Ford Repair: 1996 Ford Explorer Dashboard lights, shadetree mechanic, dashboard lights

Question
The lights on my dash on the side where the oil and battery gages are are out.  Are these individual lights that are changeable, or is it it one big module?  Someone told me I have to change the whole instrument cluster!  Are they hard to change for a simple shadetree mechanic like me?

Answer
The dash cluster has about eight small light bulbs, I would recommend replacing all of them while the cluster is out.  You have to remove the bezel and trim from around the cluster.  Be careful when removing the plastic parts, the retainers are fragile.  The steering column might have to be lowered to remove the cluster assembly from the dash.  The dealer would charge about two hours labor, plus parts.

I hope this helps,
Dave