Nuevo Riche in My New Car: 1995 Taurus SE
by Liv | Published on November 18th, 2006, 3:48 pm | Sports
Ok, I know, whoopty doo. A used car. But, seriously this might be the nicest car I've ever owned. It's a 1995 Taurus SE with a Vulcan 3.0 V6. It's got leather seats, and all the goodies. Best part? Only 70,000 miles on it! Although we only paid 1650.00 for the car I feel so nuevo riche when I drive it and slide out of my power leather seats. And though I've yet to do it, we've finally got a car where we can roll down the window in the drive-thru... No more reaching around the opened door. 
So anyways, alot of stuff was left in the car from it's previous owners. Of which is a sticker on the glove-box door with a serial number and the words "Property of Lee-Harnett Mental Health Facility". Obviously this was some medical persons company car as it had several pens with medications names on it, and a blue Book containing the "New Testament of the Bible". Not sure when they started splitting the Bible and half, perhaps its some method of charging you twice for the same book, or the previous driver belonged to some religion that didn't believe in the old testament.
Also found was a Frosty spoon from Wendy's and
a receipt for some tanning and rental place. A first aid kit, and booty for a midget. Or, perhaps a child.
What can I do to improve the performance of my Taurus/Sable?
- removing restrictive air intake and silencer cone for a free flowing intake. (low cost).
removing the OEM exhaust and going with a free flowing single or better yet dual exhaust application. (mid/high cost).
installing performance ignition wires. (low cost).
K&N air filter. (low cost)
performance ignition coil (low cost).
performance ignition system (mid cost).
'86 to 91 taurus'su can use the 91' SHO model fiberglass hood.
Supercharger off 3.8 Thunderbird
Larger MAF off Mustang
Moog Coil Springs with two springs cut on front (lowers vehicle 2") with stock rear springs.
Rear disc conversion.
Taurus Wheels and Tires
205x55x15
225x50x15
Are both excellent size tire combinations for this car on stock wheels.
What kinds of transmissions do Tauruses use?
The AXOD is Automatic transaXle Over-Drive. The AXOD-E is the same tranny, just electronically controlled. In 93, these were slowly being replaced with the AX4N (automatic transaxle four-speed) and the AX4S, which was the AXOD and is basically the same as the AXOD-E, and the AX4N, which is non-synchronized.
Installation and Removal of Instrument Cluster 1990 - 1995 Ford Taurus
Installation and Removal of Instrument Cluster
1990 - 1995 Ford Taurus
I recommend entirely reading instructions before beginning the process.
1) Remove headlight knob: Grab the knob and pull. It will slide off its post. On most cars there is a nut under the knob. Remove this as well. It is usually not on very tight and can be hand loosened. If difficult to remove by hand, use a socket of the correct size.
2) Remove access panel: Just below the steering column, is the access panel. It is held on by four torx screws. Two at the top corners, and two at the bottom corners. Use correct torx socket and remove all four screws. If you do not have any torx drivers, buy some. Or sometimes an Allen wrench will work
3) Remove dash bezel: this is the large plastic piece that surrounds the gauges, clock, climate control, and misc. switches. Under the access panel you just removed, you will see two bolts. There are also two more just above the gauge cluster. Remove all four. On all the cars I have worked on they have been a 9/32 socket. Other cars may vary. After you have removed all four screws, pull gently on the bezel to release the retaining clips. Pull the bezel out enough to disconnect the clock and rear defrost switch. Depending on your model, you may also have to disconnect a power antenna switch and/or a fog lamp switch. Set bezel aside.
4) Remove instrument cluster: Remove all the screws on the clear plastic protective cover over your gauges, and the black surround that is just below it. Set screws and covers aside. Pull out all the gauges except for the speedometer by grabbing the sides and gently rocking them out. Try not to
touch the faces of the gauges. Sometimes they can smear, or smudge. Remove the two screws that hold the bottom of the speedometer, and the PRNDL indicator. If your car is a manual, you do not have to worry about the PRNDL indicator. Pull the speedometer slightly out and rotate out the
PRNDL indicator. You may have to manipulate some things around, but whatever you do DO NOT force anything. You don’t want any broken parts on your hands. Grasp behind the speedo and pull it out enough to reach where the speedometer cable connects to the speedometer. Feel around for a flat spot and push it while gently pulling the speedometer head out. It will disconnect and you can rotate it out. Again, being careful not to touch the face. Now remove the four screws that hold the white casing to the dash insides. Turn the casing so that the front is facing up, and disconnect the two
wiring harness from the back. They disconnect by squeezing the ends and pulling out. Be careful not to damage the printed circuit on the back of the cluster.
5) Re-installation: installation is the opposite of the above.
GOOD LUCK!!!
NOTES
*Regardless of what anyone tells you, ALL instrument clusters from ALL 90-95 Taurus and Sables are interchangeable, including the SHO. 95-97 Windstar clusters will also work as long as they have the mechanical speedometers, versus the electronic ones. The Windstar cluster also includes
a 120mph speedometer. Some places will tell you that 90-91 clusters are different than 92-95 clusters. The only difference is the 90-91 clusters glow green when the headlights are on and the 92-95 clusters glow blue. The reason they tell you this is because that is how it says in the parts interchange program that most junkyards use. I myself have had a 94 Sable and 92 SHO
cluster in my 91 Taurus. Both have worked fine.
**Clusters with tachometers WILL work in cars that came without the tachometer cluster with NO additional wiring. Simply pull out the old cluster, and put in the new one. Plug and play.