I own a 97 escort, and I know that Ford is known to make somthing that should be easy to do, somthing that you have to take to the shop and pay $

But I recently went to the library and picked up a Chilton, becouse I want to enjoy having a tape player in my base Escort. The bad part of this task is, you cannot replace the radio with an aftermarket, becouse the control panel is all one piece. I would go to the junkyard, or to the dealer if you want to put in a cd changer, or tape player in your car. Anyway, this is how its done.:o First, you'll need the Ford DIN radio removal tool, and maybe a flashlight, pliers, and flat-head screwdriver. Then, you must disconnect the battery. Now, you MUST turn the temp control ALL THE WAY to the COLD position. On the drivers side, under the dash just down a bit behind the ashtray, you'll see a white calmp connected to the temp control cable, it'll have a small tab in the center, and you'll see an H and a C. GENTLEY push the white tab downward while GENTLEY pulling the pulley-like connector off. Now that the temp control cable is off, now you can insert the DIN radio removal tool in the face, and GENTLEY pull out the entire radio/control panel, being careful of the mess of wires behind it. Remove the vacuum lines that are connected to the selector switch, remove the remaining wires to the rear defog and harness on radio, and presto! YOU DID IT!!!:bandit: Now when replacing the radio, please note the correct position of the temp control cable.