Ron,
If you still have the windshield in the car I have found that a stiff wire
bent 90 degrees and 2-4" long is a handy tool to align the captive nuts
under the windshield before you try to put the pointed bolts back in. I
used piano wire left over from building new heater control cables, and now
that piece of bent wire is in my tool box for future use.
Assuming you have already removed the center console, removing the dash is
not all that hard.
Use a 7/16" offset box wrench for the bolts under the windshield and make
sure you don't loose them.
Remove the steering wheel and the turn signal switch assembly. I think I
also removed the strap holding the steering column up to the body so it
would drop just a bit to clear the dash. Before you do this note the
routing of the speedo and tack cables and make sure they are correctly
routed before you put the strap on during reassembly.
Remove the knobs and three screws from the heater control assembly
Remove the vent control lever knobs and several Phillips head screws
attaching the bottom of the dash to the body on either side of the dash.
Be sure the hand brake is in the down position to keep it from jabbing into
the dash or glove box cover.
If you are fully removing the dash you may want to loosen the glove box so
that it stays with the wiring harness when you remove the dash.
Remove the speedo and tach cables.
Unplug the wiring harness from the windshield wiper and light switches.
These are nylon connectors and not at all brittle.
At this point I think you can move the dash back and into your lap. Don't
let it rest on the hand brake handle or the gear shift lever. I would
suggest using a pad to protect the dash if you can't keep the dash off of
one or the other.
Now comes the delicate job of disconnecting the wire harness behind the
dash. I have not had the courage to do this because the connectors are so
fragile, but if you are replacing the harness that may not be a problem.
While you have the dash out of the way be sure to check things like your
heater, heater control cables (see my tech page for info on building your
own replacements), and anything else you might want to look at. I called
this project my never ending project because of all I found while the dash
was out of the way. The worst part was that right after putting the dash on
for the second time the formerly working wiper motor quit and I had to
remove the dash a third time in just a few weeks. That time was fairly easy
and presented no problems at all. To me the worst part is removing and
installing the center console.
Tom
69 2000 - Mr. Hyde
Portland, Oregon
http://www.acmehomesales.com/datsun
-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Mistak [mailto:remfender@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2004 8:27 AM
To: datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: datsun 69 srl 2000 dash
Hi gang,,,, happy holiday
looking for some tips: removal of the dash to install a new wire
harness, any tips
on removal and installation after unhooking and hooking the new harness.
thanks
Ron Mistak
Harlingen, TX
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