Post by Admin on Jan 25, 2014 18:10:24 GMT
Ideal for fitting Mk3.5 dash into Mk3
Swapped the dash over today and decided to take pics of it going in, so for this How To I have reversed the order of the pics for you. :thumbup:
Firstly disconnect the battery and while your under the bonnet lift off the scuttle panel seal and lift up the N/S corner and you'll see a 10mm nut on this stud. The O/S one is a lot harder to get to as the wiper motor and linkages are in the way, I managed to get my arm through the linkages to get a socket on the nut :thumbup:
Next is the steering wheel, there are two 6mm allen key bolts holding the Airbag in place, once this is lifted out of the way you will see a 24mm nut on the column. Loosen this enough to free the wheel from the splines, unplug the Airbag and then the wheel ring from under the column and unscrew the 2 screws holding the column surround together and remove.
Pop out the main light switch and the cover or heated seat switch to reveal two screws holding the clocks surround, you will also need to look inside the air vents as there are screws here too and the warning light panel on the far right and the cover next to the radio. These three panels can now be removed, note they are clipped together also so take care.
You can now remove the clocks, there are only 2 screws holding them in and there are 2 pins that sit in recesses at the bottom. The clocks can pivot forwards so you can unplug them and then it can come out. Note here I have swapped the anniversary faces into my own clocks and fitted Red LED's also, not a straight forward job and a load of head scratching I can tell you :eh:
You will notice the Metal clock faces needed to be cut top and bottom and bent over as parts of the cover pressed down on the faces and deformed their shape so the Temp and Fuel needles stuck. Also the Temp and Fuel needles off the Anniversary have bigger holes in them so they didn't grip the gauge shafts so I had to paint the needles off these clocks. So after a load of trimming and rethinking they went in and work perfectly with a nice Red glow. :thumbup:
Next out are the under dash items which just screw in place, as for the centre console first remove the rear ashtray and the 2 screws hold that in place and lift off over the handbrake lever. Then peel off the gearstick gaitor you will now see 3 plastic 10mm nuts, 1 under where the handbrake console joined the front console and 2 next to the gearstick, there are 2 screws also right at the front of the console in either footwell. With a lot of juggling the front console will lift out over the gearstick and with the handbrake right up it'll squeeze between the seats and to one side of the lever.
With a Glovebox/Parcel shelf removed and the Fusebox cover unscrewed and removed you will be presented with a number of 8mm screws. 3 of which will be holding the Glovebox/Passenger Airbag in place, if you have a glovebox you will find an extra 2 screws inside to remove also. Note if you are swapping an Airbag dash for a non-Airbag dash there is a bracket in the hole left held in by 2 screws that needs swapping over too. The 8mm screws mentioned also run under the steering column and by the hinge panels, one each side and there are 2 under the centre ashtray also.
Remove the ashtray and using a flat blade screwdriver pop out the heater panel surround, this will allow you to remove 6 more screws hold the switch panel in place. The heater controls will stay when the dash is removed, just unplug the switches and slide out the plug-in socket cover and push the socket out.
Hopefully your radio wiring won't look this bad (guess what isn't working anymore!!! :cry: ) With all the vents removed you should be able to pop out the tweeter covers and the tweeters to unplug them.
Now you dash should look like this, totally stripped and totally free to remove.
Refitting you replacement dash or once your fixed your heater etc simply reverse the above.
The finished dashboard, so much nicer then the original blue item. I have also swapped over the Airbag and Hood warning stickers for that OEM look :thumbup:
Swapped the dash over today and decided to take pics of it going in, so for this How To I have reversed the order of the pics for you. :thumbup:
Firstly disconnect the battery and while your under the bonnet lift off the scuttle panel seal and lift up the N/S corner and you'll see a 10mm nut on this stud. The O/S one is a lot harder to get to as the wiper motor and linkages are in the way, I managed to get my arm through the linkages to get a socket on the nut :thumbup:
Next is the steering wheel, there are two 6mm allen key bolts holding the Airbag in place, once this is lifted out of the way you will see a 24mm nut on the column. Loosen this enough to free the wheel from the splines, unplug the Airbag and then the wheel ring from under the column and unscrew the 2 screws holding the column surround together and remove.
Pop out the main light switch and the cover or heated seat switch to reveal two screws holding the clocks surround, you will also need to look inside the air vents as there are screws here too and the warning light panel on the far right and the cover next to the radio. These three panels can now be removed, note they are clipped together also so take care.
You can now remove the clocks, there are only 2 screws holding them in and there are 2 pins that sit in recesses at the bottom. The clocks can pivot forwards so you can unplug them and then it can come out. Note here I have swapped the anniversary faces into my own clocks and fitted Red LED's also, not a straight forward job and a load of head scratching I can tell you :eh:
You will notice the Metal clock faces needed to be cut top and bottom and bent over as parts of the cover pressed down on the faces and deformed their shape so the Temp and Fuel needles stuck. Also the Temp and Fuel needles off the Anniversary have bigger holes in them so they didn't grip the gauge shafts so I had to paint the needles off these clocks. So after a load of trimming and rethinking they went in and work perfectly with a nice Red glow. :thumbup:
Next out are the under dash items which just screw in place, as for the centre console first remove the rear ashtray and the 2 screws hold that in place and lift off over the handbrake lever. Then peel off the gearstick gaitor you will now see 3 plastic 10mm nuts, 1 under where the handbrake console joined the front console and 2 next to the gearstick, there are 2 screws also right at the front of the console in either footwell. With a lot of juggling the front console will lift out over the gearstick and with the handbrake right up it'll squeeze between the seats and to one side of the lever.
With a Glovebox/Parcel shelf removed and the Fusebox cover unscrewed and removed you will be presented with a number of 8mm screws. 3 of which will be holding the Glovebox/Passenger Airbag in place, if you have a glovebox you will find an extra 2 screws inside to remove also. Note if you are swapping an Airbag dash for a non-Airbag dash there is a bracket in the hole left held in by 2 screws that needs swapping over too. The 8mm screws mentioned also run under the steering column and by the hinge panels, one each side and there are 2 under the centre ashtray also.
Remove the ashtray and using a flat blade screwdriver pop out the heater panel surround, this will allow you to remove 6 more screws hold the switch panel in place. The heater controls will stay when the dash is removed, just unplug the switches and slide out the plug-in socket cover and push the socket out.
Hopefully your radio wiring won't look this bad (guess what isn't working anymore!!! :cry: ) With all the vents removed you should be able to pop out the tweeter covers and the tweeters to unplug them.
Now you dash should look like this, totally stripped and totally free to remove.
Refitting you replacement dash or once your fixed your heater etc simply reverse the above.
The finished dashboard, so much nicer then the original blue item. I have also swapped over the Airbag and Hood warning stickers for that OEM look :thumbup: