I have recently bought a 4x4 sapphire which has a few issues:

1 The speedo needle tends to bounce about then settles at the correct speed, I’ve found after a bit of Googling that the speed sensor can cause this. I’ve found a replacement for £60 ish, what would be the likely cost for labour to get this replaced, does anyone have any experience of this or can suggest what may be the issue.

2. The headlining and c pillar trims are sagging, I’ve found a trimmer who can sort it but he needs me to remove the panel, I’ve found that it can be taken out through the boot so no need to get windows out, I can find plenty of vids on YouTube showing howto refurbish the panel but none showing the actual removal, I’m not particularly technically minded but it doesn’t look to complicated, anyone have any experience of this? After watching the YouTube videos I’m quite fancying having a go myself at recovering the panel, anyone already done it?

thanks

 

front windscreen out for head cloth in sapphire imo some say it goes out door opening without trim in and door on but tbh in my project i put it in before windscreen saves hassle etc

 

With regards to the head lining I had mine done and removed the complete panel through the boot, iirc the rear upper seats had to be removed as opposed to just folding them down. It is a bit fiddly but can be done, getting it out is the easier bit, getting it back in is a bit harder as you don’t want to mark or dirty the fresh head lining. Wear clean gloves of some sort, latex surgical or soft material when doing the refit. Make sure any surface that the panel might touch is clean.

the real pain in the rectum part is the Louvre on the sunroom, the panel that slides back and forth beneath the glass, to get this out the complete sunroof mechanism runners and all has to be removed from the car, mine was absolutely rotten, iirc somebody gave me another one which I cleaned and fitted with the help of another PF member, tape up all around the roof around the sunroof to protect the paint if you need to remove the Louvre, iirc once all fixing screws are removed the sunroof mechanism and runners slides out forward towards the front of the car

 

The bouncing of the speedo is not caused by the speed sensor, as there is no speed sensor. There is a cable driving the speedo and I have been told in the past by someone from Ford that the bouncing is caused by the cable. If the internal cable is not rotating smoothly inside it can cause this. The cable can have a kink in which case it should be replaced. In case there is no kink you can try oiling it.

 

I thought that was the case but after googling it seems the speed sensor is a common failing on these cars, hopefully someone who has had the same issue will come along with an insight into how the issue was resolved.

 

The Sierra, including Cosworth, doesn’t have a speed sensor, it has a cable drive.

 

so, I decided to have a go and was quite surprised how easy it was to remove out through the boot, think I may get some of that sticky back plastic used to protect carpets when building work is being done when re installing, I’ve cleaned the board and c pillar trims and feel theyre at a point where I can recover, I’ve been looking through various threads but can’t find a definitive link for the correct material, do you have the information on the one you used?

on the Louvre, mine actually looks clean, it may be a different story when up against the new material but I’ll deal with that if I need to.

tia

 

tbh honest I don’t know what my trimmer used I just said to him match it the best you can sort of thing, sorry I couldn’t be of more help, initially I was going to have it done in black but decided against it and stuck with the grey option, black would have meant painting the Louvre which I didn’t want to do

whoever you get to trim it for you they should be able to get a close match to the original colour

 

Cheers Charlie, I think I may have sorted it, I plan on doing the re trim myself, I found an older post to a company who supply the kit, I think it was oyster grey, any how, I’ve ordered it and plan on doing the job on Friday,fingers crossed 🤞🏼