99 Ford Escort Speedometer

[Ron21]

I have a 99 Escort ZX2 with the 2.0 L DOCH manual tranmission. Lately the speedometer started jumping around then quit today. Any ideas on what the problem may be? I was planing on taking the car on vacation in a week.

Thanks for the help

[mightymoose_22]

Many Fords have been known to have defective speedos... they like to crap out at any given time.
If you check and make sure the speedo cable is still connected and spins freely, then most likely you will be needing a new speedo assembly, and they just aren't worth the hassle to replace.
There are lots of Ford drivers out there that really have no idea how fast they are going :P

[Ron21]

Thanks for the info

Actually there is no cable. Seems to be electronic. Have never played with this type before. i certainly don't want to spend a lot of money on it as I can guage how fast I am going from the tach.
If I tale out the pickup sensor, are there any springs or gears that are going to pop out and give me a hard time putting back together?

[mightymoose_22]

grrr... didn't catch the year. Forgot that they switched speedos. In that case, I suppose your speed sensor is the place to start.