How do you change the speedometer head unit in a 1996-1999 Ford Taurus - Mercury Sable?

Answer 1

There are total of 12 screws that need to be taken out. First the knee panel (2 screws), located beneath the steering wheel needs to come off to grant access to other screws. Then the knob plate for the headlights and dimmer needs to come off, and there is one screw located behind that. The radio has to come out as well, need to use DIN wrenches to take off the radio, this is done by putting the wrenches into the two holes on either side of the radio. There are 3 or 4 more screws holding the radio panel in place. Then pull the radio panel off, but be gentle b/c you could break the so called "butterfly" rivets. There are two more screws located in the top part of the dashboard holding the vents and display window in place. Once those screws are out then you may need to lower the steering column and put the transmission into "D". However, you just need to put the ignition into the run position. Pull the top panel off and then there will be 4 torx screws holding the speedo head unit in place. Remove those 4 screws and unplug both plugs from the back of the unit. There is also a cable for the shifter display that will need to be removed, there is a tiny bolt holding that in place. The install of the new or re-used unit is in the opposite order. Have fun and hope that everything works out for the best.