Fitting A New Dasboard

[Furkz 0]

Anyone attempted this and how hard is it......really want to replace the outer shell...any help would be appreciated and a step by step "how to" would be amazing

 

thanks

[potatonet 0]

get ready for this, =-)

 

these are instructions on how to replace ure heater core for a VR6 corrado, same thing as the G60... if replacing the whole dash this is what to do, I had to follow these to replace my heater core... =-/

 

This procedure was performed on 1992 VR6 with 84,000 miles. I am not a professional mechanic, but perform most of the work on my cars.

 

Most shops will quote this as an 8 hour job. I choose to take a longer time to fix some rattles with sticky back felt & foam packing. I completed it in approximately 16 hours spread over a period of a week.

 

To do this job, you have to remove the entire dash. I highly recommend that as you remove each part, put all of the screws in bag and attach them to the part with some of 3M's blue masking tape (leaves no glue residue). This will make re-assembly much easier. Also, many of the screws in the dash, attach to a metal clip. This clip is usually pressure fit over a metal tab. On my car, many of these clips were fairly loose. It's a good idea to pull them off, squeeze gently with a pair pliers, then re-install. Other wise you may loose them as you are jostling the parts around. Things you need:

 

Bentley Manual (not required, but highly recommended)

 

 

Heater Core (Aftermarket ~$65, dealer ~$170)

 

Phillips head screw drivers. (lots of different lengths are helpful)

 

Metric sockets, assorted sizes & accessories (extensions, etc..)

 

Review diagrams in the Bentley manual

 

Pages 70.7, 70.8, 80.2, 80.4, 90.19 Dash assembly

 

Pages 80.6 & 80.7 Heater & A/C Air box assembly

 

Pages 48.2 & 48.4 Steering Wheel & Steering Column

 

REMOVE THE KNEE PADS

 

Start by removing the two trim panels that cover the underside of the dash. Then remove the two knee pads. There are two screws on the bottom of the knee bar. Remove them and tug and pull till the clips release. Its on pretty tight. The knee bar has clips built into the frame that clip onto a large metal sub-frame, so if it feels like its stuck keep pulling, it will pop out.

 

REMOVE THE STEERING WHEEL & COLUMN COVER

 

The horn pops off to reveal the 25mm bolt holding the wheel on. There are three screws on the underside of the steering column. Once removed the two plastic pieces are held together by 4 to 6 plastic clips. Take the bottom half off first, to expose the bolt (faces downward) that holds the tilt lever on. Remove the bolt. The turn signal & wiper control levers are held on with three screws facing toward you. The left lever came off easily. The right lever was not so easy, so it stayed on. However, this provided plenty of clearance for the dash removal

 

REMOVE THE DASH

 

Start with the instrument cluster trim piece (4 screws). Remove the stereo, heater controls, & miscellaneous trim pieces in the center panel insert. Then remove the instrument center panel insert, that houses the stereo & heater controls. Followed by the dash vent on the left. Now you can remove the instrument cluster. I also removed the glove box. This may not be required. However, it allows better access to the right side dash interior. Remove the right side air vent. Remove the two nuts in the plenum panel, under the windshield, in the engine compartment. These two nuts are under the windshield (where the wiper and the ECU are one on each side). I was able to get a socket on them. On the driver's side, I choose to remove the wiper assembly for better access. While I had the wiper assembly apart, I put new grease on the wiper drive shafts. Now remove the remaining 3 screws & 1 bolt holding the dash on. At this point I would highly recommend that you take some time to study & map out on paper, the paths of the wiring harness & all control cables. By the time you get the dash off, all plugs, wires & cables will be lying all over, making very difficult to re-install the dash. Before you pull the dash off, be sure to unplug the all of the remaining electrical connectors & detach any wiring attached to the dash. Remove the dash. It should pull slightly up and back. Be patient and take your time.

 

With the dash fully removed, remove the large metal-sub frame that the knee pads where attached to. There are 4 bolts. Also note, with the bolts loose, the height of the sub-frame can be adjusted. The adjustment affects how close the knee pads are to the dash. On my car I put it in the upper most position, to reduce the gap between the knee pad and the dash.

 

REMOVE THE HEATER BOX

 

With the heater box and A/C exposed, go to the fire wall and look for the inlets for the heater hoses. Detach the hoses. Look for the 2 bolts that hold the main air/heater box to the firewall. On mine, they where approximately in the center of the firewall, vertically about 10" apart. Remove these. They may be in a different location on G60s.

 

Pull back, or push aside any wires or cables that will interfere with the box pulling straight back. On my car there was a small silver box on the left side, that I removed to get better clearance.

 

Now separate the heater box from the A/C box. The two boxes are attached with 6 clips. There is 1 on top, 1 on bottom, 2 on the front & 2 on the back. These pop off with a flat blade screw driver. The 2 clips on the back are very hard to get at. I was only able to remove 1 of them. The other one broke when I removed the heater box. On re-assembly, I was not able to re-install either of the rear clips. Currently, there are only 4 on my car. This seems to be working fine, so far.

 

With the heater box free, wiggle & gently tug it straight out & up a bit. When you get it out, the heater core is held in by 2 clips on either side. Also, my car had 2 screws holding it in. The core will pull straight up. Once out, take a look in the heater box. If there is a puddle of anti-freeze in the bottom, clean it out. It's good idea to tilt the box around a couple times, get all the anti-freeze out. Anti-freeze doesn't evaporate very easily, and will hang around for a long time. Take some time, & clean it up the best you can.

 

Now re-assemble. Take some extra time to install some sticky back felt (available at most fabric stores) & foam in areas that could rattle. Try to route the wiring harness where it will go before you re-install the dash. That will prevent having to remove the dash to move a section of the harness. Take your time & think about what you can buy with the $800 you saved by doing it yourself.

[GIXXERUK 0]

sounds straight forward ;-)

[dinkus 10]

I've got a black dash shell you can have Furki :)

[Furkz 0]

potatonet, Thanks very much mate,exactly what i think i was after :lol: piece of pi$$.. should be done in a weekend

[Bally 0]

goodluck furks..

[billinjah 0]

whay not change to a late dash while your at it?

[Furkz 0]

coz it wont make a difference to me in the long run :lol:

[biggrim 0]

Can easy be done in a day matey. Just takes time and patience and a good memory for where all the bits go. Good luck

[Furkz 0]

biggrim, cheers mate,,,did try emailing you earlier but it got returned....u going to e38 btw and also u fancy popping down giving me a hand :lol:

[Blue_Joe 0]

Fitting a new Dasboard

 

Is that anything like fitting a new Dasboot?

 

 

I know, I know, I'll get my coat!

[biggrim 0]

Furks, what addy did you try? Not going to make it 38, no cash. Defo don't want to come down and help. Tis a fookin nightmare of a job. Had a sore back and hands for days after it. Sorry mate and good luck.

[Blue_Joe 0]

Shame your not near me. My friendly mechanic can strip out and refit a dashboard in t he space of an hour. Pretty damn impressive!!! Although it really isn;t that much of a nightmare to do yourself! Just a little fiddly!

[Furkz 0]

Blue_Joe, hmmm 2 hr drive for 1 hr work and 2 hr drive again,,,may be worth it u never know,,,but i am gonna attack it myself i think and see what happens.....worse that can happen is pulling into E38 without a dash :lol: that be fun

[Bally 0]

Fackit furks.. take the dash out & seats & sit on a bucket lol

 

start a new craze lol

[Furkz 0]

milk crate...already done that before when old RS interior got stolen

[Blue_Joe 0]

I've just had a proper lookat the guide that potatonet put up. It's really not as complex as that as to replace the outer shell its a case of removing the clocks and switches, there are 2 nuts to undo under the bonnet just under the wiper arms. One bolt on either end of the dash, remove the under trays take out about 6 screws from in and around the heater controls, a couple behind where the clocks are and a few down the bottom. Remove the centre console (all the trim down the centre of the car, handbrake and gearlever surround) and the dash just pulls out. Put the new one in reverse the process adn thats it. You dont need to remove the heater box etc.

 

If you've never done it before then shouldnt take more than about 4 hours. I can do it in about 2 and a half hours and I've only don it 3 times. Planning on a 4th when I swap to a later style dash.

[Furkz 0]

i think by the weekend i will have enough info to do this in like a couple of hours :lol: cheers for all your help guys...only really worried abt once i got the new one in it rattles and p's me off

[Blue_Joe 0]

To make sure that doesn't happen just make sure all the foam padding around all the wiring is intact, if its not put some more on, its genrally the loos unpadded wires that rattle

[billinjah 0]

coz it wont make a difference to me in the long run

 

 

:?:

[Furkz 0]

billinjahg60, have big plans matey BIG Plans, when it comes to interior

[billinjah 0]

sounds good mate!

[Furkz 0]

always sounds good!!!! its doing it the hard part :lol:

[Furkz 0]

bloody things is huge it came today when i was out playing with the car

 

anyone wanna pop down and gimme a hand fitting it

[billinjah 0]

drive up me an bally will give ya a hand!