Okay, im painting my interior. I can take off the Dash. How do I take off the bottom of the dash, i mean under everything? I have a 97 cavy coupe
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jzamarripa/PICT0006.JPG
the bottom peice is one big piece that everything is screwed onto its huge yes you can take it out but it takes time and you have to remove the steering wheel and all the air ducts. But ive done it just be patient and it will come out.
Once you take the top portion off, all the gold screws need to be taken out. Both airbags, the steering wheel as well as the wiper and blinker knobs, umm your hvac controls, air ducts, cd player, and a few more things I know I left out. Its not really as hard as you think, but can be time consuming. Once you take it out and put it back in you will see there wasn't much to it at all. Only word of advice is to do something with the portion up around the window. If not you'll wish you did later.
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Man sounds hard as hell, do you know where i can get some detailed instructions? im one of those guys where i have to picture every little single step in my mind before i go through with something
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jzamarripa/PICT0006.JPG
I honestly don't know. I think along time ago someone posted detailed instruction along with pictures that had arrows pointing to all the major bolts. The name doesn't come to mind to be though. Like I said I vaguely remember the post that was made.
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Take off your dash top, HVAC/gauge bezel, gauge cluster, and your stereo. You should already know how to get this far if you've done any work in your interior.
Remove and unplug the HVAC controls, they're held in by two torx/7mm screws. Remove the steering wheel - there are instructions in the FAQ for this.
Remove both arms from the column. I believe there are three electrical harnesses that must be unplugged for this. There should be a total of 4-5 torx/7mm bolts for these arms.
Remove the main HVAC ducting. This is pretty easy, there's four or so bolts that are plain as day. The center vent is a bit hard to remove - jiggle and pull until it comes out.
Remove the small vent ducting (leads to the mini vents near the windows). You can do this before the dash comes out, or while it's coming out. I chose to do it while it was coming out because it gave me more room. This is just a matter of pulling on the ducting until it "unclips", so to say.
At this point, it becomes a matter of finding every single brass 7mm bolt and removing it (four of them hold in the passenger airbag, which must be removed). At this point, it's possible to work the dash out of the car.
This spring or summer I'll have a detailed step-by-step with pictures for removing this thing.
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Interior FAQ -
J-Body of Michigan -
raptor once again you come through. im gonna try it this weekend. i know about the dash, cluster , hvac, and stereo but thats as far as ive gone. im gonna try the steering wheel, airbags, and hvac ducts this weekend so i can finish painting my interior.
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jzamarripa/PICT0006.JPG
Don't forget to stop by autozone or someplace that rents tools and get a steering wheel remover kit, no way to get the wheel off without it.
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Zach Hilton wrote:Don't forget to stop by autozone or someplace that rents tools and get a steering wheel remover kit, no way to get the wheel off without it.
More importantly, make sure you get a "horizontal" style puller. The kind that is essentially a bar. Most of the Y-shaped pullers don't fit our wheels.
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Interior FAQ -
J-Body of Michigan -
Good point. Thats the style I used on mine. I told them what it was for and thats what they gave me.
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JBOK (J-bodies of Kentucky)
Yeah Zach, I learned that one the hard way. Picked up the Y-shaped puller, and found that it didn't fit. Went back and returned it, and they graciously took it back.
If at all possible, get one that combines both the Y and bar shaped pullers so you can use it again when you need it for another vehicle. It looks like the following symbol but without the bottom bar: ¥
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Interior FAQ -
J-Body of Michigan -
okay, i think we have one here cause i live next to a mechanic so im kind of in luck. do you think that since im already taking off the steering wheel that i should replace it with a racing one, preferably blue? im trying to do all my interior black and blue, here are some pics so far, i didnt go to school today so this is what i did:
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jzamarripa/PICT0006.JPG
does the airbags have to be disconnected and if so, are they easy to reconnent?
Yes, and yes.
You can't remove the dash without removing the airbags, and you can't remove the airbags without disconnecting them.
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Interior FAQ -
J-Body of Michigan -
Are they simply plugin? Plugin plugout?
why do you have to take off the HVAC controls and the radio may i ask
nevermind stupid question lol...there attached to the lower dash rofl
