I already ran into one problem getting my dash out, but that one was solved. I'm removing my dash and replacing it with an uncracked one. I got all the visible screws out, but there are screws holding it in that I can't see, or figure out how to get to. Does anybody know how to get these screws out? They seem to be up top near the glove box, along that edge.

 

well i have a crack free dash i got from a junkyard car...

lets just say it took me 30 min to take out and when i was done there wasent much left of the inside of the car....i fucked that car up to get the dash off... i had to step on the steering column to get it to bend down in order to get the 2 10mm nuts above the guages.... i havent even fucked with trying to put it in my car because i dont want to **** anything up taking my craked dash out...

-greg

 

You will probably have to take the windshield off.

 

you dont have to take the winshield off...... the hardest bolts to get to are the 4 underneath the dash....

-greg

 

yeah there are 2 of them behind the cluster, and 2 up high exposed when you remove the glovebox. They are 5/16 or 8mm

Some of you guys are either impatient as hell or dont have the proper tools, you should destroy anything to take it out, not to mention even scratch it

 

The ones I see on the glovebox side of mine were 13mm. One of which I bent the hell out of the bracket it was attached to by trying to loosen it.....and I have the tools. I hope this isn't a prelude to the rest of it.

 

first what year of 7 is it? second It took me 20 minutes to remove and replace mine nothing damaged in process. the seats and the pillar trim had been out of the car for a while at that time. also the trim, shifter boot piece had also been out because the tranny had been removed prior so that prob saved about 10 min. as for how to do it there are 3 10 milimeter bolts up top under the trim piece that the vin plate is on. there is 2 10 milimeter bolts under the trim piece on both sides of the dash. there is 2 bolts on the bottom of the stering colum. there are 4 10 milimeter bolts around the center console. it helps to remove the shifter and the steering wheel. do not foget to un plug your harness as you go. it should come right out then. if you remove all the dash trim you should be able to see all the bolts holding it

 

any odd sizes of bolts or differant conector someone else has beet you to messing it up.

 

'85 SE.....

And yes, I have all the trim and such out already....I haven't even gotten to the other side yet, I still need to take the steering wheel off.


The bracket I mangled was definately attached to the dash itself and it was a 13mm nut. Instead of coming loose, all that happened was the bracket bent upward. Now I don't know what to do with it.

 

I've just removed my dash and all I needed was a phillips screw driver, a good ol' 10mm, a 21mm (to take off the steering wheel) and a set of vice grips. I used the vice grips to turn the 10mm socket to get the bolts close to the windshield out. BUT don't over improvise, just take your time.

 

Oh, put the transmission in reverse to give you the room you need to pull out the dash, or just take out the shifter.

 

And one more thing, don't forget about that pesky ground on the brace behing where the ashtray would be, I think it's a 8mm nut.

 

I just recently took 2 dashboards out, a 1980 and a 1979 (recently as in 2 weeks ago), and there are no bolts up behind the instrument cluster you need to remove. I left the instrument cluster in both dashes I took out without any problems.

There are 3-4 10 mm ones near the windshield, 2 on each side near the doors, a couple holding the dash to the steering column, a couple behind the radio, and thats all she wrote.. You need to take the glove box out to remove some wiring, but its not that hard at all.

Oh yeah, remove the steering wheel. It makes the job infinitely easier. You also need to fish the ac controls out the back of the dashboard.

 

somewhere on the forum, felix Wankel posted a detailed "how to remove your dash" with pics and all.

 

I got pics....

In the first pic, you can clearly see the 13mm nut I have referred to. There was one of these on each side, and both clearly appear to be connected to the dash. I've bent both brackets in an attempt to loosen them, they won't come off.....so I give up on them,and I really hope you're right about them not needing to come off. Far left of the pic shows one other screw that I havent'gotten to yet.



Near the center, there is one screw connecting that bracket to the dash. This should come out?



Passenger side, 13mm mangled bracket and nut.



Another bracket with screw, comes off?



Closeup of drivers side 13mm....




Sonow what? The drivers side feels a little loose, but the passenger side is solid as a rock.

 

I'm sorry man, I'm LMAO at you. But an honest mistake. The nuts your trying to get of are tack welded to those brackets. You want to take of the BOLT that goes into those nuts. Remove the trim for your windshield vents so you can get to the bolts.

 

Ahh, beat me to it, but yeah those nuts are welded. It took us a few minutes to figure that one out when we came across it. But it looks like you've got some muscle going on there, damn. Hope it goes back together okay.

 

Oh hell those are even easier than the earlier 7's I gave to directions to. Its been a while, but I remember when I did it, I was like damn thats easier than a 79-83

 

It went away with the forum "update" ( ), unless someone happened to save it. I think Manntis was wanting to use it on his site.

 

Take it off and leave it off!! Dashboards just add unneeded weight

 

Hmm guess I feel pretty dumb.....


Well, I don't think I need to worry about the passenger side one, I'm pretty sure it ripped it right out of the dash.

 

by a dashboard. have a

 

take a look at those brackets, and see who really got owned. They didn't come out of it too well.

 

AHHHHH!!!! I lost my temper on it today guys......ended up ripping the dash out with my bare hands, in pieces......so there's a pile of old dash laying out there now....worked though.

Needless to say, I won't be using near as many of the screws they used to hold my new one in, as they did orginally.

I'll have to get some pics of the aftermath up.

 

DANM MANNN! ! ! ! I CAN PICTure it now...grunting and swearing ripping that thing off....I need to pull mine too any advice? pics?