each side.
After you have all these screws removed, you will need to get the dash overlay out of the way, it should simply pull out. You will need to disconnect the following wires
- The light that illuminates your headlight switch
- The Clock
- The rear windshield defroster
After that, you can simply rotate the overlay, around the column and get it out of the way.
Fourth, you will need to remove the cluster itself, it is best if you do it in stages. There are many screws that hold the cluster to your dash, some are meant to hold the top plastic piece in place, others there to hold it to your dash. You can remove all the screws at once, most of them are the same size. I believe the only two that are different, are the once that hold the shift indicator in place.
After you have removed all the other pieces, you will notice that your cluster is modular. This means that each individual piece can be removed separately. Remove the tachometer and the gas/temp gauge before you attempt to remove the speedometer. These simply pull out.
Removing the speedometer is very complicated, but it gets easier with practice. It is held to your cluster only by the speedometer cable. To remove this, feel around on the cable for the flat end, simply push this and pull out the speedometer. Keep in mind you can't see it, so this must all be done by feel.
After you have all this completed, simply remove the wiring harnesses from the back of the cluster, and install your new one.
Reassembly is almost the same process as disassembly, however, when you reassemble the cluster, be sure to put the tachometer and the gas/temp gauge back before the speedometer, it makes it a lot easier.
Clusters that are interchangeable: All 90-95 Taurus and Sables (including SHO) clusters will also work as long as they have the mechanical speedometers. Only the mechanical Windstar speedometer is swappable. The rest of the cluster will not work electrically.
Gauge Clusters w/ tach's will work in cars that did not originally come w/ one.
Note: Thanks to AdamB for writing this article!
