Urgent-vn Dash Removal

[Keesh]

i need to take out my whole dash in the next half an hour does anyone no how to get just the dash out, everything else is out.. is there any unplugging of thins etc.. thanks

[Boonz]

centre console out, glovebox out, cover under steering wheel out,whole centre support and wiring out/unplugged, heater controls out ,kick panels off, side vents off,2 bolts in engine bay side of firewall undone, theres 3 plugs under the right hand side of the dash(above accelarator pedal) unplugged,steering column dropped down, should be 2 bolts on either side behind where the vents were, about 6 at the top of the dash and it should then lift out, not sure if the heater core has to come out too but it would be wise to do while the dash is out

[89vncommy]

I had no bolts on the firewall, or did not need to pull out the steering... Had to take off all the other stuff tho ... There is also 1 bolt at the centre of the dash up at the windscreen ... Plus a couple of phillips head screws on either side.. You need to take off the speaker grills and the plastic that runs along side it...

Make sure you stuff all the wiring back in the grooves when you put it back together, or it will not go in properly and you run the risk of blowing fuses.. It is a real pain of a job... I would never do it again, even if I was paid...

[Keesh]

cheers guys ill have a crack at it..

[Keesh]

ive taken my dash out but i had to revove the wiring harness from the dash.. did you guys have to do this? i have so many plugs everywhere its not funny. does the main wiring loom that goes into the firewall come out so i can attach it to the dash before putting it back in? if im painting my dash im afraid im going to scratch the fcuk out of it wiring it all back up

[90VN55]

hey mate can you get some pics of it all pulled out?

[Keesh]

if i get time, i have worse things to worry about than pics but ill try

[mightymike]

guys, im actually in the middle of pulling out my dash too!

i have a VP Exec, and and spraying the interior red and black, i have done the center con. and looks great, ill post some pics up when i have achance... all i want to do now and this is what me and my mate are stuck on..

Pull out door trims but cant get around the locks, seen diff sites but cant get any good suggestions, and yer cant get the dash off at all, looks like the only option we have is to put up the paper and do it all on the inside with it all attatched!!!

looksl ike were packin up shop today but would love to get ideas how to take these things off for next weekend!

is someone can find a step by step how to... or pics it would be great!!

Signing off

Mike

[budwizer]

hey buddy to get the door lockes off, use a small screw driver wedge down the side of the red bit and kinda wedge it out, then the lock little bit lifts off then, you need to unsrew the screw behind it. i'll send you some pics 2moz. As for the dash its not the hard to take out. i remember another site with a step by step process of how to do it. i'll c if i can find it for you.

[Keesh]

dont do it in the car, thats what i did first time around and it wrecked it cause i couldnt spray around near the window from a far enuff distance, it ended up costing me more to take it out and strip it back for respray.. i recommend going to the paint shop and asking for a vynal paint, i got this really great one, he showed me a seat he half painted 10 years ago and it still hadnt cracked!, it was easy getting the dash out, just that alot of things had to be unplugged, stuff that i cant remeber how to put back on.. the trouble is u have to wire everything on the back of the dash, and i rekn i might scratch all my hard work of painting when doing this.. if anyone can find a map of where the wires go that would be awsome. im going to struggle with this baddd

[Boonz]

i thought that vinyl paint wasnt suppose to scratch or chip off??? weve got the vinyl on our bar stools painted black over yellow original vinyl and they have copped more than their fair share of floggins...

[mightymike]

hey guys

i actually only registered for this site today and feels good to already have 2 replys!

well after i left my post we went back to the car for some more work.... we ended up figuring out the lock thing ( THANKS MATE ) and the doors are looking great, as for the dash...well....... SINCE ITS NOT MY MATES CAR! he decided to free hand do itstall attatched to the car, it actually went well, and it looks pretty good! THANK GOD!!

we used the special paint for it but before we painted i whiped it down with some pre cleaning stuff... asu may have realised im a real big NOOB when it comes to cars full stop so its all alearning curve for me!

Hopefully attatced are some pics of some of the stuff we have painted, tell me what you think

but its all looking great! all painting is nearly done and drying in my garage, i shall post up some pics of the finished product when its done ( prob tuesday)

thanks again guys

[budwizer]

hey buddy that looks good, it will definently look good when its done. look forward to updates.

[Keesh]

so your using VHT? doesnt matter what paint u use, if you dont have good adhesion it will scratch and chip if u hit it hard enough.. i used vht the first time and its shit i rekn.. it still cracked and peeled even after proper preping. the arm rest/coinbox lid u painted wil crack and rub off in no time believe me. from those pics it looks like it all need clear coating. use bodytech clear duco paint from kmart, ive wasted money on everthing and i rekn that workss the best

[mightymike]

thanks mate ive actually been looking for clear finish and couldnt find it anywhere!

will try

[Keesh]

ok today i been trying to get the dash back in and sofar its a pain in the ass.. the main wiring loom doesnt want to stay in its groove and as a result the dash had to be squashed into place.. i dont no how badly this will effect the wiring yet but well see. im having trouble with the fuse box.. the metal bracket that the box mounts to sags on the left hand side and i dont remeber where it mounts to.. god help me!!!!!

[timmy_tam]

omg u poor poor unfortunete man
i was in the same position too....i pulled it all out due to heater issues and it turned out to be VAC lines in engine bay

anyway...once it's come out, it'll never go back in the same
you have to worry about the centre bolt, if u put the dash in and bolt it up wrong, you could ruin the threads, and then your royally ****ed coz that holds the majoirty of the weight

with the wiring, it's heavy and it weighs alot, so make sure it's all zip tied into place ( as best as you can remmeber anyway)

the sagging fuse box area, i have that too
i'm guessing the metal brackets holding it have come undone and are off by a few centimetres. theres probably some screws missing from some where

good luck, and let us know how it goes

my dash isn't hte same anymroe....sits lower more and things dont quite fit...and i've got a whole container of screws and bolts i don't know where it goes or came from

[Fu Manchu]

center bolt? Mine was just teadious to get back in. It went back in better than before. The wiring loom should be near impossible to come out because it fits in behind those clips. The bit with the bend in it has the plastic bit taped into the loom for protection and helps hold the loom in a notch in the dash. I took pics and notes as I removed it and fitted it back from them with out too many worries. It was the HVAC box and vacuum lines that was hard to put back together. Got it spot on in the end

I had some "sponge bob squarepants" sandwich bags and as I removed section I put the bolts and screws in and wrote on each bag with a texta where they were from.

[mightymike]

yes... spounge bob is the man. you can count on him for allmost everything! lol

most of my dash painting isdone i have afew things to do today but should be postin up pics this afternoon to see what yas think

[mightymike]

most of my dash painting isdone i have afew things to do today but should be postin up pics this afternoon to see what yas think

Guys my car is back together here are some pics as promised tell me waht you think and throw some more ideas at me if you have any

[Keesh]

that looks good! did u clear coat the dash? is it smooth or ruff sorta? i remember mine was smooth but it got dirty real quick! at leat now i can wip it clean. i just got most of my dash back in and even though half the wires have been ran along the dash wrong its on and everthing is functioning.. i havnt checked the heating yet so ill check that theres 3 plugs where the ac switch is, i dont no where they go, ones blue for the air con switch and theres a green one and a black one.. anyone no? p.s u should paint the radio surround mould-the one between the glove box and fuse panel!

[mightymike]

that looks good! did u clear coat the dash? is it smooth or ruff sorta? i remember mine was smooth but it got dirty real quick! at leat now i can wip it clean. i just got most of my dash back in and even though half the wires have been ran along the dash wrong its on and everthing is functioning.. i havnt checked the heating yet so ill check that theres 3 plugs where the ac switch is, i dont no where they go, ones blue for the air con switch and theres a green one and a black one.. anyone no? p.s u should paint the radio surround mould-the one between the glove box and fuse panel!

i actually went to kmart today to look for it but couldnt find it, nor could the chik workin there, still on the hunt

[budwizer]

Hey buddy that looks good as, but i think you need a level 3 cluster to top it off!, that would brighten the dash even more:P

[Keesh]

thats strange.. keep looking but, i dont want you to waste ur time and money with crap that doesnt work, like i did. youve done to your dash sorta what i did to mine, except mine was all white ontop and all black undernieth

[90VN55]

theres 3 plugs where the ac switch is, i dont no where they go, ones blue for the air con switch and theres a green one and a black one.. anyone no?

hey mate i think you will find its for the wagons. they might have put the same wiring harness in the sedan and the wagon.
oh yea its for the wiper and washer on the wagons