2002 Clock spring replacement

[Gus Gutz]

A couple of months ago, the radio buttons and the speed control buttons started acting erratically. Now the air bag light is on. I suspect it is the clock spring. Has anyone here replaced theirs? Did you do it yourself? Anyone take it to a dealer? Looking for recommendations here.

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[billsid]

A couple of months ago, the radio buttons and the speed control buttons started acting erratically. Now the air bag light is on. I suspect it is the clock spring. Has anyone here replaced theirs? Did you do it yourself? Anyone take it to a dealer? Looking for recommendations here.

A couple of months ago, the radio buttons and the speed control buttons started acting erratically. Now the air bag light is on. I suspect it is the clock spring. Has anyone here replaced theirs? Did you do it yourself? Anyone take it to a dealer? Looking for recommendations here.

Hi Gus;

I have then same issue with my 2002. Spend several days at dealer for big bucks with no parts available , including Air Bag replacement. Finally located local shop that will get the Clock Spring and install for $300.

Still thinking about it and will keep you posted. Also, contacted Ford and all Government agencies responsible for air bag safety and have been ignored. So sad, but Ford has abandoned any interest in this family of cars and will not help find service parts. Unfortunately, the car is beautiful styled, but poorly engineered.

Good luck and best regards,

bills

 

[Gus Gutz]

Hi Gus;

I have then same issue with my 2002. Spend several days at dealer for big bucks with no parts available , including Air Bag replacement. Finally located local shop that will get the Clock Spring and install for $300.

Still thinking about it and will keep you posted. Also, contacted Ford and all Government agencies responsible for air bag safety and have been ignored. So sad, but Ford has abandoned any interest in this family of cars and will not help find service parts. Unfortunately, the car is beautiful styled, but poorly engineered.

Good luck and best regards,

bills

Just came back from the Ford dealer. They have the clock spring and with installation should be under 500. The part is 250. They can do it next week. We will see.

 

[JW in Dixie]

Guess you couldn't find a $300 deal like billsid, eh?

Somewhere on this forum I have read the details on replacing and it didn't sound like rocket science. Good luck

 

[tbird]

Guess you couldn't find a $300 deal like billsid, eh?

Somewhere on this forum I have read the details on replacing and it didn't sound like rocket science. Good luck

The telescopic steering wheel and airbag need removed which requires a tool you can probably rent, however not something your everyday Joe can do with no effort.

 

[Gus Gutz]

The telescopic steering wheel and airbag need removed which requires a tool you can probably rent, however not something your everyday Joe can do with no effort.

I did not want to mess with the air bag. The clock spring itself should not be that hard, but I am no sure about the air bag. I set up an appointment for later this month. The service guy mentioned a special tool. The cost seems reasonable for something that I do not want to do.

 

[billsid]

Hi Gus;

I have then same issue with my 2002. Spend several days at dealer for big bucks with no parts available , including Air Bag replacement. Finally located local shop that will get the Clock Spring and install for $300.

Still thinking about it and will keep you posted. Also, contacted Ford and all Government agencies responsible for air bag safety and have been ignored. So sad, but Ford has abandoned any interest in this family of cars and will not help find service parts. Unfortunately, the car is beautiful styled, but poorly engineered.

Good luck and best regards,

bills

Just came back from the Ford dealer. They have the clock spring and with installation should be under 500. The part is 250. They can do it next week. We will see.

Hi Gus:

That's good news. Please keep me posted because I am very concerned about the Air Bag warning light and the extent of the work to replace the switch. Also, I would like to know if the replacement switch is a Ford authorized service part or obtained from the Internet.

Regards,

bills

 

[Icewine]

Hi Gus;

I have then same issue with my 2002. Spend several days at dealer for big bucks with no parts available , including Air Bag replacement. Finally located local shop that will get the Clock Spring and install for $300.

Still thinking about it and will keep you posted. Also, contacted Ford and all Government agencies responsible for air bag safety and have been ignored. So sad, but Ford has abandoned any interest in this family of cars and will not help find service parts. Unfortunately, the car is beautiful styled, but poorly engineered.

Good luck and best regards,

bills

Just curious ... how long should we expect a company to support a product that is no longer in production? Seems to me we are driving old classics and need to fend for ourselves. You think GM is “supporting” Corvair owners? Is Audi “supporting” 5000S owners?

 

[Gus Gutz]

Just curious ... how long should we expect a company to support a product that is no longer in production? Seems to me we are driving old classics and need to fend for ourselves. You think GM is “supporting” Corvair owners? Is Audi “supporting” 5000S owners?

The service center at the dealerships will work on any car. My Ford dealer offered to work on my GMC pickup. Hopefully their mechanics are certified. I think that is why you pay a premium. The dealership should have better access to the special tools, parts and information, another reason to be paying a premium. My Ford dealer has been around a long time and my service advisor said they work on cars a lot older than mine.

 

[Gus Gutz]

I had the Ford dealer replace the clock spring. The air bag warning light is no longer on, the radio controls work again and the cruise control works again. Happy to have this fixed.

 

[JW in Dixie]

I had the Ford dealer replace the clock spring. The air bag warning light is no longer on, the radio controls work again and the cruise control works again. Happy to have this fixed.

My 04 may need the spring replaced - care to tell us what ford charged? Thx

 

[Gus Gutz]

My 04 may need the spring replaced - care to tell us what ford charged? Thx

The part was 50 dollars more than what you find on the internet at a little over 200.00 and installation was 300. I would have replaced it my self but I didn't want to mess with the airbag. The cruise control buttons failed about 6 months ago. The radio controls started to fail about 3 months ago. The airbag light came on three weeks ago and that's when i decided to get it fixed. The dealer quoted 640, but it came in well under the quote.

 

[JW in Dixie]

Thanks, Gus. Did the dlr say what the condition of the airbag was? Just wondering how they are holding up. Cheers

 

[Gus Gutz]

Thanks, Gus. Did the dlr say what the condition of the airbag was? Just wondering how they are holding up. Cheers

My service advisor told me that if there was an issue with the air bags that they would contact me before doing any work. I requested the clock spring replacement when the airbag light came on. They said they were not sure the clock spring was the problem and would diagnose it first. It turned out the problem was the clock spring.

 

[JW in Dixie]

Thanks, Gus. Glad you got your Bird fixed! Despite the complexity and ensuing problems, my 04 is a dream to drive.
Living in the South, I can enjoy it almost every day, year round. BTW, what is Winter Storage?? Cheers 🙂

 

[Gus Gutz]

Thanks, Gus. Glad you got your Bird fixed! Despite the complexity and ensuing problems, my 04 is a dream to drive.
Living in the South, I can enjoy it almost every day, year round. BTW, what is Winter Storage?? Cheers 🙂

I know what winter storage is. For me, it is taking the hard top off and putting it in the garage until next summer when it is too hot to drive around with the top off.

 

[JW in Dixie]

LOL

 

[edward301]

I am replacing my clock spring now. When I repaired my telescoping steering column
I must have gotten the steering wheel center out of center, so clock spring made some
noise when turning wheel. Went to Auto Zone and bought a gear puller for $29, pulled
steering wheel, and opened clock spring, was partially unwound, so ordered a new one
for $157. Easy to replace, here is a photo with steering wheel off, and clock spring opened
up to see flex cable inside. Air bag easy to remove, 2 small bolts, and small plug inside you
slide catch, then squeeze tabs, and pull plug. New clock spring be here in a few day, and
will then reinstall.

 

[edward301]

Part came in and replaced clock spring. Went fast and smooth. No warning lights
came on, and all the buttons on the steering wheel work. All finished, time to enjoy.

 

[Mach5]

Always great to see the "action" photos! So helpful to know what you should expect to see ahead of time. Thank you for posting.