guages

[djnb40]

I was wondering if there was any way to take get the red needles off of a 2002 and put them on the cluster of my 97. Anybody know if this can be done. Thanks for any help.

 

[bigtigexplorer]

I spoke with with my local Ford parts dept. They said I would have to buy each guage, because they don't sell just the needle. The swap should work, you'll just have to fine the needles, most likely from a junker. You could always do what I did and use a red sharpie marker to color the tops of the needles red.

 

[djnb40]

Ok I'm going to go look for a junker, thanks. There's just something about the white needle against the white numbers that doesnt look good.

 

[bigtigexplorer]

If your just wanting red needles, save your money and use a red sharpie marker, or get wild and use a different color like blue or green. Here is a picture of mine

 

[djnb40]

I think I'll try that...just one more thing, how do you remove the needles?? do you just pull them out??

 

[bigtigexplorer]

They just pop right off, but they can be stuborn. When you go to remove the needles, grab a fork and slide the tongs under the needle. Then use the fork as a lever to pop the needle off.

Now you don't have to pull the needles to to color them. Just cut a slit in two pieces of paper and slide them under the needle to protect the guages from accidental markings. Another tip is when you color the needle start at the base and make one fluid stroke with the marker all the way to the tip. Don't stop in the middle or make back and fourth strokes. This will help get an even color over the lenght of the needle. If you should mess up or your just not happy with one, you can use some fine sand paper like 1000 grit to buff off the color and start over.

 

[djnb40]

Ok, thanks for all the help bigtigexplorer, I'm going to get started on it tomorrow!