junior4022

i guys i bought my s5 fc3c a while back and i love it. the thing is i live on dirt and gravel roads which seem to not like my FC i have replace mirrors twice and now the tabs on my dash that hold up " that black surround that my switches go in" sorry i really don't know the name of it. i was wondering if any one has had this problem and know the best way to fix it. when i get the time i will try to up load a picture.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

I had this happen,so I know what it is!
.take a small piece of thin metal(like 3/4 inch wide and 1-1/2 inches) and drill a small hole into it,then put a self tapping screw to it to hold it to the black plastic so that the metal tab sticks out.
This is going to be your Holding point for the surround screw,
Test fit the surround back in,as you may have to cut the tab a bit.
once you have the surround fitting ok,then drill a pilot hole up through the screw hole into the tab to allow another self tapping screw to hold the surround in..
Done!

junior4022

thanks! =] that helps out a bunch. i was kind of thinking the same thing but wasn't sure. i have been driving with out it for over a month now lol.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Ya,the 3 screws on the inside are enough to hold the surround in and on the dash.,But the switches are kind of fun to operate( like lights and wipers or cruise).
So I did that little tab thing and it held the surround solid.Plus you can get the screws back out!
btw use "robertson type"(square head screwdriver) self tapping screws so you don't have to stick a socket up there!
good luck,STYX!~

Leonel95

wonder if mixin some resing or liquid plastic can help mold new ones

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Very common problem. On my car, I bent some 1/8" aluminum to make new tabs, drilled and tapped a hole for a fine threaded machine screw, and then epoxied them in place of the old tabs. An epoxy soaked cloth was also laid over the tab to strengthen the joint. No problems after 10+ years.

junior4022

I actually thought bout fixing it with fiberglass but I was too afraid of not getting the mixtures right and catching it all on fire lol. Well anyways it got worse since my first post... =[ as I was looking at it and messing around with it, it started to just break off in pieces. Turns out it was really it was really brittle. I might have found a solution for my problem. There is a guy bout 30 minutes from my place who i selling his S5 black dash for $150. Do you think thats is a reasonable price?

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

I dunno.150 dollars for 2 broke tabs is just a little excessive in my opinion.
You can post up a WTB on the Sec Gen Parts for Sale Section or the Regional sections and see if you can get one cheaper if that is your route to go.
Otherwise I would take another look at what you have to work with and fix it accordingly.
Send me pics if you care to, at Misterstyx69@hotmail.com and I may be able to help you out.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Swapping out a dash is time consuming and annoying. It takes about 20 minutes to fix the tabs better than they were from the factory with just some metal and epoxy.

You can sort of see what I did here:

junior4022

I'll take some pictures tomorrow since I'm going to be driving it around. its all 5 tabs that are broke. The top 3 are shattered and the bottom 2 are broke rite before the screw hole starts.

Slightly off topic here... and probably a "noobie" question here. Would newer/better suspension as far as coil overs or air bags help out with the stiffness. I live on some really bumpy roads. More like country dirt roads. As I stated before I had to replace my side mirrors twice due to driving on these roads.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Drive slower on massively bumpy roads?

There aren't any air bag kits for the RX-7, so that would be 100% custom.

A set of adjustable shocks with stock springs would make a huge difference. You could crank the shocks down to the "granny" setting then when you get onto real roads, choose a more suitable setting.

Coil overs, in my opinion, are a waste of money on a street car.

junior4022

ok...Sorry for the late pictures. I have been busy with some of my family.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Looks like they can be repaired using the metal strip and epoxy trick.

junior4022

Thank you Aaron. You're always right =]