Okay, please do not tell me to search as I am looking for a specific answer.

The problem:
One of the Dash braces sawed through my Tail Light/Dash Light/Stereo wires. Their is a major short where it all got fried and melted. The Wiring is right next to the fuse panel where the steel brace is. I am going to have to get all the wires out of the tube holding them together, then I will need to seperate, cut and splice wires together.

So I am going to need enough room to do this. What all will I need to remove from the dash? And how do I remove it?

I think I am going to have to remove it all. Anyone else ever have this problem? Seems like a Factory Flaw to me...

Thanks in advanced!
-Aaron

 

Its hard to picture what you are talking about, but i would recommend to start by removing the least amount possible and work from there.

If i understand the area you are talking about correctly, i would start by dropping the fuse panel cover (the whole thing, not just the FUSE cover), there are like 4 bolts at the back along the edge, and it comes down.

Secondly, i would remove the lower steering column "cover". This one is kind tricky, it has a few bolts running along the length, and there is also a "sharp metal skeleton" on the inside of it, on the dash side. This is held on by an addition 2 or 3 bolts if i remember correctly, and they are at an odd angle.

Finally, i would atleast drop the steering column, if not take it all the way out. This gives you the flexibility to move it out of the way.

You would obviously be going at the wires from below. If its too far UP there, you will need to remove additional stuff as well.

It really depends on how much clutter you have down there, ive been told mycar doesnt have much.

Does that help?

 

It is possible to remove most if not all of the entire harness from the dash but it is a real time pita. But, so is removing the dash with the harness intact. Both involve lots of time and control.

As online170 suggests, for starters you'll probably want to remove the steering column. I'd also suggest pulling the seats and center console as well. Give yourself some working (cussing) room, just in case you decide to extract the harness as a whole or detach the dash. You'll know better for yourself what you need to do for access to whatever needs to be repaired.

I've extracted several dashes and harness for transplant. It's a job! Especially if yours needs fixing.

Good luck!

 

Okay, so I took off the whole Fuse Panel, The Steering column cover, the steering column, the Speedometer cluster and bezel...

Looks like it all needs to come out. How do I get the main dash part off?

I am going to remove the dashpad and the removable stuff off the other side. Maybe that will show me how to get it off.

 

How'd it go? Did you find the problem?
I'm in the process of removing my AC, How much of the dash needs to disappear for that to happen?

 

actually, you don't have to remove any of the dash to remove the A/C system. It all happens on the engine side of the firewall, unless you really want to go to the non-ac heater controls and diverter box.

 

I got it all fixed. Wiring is all good now... If anyone needs any help, I now have a little knowledge in this subject.

 

Yeah, I'd like to remove anything AC related, Any help is good help.

 

I did the full conversion to non-ac including the inside diverter box (which requires a different heater core) and the control panel. I'm now going to go back to the a/c diverter box and controls. The reason i'm switching back is because the non-ac cars had cable driven diverter flaps that tend to not work very well. It's very difficult to change which vents the air is diverted to. The a/c version of the diverter box uses vacuum controlled valves that are a lot easier to use and more reliable. So I would recommend that you leave the dash side alone. You'll want to remove the compressor, condenser, and accumulator from the engine side. get a pulley to replace the compressor and get a non-ac heater box to mount to the firewall. you will need the matching blower motor and impeller (fan blade for the blower motor) to go with the non-ac heater box.

 

Ok, So, remove the Giant hunk of AC-ness in my Engine bay, On the Engine side of the Firewall only? I don't have to do anything with the hunk of AC-ness under the dash at all? That simplifies everything a bit... I think?

 

lol, I like your technical jargon. But yes, that's what I'm saying. You can leave the dash side alone.

 

Awesomesauce. I'll give it a shot...

 

So, I got the Heater core, and Blower motor out... But the bottom part of the stinkin unit casing has still got a bolt or something holding it to the Firewall, like, underneath, where no mans hand can reach, what's the deal with that? Haynes Manual is useless, and I can't figure it out... help?

 

I'm not posotive on this, but I think that the lower bolt is on the inside of the firewall