Junk Man

I saw a thread where someone posted that only 5 dash complaints were posted on the site of a federal regulator. Perhaps we should send the pieces there. I'll post if I find the thread.

I bought some Aerospace 303 to protect rubber & plastic. ~ $20 but recommended by Mercedes. I found a good dash in a yard for my 85SD & want the dash to stay good. I don't have enough experience with the 303 but it has good reviews on the MBZ forums. Think of it as doing what ArmorAll is supposed to do ie protect.

TOM R

zthatzmznz28 I see you pulled the radio and gauges, which ones had to be removed to unbolt the duct work as I am sure theres bolts that hold it into the dash ( in case when i have time i want to reinstal mine )

zthatzmanz28

I didn't have enough pieces left. 80% of my dash was blach duck tape, done by original owner.

If you look at my pix with the duct attached to the underside of the dash, you wil see a "V" or channel to the right of center? That is ALL that holds the duct work in place other than being screwed to the actual dash.
It is ONE screw and I just wiggled the duct until the screw was loose enough to slide the duct out.

I had pulled the gauges and radio because I removed the lower dash to do some repairs. I would pull the radio if I am tilting the whole dash.
If you pull out the vent that is in the center (on the 98 above the radio) and undo the one scre that holds this vent to the main duct, the rest of he duct work comes out wit the dash. There is only one slip on joint that is part of that center vent. The rest of the duct work sets om top the heater unit.
I just had to tilt the passenger side of the dash a bit more since that is the side where the bulkiest part of the duct work is.

I am also going to relocate the radio to where the cheesey cup holder used to be and install a few gauges (fuel pressure and trans temp) along with the POTS and lock up switch in the radio cavity.

TOM R

thanks, i will have to look into that when I have time and it is cooler out, since I also do not get much flow from the blower to try and see if there is a blockage or an open area where i am loosing the air

slowflyer2112

I'm the one that posted on the other site that we should replace our dashes and mail the broken ones back to Chrysler.

My dash frame is also cracked around the gauges, radio and headlight switch. I'm looking for a new frame and I hope I can find one that is not brittle. If I cant find one I will break out the jb weld or something, but I don't think it would last. Maybe we should also send them to the the federal regulators? I just found out that the third gens are starting to crack!

10-95

Funny. I drove to the grocery store last week, pulled into a parking space, killed the truck and my glove box fell off.

I'm thinking maybe a piano hinge and some fab work to reattach it???

zthatzmanz28

I tried the JB weld and crazy / super glue --- it didn't hold...seems the dash support is as crappy as the OEM top...I used some small strips of fiberglass mat in the areas it would fit...otherwise I am looking for a lower dash support too..

TOM R

mine has the woodgrain bezel and it seems fine but a few clips broke off when i took it iff to do the dash, my lower dash and glove box seems fine too guess i got lucky so far

rbeitz

First post here. I was directed to this site because I was searching for reviews on the LMC dash replacements. I have a '00 ram 2500 CTD and of course my dash is all cracked and about 75% of it is broken out and missing.

zthatzmanz28 can I ask if you orderered the gray or dark gray dash from LMC? They are now out of stock on the dark gray and I was trying to figure out if the gray dash would match my truck or if I need to wait for the dark gray to come back in stock. My dash color looks to be identical to yours.

Thanks for your help.
Rob in PA
PS Great site here. I look forward to learning more about my CTD.

zthatzmanz28

I ordered the gray. It is still a shade darker than the lower--may be due to fading? It really doesn't look that different. In the sun it all matches..
I wish I had shares in LMC because I just love the fit and you can tell it is pliable. Plus it comes with the side vents and NEW screws and washers to attach the air ducts to the underside of the dash. I talked with another supplier and was told there weren't any mounting points for the duct because you cannot get to the screws anyways. As I mentioned, I just attached the ducts BEFORE I set the dash in place...I even had to pull it out when I realized I forgot the VIN tag...

rbeitz

Thanks for the quick reply. Are your doors the same color as your dash? My dash is a few shades darker than my door panels and trim. Also, the interior code on my door sticker says R1C3 and from my research I understand this code could be for both a light gray or a dark gray dash?

I am pretty well sold on purchasing the LMC dash. It's just a matter of nailing down the right color gray to order. When I called their 800 number they told me the gray was pretty light in color, like the color of a crayola crayon.

Junk Man

Last week, LMC was still out so you may have more wait time than simply ordering. There are at least 2 grey colors. I ended up with a much lighter color from Autobody. I didn't paint and think it looks acceptable having a 2 toned dash.

I still have a few things to finish. I have the passenger airbag & glove box out so I can check my heater core rig. I cut the metal lines so I didn't have to discharge the AC. (Thanks whoever I copied from - it looks like the rig will be fine)

I don't know the quality of the plastic but LMC comes complete with vents and color is in the plastic as opposed tp painting. That will make for easier install. LMC is less expensive than the Autoboody which is another plus.

Autobody has lifetime warranty vs 6 months for the LMC. I think I'll be satisfied with the final Autobody once I'm finished.

My bezel cracked and I am repairing with liquid steel and a ground down piece of hacksaw blade. I got too close to the edge which caused the dash to put stress on the repair. I'll try grinding the repair back from the edge before installing. So far, I don't need to buy a bezel. There is enough that breaks & I don't need the bezel to crap out too.

I'll post pics in a few days.

zthatzmanz28

My dash was a bit darker than the crayola gray. My doors are the same color as the dash. I will try to get a better picture that isn't washed by the bright sun. I will focus on the air bag area and the side where the top meets the lower support. If you have a gray color background on the forum, my dash is almost as dark as the gray that is the lower border on this quick reply to thread...

Junk Man

I ground the teeth off a hack saw blade and used liquid steel (or JB Weld) to secure it to my bezel. That may work for the weak dash also. You have to be aware of where the part makes contact with something else. I will need to grind my repair on the bezel back a little bit. I could have skipped grinding by simply orienting the repair differently. I expect this to be a stop gap but will see.

rbeitz

I don't mean to hijack the thread. I am pictures of my interior and you can see that my dash is a shade or two darker than my doors. Would you say this would match the LMC gray color or the LMC dark gray? I don't see a lot of difference in the dark gray that 10-95 installed with the gray one that zthatzmanz28 installed. Of course when looking at colors on a computer monitor it is really hard to pick up different shades.

Thanks,
Rob in PA