How hard? Dash replacement....

[92GSXman]

The grey vinyl on my dash is coming off right above the glove compartment. Is this all one big piece or does this come off seperately? If it's all one piece how hard is it to install a dash from another car? Oh yeah, this is a 92 GSX.....

 

[Wheels-a-turnin]

Nothing is hard to do, just some things take more time than others..... i personally have never replaced a dash but my buddy has done it twice and he didnt seem to think it was difficult or time consuming, so if u have an ugly dash go ahead and take the inisiative and do it!!

 

[circa504]

are you talking about the air bag cover? if so that comes off seperately. the best thing to do if it is coming up on the corners is use contact cement. you can remove the whole airbag by opening the glove box and take out those black clips that keep it up. then remove the two bolts and two screws up there that hold it in. when i did mine, i peeled the whole vinyl cover off (dont recommend however). before you take out the airbag, i suggest disconnecting the negative terminal on the battery for about an hour so it drains the power to the airbag. dont worry the airbag wont go off on you...

 

[Mike1992]

He's talking about a 1g circa504. Anyways, my dash was doing this, so i replaced it with another, not hard just time consuming. Only to have this dash peel up on me also, so I jimmy'ed it with a screw and a washer in the corner.

 

[92GSXman]

Yep I have a 1g so no air bag, I think I will try to find a good donor car and get the dash out of it, I probably could glue this one back but it won't look right. Thanks guys

 

[anubis]

i'm becoming one anyway...

i've had the entire interior of my car in and out all summer long. pulling the dash is time consuming and it can be difficult if you plan on doing it by yourself. i had my brother help me and it wasn't extremely difficult. but be patient and be willing to give it an entire afternoon.

to begin: yes, that is all one big piece. the whole dash is going to have to come out of your car if you want to repair/replace that vinyl part. in my opinion just get a "new" vinyl part, you won't need to replace your entire dash that way. i tried to repair mine with epoxy, for the most part, it worked well. but it didn't work as well as i hoped it would.

if you decide to pull your dash, my first bit of advice, get a steering wheel puller. that thing is such a pain to work around. you can "borrow" one from your local autozone for a refundable $15. make sure you get the one that looks like a chicken foot...
\|/
..| they have two and the other one doesn't work very well.

second, you're going to need to unplug some wires near your fuse box in order to pull the dash out of your car. make sure you remember what plugs into where.

third, make sure you keep track of all your bolts, nuts, washers, and screws. do something so you know what goes where when it's time to put your dash back in. you won't regret doing this.

fourth, to get to the vinyl part you're going to need to remove all your heat/ac plumbing. not a big deal.

fifth, pay close attention to all your wires. look where they fit around your heat/ac ducts and where your gauge and control plugs go.

finally, if you do swap your entire dash board, you'll have a new vin#. this means you might want to put your old vin plate on your new dash.

if you need anymore tips or if you'd like a step my step layout of what you'll need to do, i'd be happy to share my experience. but let me know how you'd like to approach this: full dash replacement or vinyl replacement/repair. you can do this yourself as long as you're patient and you keep track of everything. it's very interesting to see what your car looks like without the dash it. best of luck.

 

[Damn 2nd Gear]

isnt vin swapping illegal? if you remove oneplate and put in on another it is im pretty sure.

id ignore th vin being different on the dash, smog only checks the door and there is a vin number on lke every part on the car.

 

[anubis]

the vin is rivoted(sp) to the dash board. so in my OPINION (meaning i don't know for sure) it would be considered vin swapping if you didn't put your original vin plate on your new dash i know the dashboard vin is the one most often checked by mechanics, police, insurance, and others who care. i should call my local dmv and see if they know and what should be done. i'll post when and if i find out.

 

[92GSXman]

I have to pull the dash whether I just replace the vinyl or not right? If so I think I'd be better off finding a good one out of a donor car.

 

[Defiant]

finally, if you do swap your entire dash board, you'll have a new vin#. this means you might want to put your old vin plate on your new dash.

Never. You're up against local and Federal regulations in moving a VIN plate. And those aren't just pop rivets.

 

[Damn 2nd Gear]

when they check ittell themits not the original dash.

 

[anubis]

92gsxman

just avoid all this trouble and don't replace your entire dash. just find a decent vinyl replacement. it'd probably be cheaper that way. and yes, you'll have to pull your entire dash either way. i still have not found out all the legal stuff about the vin and dash swap. and like i said, you'll have to contact your local authorities to find out what you should do in your situation. i never said it was right one way or the other. i'm just offering some ideas to avoid trouble.

this legal stuff is just a little confusing to me. it seems like no matter what you do, the authorities can stick you on this. the safest thing would be, again, check with your local authorities and do the right thing, whatever that may be.

 

[pinknuggit]

It's WAY too much trouble to change the whole dash just because that one part is peeling.

I just got a thin/short stubby screw and put about 3 along the bottom lip of that part and it sits to where you can't see the screw at all.

 

[Defiant]

when they check ittell themits not the original dash.

You'll probably be cited. You will have to get a new VIN assigned to the car, and it may be impounded in the mean time.

Don't dick with the VIN.

 

[Mike1992]

My dash vin dont match my car, if you dont tell they wont know. I have the titles to both vins