removing au2 dash

[antilooped]

Hey all,

Im just wanting to get my au2 manual xr6's firewall cracking problem fixed, the best quote i got was $475 for the dash removal and $405 for the pedal box, plate and welding to fix the crack and the ИИИИted pedal box which stops me from driving the car mind you!

I guess i havnt got the dollars to fork the whole $880 at the moment. Im a pretty hands on guy and ive worked on car electronics before.

One auto elec said most of the time pulling it out is spent labelling everything to make sure it goes back?

I guess my question is, is this worth it (time is no object) or just pay for it, and if its relatively easy, just time consuming, where are all the main bolts hidden to get the dash out?

Thanks for your time

Shannon.

[mik]

i had a bit of a glance through the manual,and i think a manual would be a worthwhile investment if your gonna have a go your self at tackling the dash ,in my opinion easy to damage stuff if your not sure how to remove it ,i used to work at a ford dealer back in xc /d,e days and used to dread doing dashboards and they didnt have half the goodies in them that these have ,if time is no object i`d say go for it but not with out a book, you might find more info in tech section good luck shannon

[mik]

check out black utes post

[zoomzoom]

Hi There
Me too used toi work at a ford dealer until i got sick of fixing them all the time.
I have removed heaps of dash assy out to replace leaking evaporators but i havent removed a dash out of an AU i would imagaine its not that hard AU is the only dash i havnt pulled out I know you have to remove the center console first there are a few retaining bolts dropp the steering colunm down (you must be carefull if you lower it too much u could damasge the bush in the firewall) all the plugs have to be disconnected and you cant mix the wiring up cause all the plugs are different i wouldnt advise anyone to remove the dah unless they know what they are doing
thats my advise

[Sylox]

5 words here for your buddy

TAKE IT TO THE MAN!!!

Major pain in the backside, chances are you will bust some of the clips that hold stuff together (they always do) and mark my words you'll get half way into it and think why the hell didnt I take it to the man.
If your going to do it and you have an auto do a manual conversion at the same time cause the pedal box is the biggest pain to do.

[antilooped]

Thanks for your opinions guys,

i guess ill take it to the man, i mean its gonna take them a ИИИИload less time to do it, and if it ИИИИs up, i guess they will be the one paying for anything broken. Im really annoyed that i actaully have to do it, coz they always say its never gonna be the same as the factory once its put back in. besides, i guess the price of the manuals (books) is heaps anyways, and by the time i pay a mate $100 to come around and help, its gonna be in the 2 hundreds anyways...

Thanks once again dudes

Shannon

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Pulling apart dashboards/consoles in hell ! - if i had a problem with a cracked firewall i'de just make a plate out of 1 or 2 pieces of checkerplate double layered first and drill and bolt it on , this would hold it np anyway . It really is an easy fix welding up the cracked firewall and making a extra thick plate to support it , 9/10th's of the time is taken up removing and reinstalling the dash . I have seen damaged firewalls just fixed up with 2 plates bolted on , and works fine , just that if its leaking water into the interior too you'll have to silicone around the plates too. It is a safe fix just using plates bolted over the crack and the area around it for support , just make sure the plates / plates youu use to cover the crack are a nice large rectangle size whch will cover more than just the cracks (u'll need support all around) - and you dont want the bolts holding the plates near the crack !~ .. Using 2 plates with holes in the middle for the goodies to pass through the plates , and on both plates open the holes out to the sides of the plates , one plate with the centred hole opened to the left, and the other plate hole from the centre opened to the right ..this alows you to slip both plates on over the crack from both left and right sides , while still stronglly supporting around the centre holes. then drill through both plates and support all the way around the plate with about 12x 8mm bolts with nuts and large washers .. gl

[Duffman]

hay guys. I was going to go to the wreckers tomorrow to pickup a black au dash to replace my grey one. Do you think id have much trouble in this instance am I likely to enounter alot of probs :(

[Racecraft]

Its not that hard, the dash itself is only held in by a few bolts.. It is unplugging all the looms and clips like Sylox said that can be abit of a head scratcher.. Are you going to plate it from the engine bay side? You might be able to tilt the dash forward enough to check for any looms etc. And on the AU the pedal box goes in and out without removing the dash at all, just loosen the steering column and the lower steering shaft and you can get the pedal box out

[RspecAU]

lol a few bolts and lots of screws remeber where they all came from. The loom isn't as bas as what it looks no plug is that same. U may need a few screw drivers to as u need to remove the screws on the top of the dash under the windscreen. Have fun

[Duffman]

Anyone tried giving their dash a paint?

I went to ford wreckers they wanted $650 for the dash thats CRAZY. I went to another mob they wanted $165 but i didnt buy off them because they where so damn rude. Im thinking of giving the vinyl a paint? I did it to my steering wheel and it came out preety damn good. Anyone think the paint will hold up ok?

[Racecraft]

its not the paint just the prep mate.. if you prep properly with adhesive promoter the paint will last

[Racecraft]

Originally Posted by Duffman

Anyone tried giving their dash a paint?

I went to ford wreckers they wanted $650 for the dash thats CRAZY.

But for $650 you probably get the passenger side airbag which is something like $800 alone from Ford..