noticed yesterday that my speedo had dropped to 0 whilst driving but the rest of the clocks were working fine as normal, whilst the speedo is reading 0 the car will stall when u press the clutch but it will kick back to life after bump starting it again, ideas as read on other forums as possible VSS

its a 1.8 petrol mk1 focus with IB5 'box

 

V.S.S all day long. Dont suppose you notice if the stereo went quieter at the same time?

 

Nope, tho Ive got an aftermarket sony headunit

 

Thats answers that then lol. My uncles focus did exactly the same as you describe and we changed the vss and no bother ever again. Its a real common thing with them

 

Are they easy to replace, seen some horror stories of them breaking when removing plus they aint a cheap part to buy, by the looks of it on ebay, bout £50 for a genuine part

 

Plenty of lubrication/WD40/etc when you go to remove the VSS from the gearbox! They can be a bit of a pain in the arse to remove, but mole grips + patience and you will get there in the end

 

Just watched a video on youtube of someone removing one, luckily for the tight space around it ive got smallish hands, if the worst happens and the pin breaks how u remove it then

 

If the pin breaks you'd be in trouble

I've done plenty of these though and never broken a pin, a small pair of mole grips on the pin and get it twisting and you'll be fine. Soak the VSS in WD40 the night before you do it and it should help! I find getting the pin out is the hardest bit, removing the actual sensor isn't too bad.

 

Cool mite give it a go, do these have an average length of time before they completly die after they start playing up

 

I agree with it being the vss. The speedo dropping to zero and the stalling part are the signs it's going. There is a vid on youtube.

 

I am having the same problem and was told it was the gearbox sensor which i gather is a vss..
Found The Link..Looks A pain to do.

 

Touch wood mines been ok since last tuesday

 

Just ordered one for mine... its been playing up for months but got much worse the last few weeks! Fingers crossed it's not too much of a pain to fit

 

Can i ask how much you paid and is it a genuine ford part or aftermarket one ?

 

It's not a genuine one but comes with a 2 year guarantee so thought I would take a chance on it.. Was £25 delivered including the pin from ebay (rtgroup11)