Thinking about replacing your cracked dash with a new one? READ THIS FIRST W/PICS
08-20-2015, 01:19 PM
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Thinking about replacing your cracked dash with a new one? READ THIS FIRST W/PICS
So I don’t post hereoften but have been a member for a while and have learned a lot off this site.I want to share my recent experience with replacing the commonly cracked dashin my truck with a new one. Please bear with me as it is kind of long windedbut I felt it would benefit anyone looking to do what I have done. My truckneeded a new heater core so since I had to pull the dash and heater box Ifigured I would replace the evaporator core and that unsightly dash while I hadeverything apart.
Before I started theproject I figured I’d go ahead and order my parts that way once I got theinterior tore apart I could just pop in the new parts and be finished within aweekend to be ready to go come Monday. All HVAC parts are from Oreillys andwere good matches to the original components. Also their pricing was no cheaperthan I could find online and if I had needed to return something it would justbe a short trip to the store. No brainer. I dug a little around on here to seewhere yall were getting replacement dashes but couldn’t really find any solidinfo on the subject other than a few covers and caps, which I didn’t want. Ialso found out, through the forum, that Chrysler doesn’t sell the dashes in theparts department any longer. I didn't call to check for myself, maybe I shouldhave? Oh well.
Shopping online I cameto LMC truck's dash and a company out of Florida called Plastic Parts Inc. Bothseemed like good choices so I only decided on the LMC part because it was like$60 or so cheaper. I had also ordered other parts from them in the past withgood luck so I used them again. Due to the size of the part you have to pay anoversize fee and flat rate ground shipping is the only option which takes abouta week to get to my door step. No problem, I had planned on taking my time withthe project since it was my first heater core. I also knew removing the dashwould be tedious and time consuming so I began taking everything apart andreplacing the HVAC components during the meantime.
Now the"fun" begins.
I get the dash out andhave replaced all HVAC components by the time my new LMC dash comes in. Box isin good shape and left under my carport out of the weather. No issues withshipping. Open it up and find the dash seems to be nicely wrapped in foam andplastic but after pulling it all off I find the entire side of the dash to bebroken off. So I call LMC and they require you send several pictures of thebroken item and the box it was in so they can determine who broke the part.This takes a few days to process and once they figure out it’s their faultthey'll send you another as quickly as they can. Remember, only flat rateground shipping due to size.
Roughly one week laterdash two is shipped this time for some reason by an 18 wheeler and now requiresa signature. Fortunately for me I work at a large manufacturing plant whichaccommodates trucks that size every day. And they could only deliver during thetimes I was at work. Maybe an unfortunate convenience? There’s no way he couldhave met me at home since I live on a very small back road. Anyways, dash twohas been packaged in a box twice the size of the other box and had been wrappedin what seemed like a mile of bubble wrap and foam. They defiantly tried toprotect it but after getting all the wrapping off I found this dash to bebroken as well. This time along the front of the dash directly in front of thedrivers view. Back on the phone and more pictures are sent...
Another week or sogoes by now and after LMC has processed everything dash THREE is on its way tomy work. Again shipped by freight and during my work hours they require asignature. Also I have to borrow a buddy of mines truck to pick up these dashessince mine currently has no dash.
I meet the driver in the truck parkingarea and this time I open the box in front of the driver before its even takenoff the truck. Packaged again in an oversized box and buried in an excess ofpacking protection I find to my surprise, or am I really even surprised,another broken dash. That’s it. Strike three. I call them wanting a refund andleave the package with the driver.
At this point I’m veryupset with LMC and immediately after I hang up the phone for the refund I callthe second choice company, Plastic Parts Inc. I’m greeted with a nice voice whoorders me what they advertise a quality aftermarket replacement dashboard. Sheeven gives me a small discount for some reason. Maybe she felt bad for myprevious experience with LMC? Really don’t know, it was just $10 or so. I alsorequested that she email me a copy of the invoice and tracking number, which Inever got. A little more than a week later dash one from PPI shows up to mydoor. This time the box is pretty beat up and I automatically think it’s goingto be broken for sure but to my surprise it’s all there. No brakes, cracks, ordamage in any way! But I do notice that the quality of the dash is far lessthan expected. There are no screw bosses cast into the bottom of it whichfasten the dash board to the trucks dash. There are no screw bosses whichfasten the defrost duct to the bottom of the dash. Keep in mind, this ductspans the full width of the dash and its only means of being supported are bythe dash board itself. There is more, the holes that are cut into the top andsides of the dash for the defrost vent grates to clip into are crudely cut andleave large gaps between the original vents and their dash. The holes thatclips should pass through for the instrument bezel to fasten to the front ofthe dash are nowhere near square for the clips to properly seat. I don’t eventhink you could get them to go into place. On the bottom side of the originaldash there is casted in webbing to increase strength. There’s none of that ison this dash. You get the point by now, and I could go on but this unit isreally not what I was expecting and I didn’t even want another one.
The Fix
There is light at theend of this tunnel and I did come out with a nice new dash. Here’s what I did.My original dash was beyond repair and busted into even more pieces when Ipulled it out so there was no fixing it. Plus I wanted the benefit of updatedplastic, so it was out. The PPI dash looked like it was built by Mickey Mousehimself and would require A LOT of molding, trimming, and working with plasticsto get it to even resemble an original dash. Things I’m not even good at, so itwas out. I’m left with two of the broken LMC dashes since I left the third oneon the truck. And honestly the LMC dash is a really nice piece. It is a nearperfect copy of the original unit. So I took both of the broken LMC dashes andsuper glued all the broken pieces back into place and epoxied the back side ofthe breaks for added strength. To mask the crack line on the top side I smearedon more epoxy lightly to add strength but not too much as I didn’t want thebreak to be obvious. Once dried, I primed both pieces with a plastic specificprimer by Kyron and then a couple coats of Kyron plastic specific paint. Thecolor is a little darker than stock for my trucks interior but I felt that itreally came out great and somewhat modernized the inside. It seems thatmanufactures these days are using darker colors now. Overall both dashesactually came out really nice and I used the better of the two. Reassembly ofthe truck began the following day of painting to ensure they had had plenty oftime to cure and dry. That process went much more smoothly as I now knew howeverything came apart. The difficult things to deal with seemed to be all theaftermarket accessories I had added because those wires simply didn’t unplugfrom the truck like all the original harnesses did. By the end of the job I wasleft with no extra screws, a dash that looked great, freezing ac, and hot heat!FINALLY getting somewhere!
So currently I’m stillwaiting on a refund check by LMC. It’s been about 2 weeks since they supposedlyissued the check but after a few calls they’re assuring me it will be heretoday. Their customer service has been very good to work with so far and everytime I had to contact them about the broken dashes they were understanding anddid what they could to help. I’ve only encountered one or two people whoweren’t as nice as you’d like considering the circumstances. As for theirsupplier or handlers, they really need to work on that. Three broken dashes ina row is absurd. If it wasn’t for that they would be golden. Like I mentionearlier the LMC dash is as close to original as I believe you will find for anaftermarket part. It fit perfectly, it looks exactly like the original down toevery detail, every screw hole was spot on, and all vents are the proper shapeand fit. They even took the time to add felt to the front of the dash aroundthe clips to prevent squeaks and rattles when the instrument bezel is clippedon. I have zero complaints for the quality of their product and would highlyrecommend it IF you can get a good one that’s not broken.
As for PPI, I was verydisappointed by their product. The pictures speak for themselves. No screw holebosses to fasten their dash to the truck dash. No screw bosses to fasten thedefrost duct to the bottom of the dash. No webbing on the bottom side of thedash. The defrost vents are poorly cut and do not properly fit the originalvents. The instrument bezel clip holes are nowhere near the right shape for itto clip into. There are no VIN plate holes. I did not like anything about thisdash and would not recommend it to anyone. Especially for the price! The PPIdash is $70 more than the LMC! I just double checked. I have contacted theircustomer service a couple times and after some heated phones calls the onlything they are willing to do is refund the purchase price plus shipping oneway. Leaving me still out $60 for shipping back to them on a dash I will neversee again. Even though they advertise on their website unconditional money backguarantee and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They’re not very pleasant to speakwith. I’m sorry your product sucks, but don’t be upset with me about it.
At the end of the dayit feels good to have my truck back on the road. Especially now that everythingis working properly and the dash doesn’t look like a shooting range target. Itwas definitely a hassle dealing with it and I'm still going through arrangingthe refunds and returns. I’ll let yall know what happens. Check out thepictures and let me know what yall think. And if any of you have used the PPIdash and are happy with their product then I’m glad they suited your needs!Also, I am still left with the extra repaired LMC dash that I’d like to sellfor $100 if any of you are interested just pm me.
Before I started theproject I figured I’d go ahead and order my parts that way once I got theinterior tore apart I could just pop in the new parts and be finished within aweekend to be ready to go come Monday. All HVAC parts are from Oreillys andwere good matches to the original components. Also their pricing was no cheaperthan I could find online and if I had needed to return something it would justbe a short trip to the store. No brainer. I dug a little around on here to seewhere yall were getting replacement dashes but couldn’t really find any solidinfo on the subject other than a few covers and caps, which I didn’t want. Ialso found out, through the forum, that Chrysler doesn’t sell the dashes in theparts department any longer. I didn't call to check for myself, maybe I shouldhave? Oh well.
Shopping online I cameto LMC truck's dash and a company out of Florida called Plastic Parts Inc. Bothseemed like good choices so I only decided on the LMC part because it was like$60 or so cheaper. I had also ordered other parts from them in the past withgood luck so I used them again. Due to the size of the part you have to pay anoversize fee and flat rate ground shipping is the only option which takes abouta week to get to my door step. No problem, I had planned on taking my time withthe project since it was my first heater core. I also knew removing the dashwould be tedious and time consuming so I began taking everything apart andreplacing the HVAC components during the meantime.
Now the"fun" begins.
I get the dash out andhave replaced all HVAC components by the time my new LMC dash comes in. Box isin good shape and left under my carport out of the weather. No issues withshipping. Open it up and find the dash seems to be nicely wrapped in foam andplastic but after pulling it all off I find the entire side of the dash to bebroken off. So I call LMC and they require you send several pictures of thebroken item and the box it was in so they can determine who broke the part.This takes a few days to process and once they figure out it’s their faultthey'll send you another as quickly as they can. Remember, only flat rateground shipping due to size.
Roughly one week laterdash two is shipped this time for some reason by an 18 wheeler and now requiresa signature. Fortunately for me I work at a large manufacturing plant whichaccommodates trucks that size every day. And they could only deliver during thetimes I was at work. Maybe an unfortunate convenience? There’s no way he couldhave met me at home since I live on a very small back road. Anyways, dash twohas been packaged in a box twice the size of the other box and had been wrappedin what seemed like a mile of bubble wrap and foam. They defiantly tried toprotect it but after getting all the wrapping off I found this dash to bebroken as well. This time along the front of the dash directly in front of thedrivers view. Back on the phone and more pictures are sent...
Another week or sogoes by now and after LMC has processed everything dash THREE is on its way tomy work. Again shipped by freight and during my work hours they require asignature. Also I have to borrow a buddy of mines truck to pick up these dashessince mine currently has no dash.
I meet the driver in the truck parkingarea and this time I open the box in front of the driver before its even takenoff the truck. Packaged again in an oversized box and buried in an excess ofpacking protection I find to my surprise, or am I really even surprised,another broken dash. That’s it. Strike three. I call them wanting a refund andleave the package with the driver.At this point I’m veryupset with LMC and immediately after I hang up the phone for the refund I callthe second choice company, Plastic Parts Inc. I’m greeted with a nice voice whoorders me what they advertise a quality aftermarket replacement dashboard. Sheeven gives me a small discount for some reason. Maybe she felt bad for myprevious experience with LMC? Really don’t know, it was just $10 or so. I alsorequested that she email me a copy of the invoice and tracking number, which Inever got. A little more than a week later dash one from PPI shows up to mydoor. This time the box is pretty beat up and I automatically think it’s goingto be broken for sure but to my surprise it’s all there. No brakes, cracks, ordamage in any way! But I do notice that the quality of the dash is far lessthan expected. There are no screw bosses cast into the bottom of it whichfasten the dash board to the trucks dash. There are no screw bosses whichfasten the defrost duct to the bottom of the dash. Keep in mind, this ductspans the full width of the dash and its only means of being supported are bythe dash board itself. There is more, the holes that are cut into the top andsides of the dash for the defrost vent grates to clip into are crudely cut andleave large gaps between the original vents and their dash. The holes thatclips should pass through for the instrument bezel to fasten to the front ofthe dash are nowhere near square for the clips to properly seat. I don’t eventhink you could get them to go into place. On the bottom side of the originaldash there is casted in webbing to increase strength. There’s none of that ison this dash. You get the point by now, and I could go on but this unit isreally not what I was expecting and I didn’t even want another one.
The Fix
There is light at theend of this tunnel and I did come out with a nice new dash. Here’s what I did.My original dash was beyond repair and busted into even more pieces when Ipulled it out so there was no fixing it. Plus I wanted the benefit of updatedplastic, so it was out. The PPI dash looked like it was built by Mickey Mousehimself and would require A LOT of molding, trimming, and working with plasticsto get it to even resemble an original dash. Things I’m not even good at, so itwas out. I’m left with two of the broken LMC dashes since I left the third oneon the truck. And honestly the LMC dash is a really nice piece. It is a nearperfect copy of the original unit. So I took both of the broken LMC dashes andsuper glued all the broken pieces back into place and epoxied the back side ofthe breaks for added strength. To mask the crack line on the top side I smearedon more epoxy lightly to add strength but not too much as I didn’t want thebreak to be obvious. Once dried, I primed both pieces with a plastic specificprimer by Kyron and then a couple coats of Kyron plastic specific paint. Thecolor is a little darker than stock for my trucks interior but I felt that itreally came out great and somewhat modernized the inside. It seems thatmanufactures these days are using darker colors now. Overall both dashesactually came out really nice and I used the better of the two. Reassembly ofthe truck began the following day of painting to ensure they had had plenty oftime to cure and dry. That process went much more smoothly as I now knew howeverything came apart. The difficult things to deal with seemed to be all theaftermarket accessories I had added because those wires simply didn’t unplugfrom the truck like all the original harnesses did. By the end of the job I wasleft with no extra screws, a dash that looked great, freezing ac, and hot heat!FINALLY getting somewhere!
So currently I’m stillwaiting on a refund check by LMC. It’s been about 2 weeks since they supposedlyissued the check but after a few calls they’re assuring me it will be heretoday. Their customer service has been very good to work with so far and everytime I had to contact them about the broken dashes they were understanding anddid what they could to help. I’ve only encountered one or two people whoweren’t as nice as you’d like considering the circumstances. As for theirsupplier or handlers, they really need to work on that. Three broken dashes ina row is absurd. If it wasn’t for that they would be golden. Like I mentionearlier the LMC dash is as close to original as I believe you will find for anaftermarket part. It fit perfectly, it looks exactly like the original down toevery detail, every screw hole was spot on, and all vents are the proper shapeand fit. They even took the time to add felt to the front of the dash aroundthe clips to prevent squeaks and rattles when the instrument bezel is clippedon. I have zero complaints for the quality of their product and would highlyrecommend it IF you can get a good one that’s not broken.
As for PPI, I was verydisappointed by their product. The pictures speak for themselves. No screw holebosses to fasten their dash to the truck dash. No screw bosses to fasten thedefrost duct to the bottom of the dash. No webbing on the bottom side of thedash. The defrost vents are poorly cut and do not properly fit the originalvents. The instrument bezel clip holes are nowhere near the right shape for itto clip into. There are no VIN plate holes. I did not like anything about thisdash and would not recommend it to anyone. Especially for the price! The PPIdash is $70 more than the LMC! I just double checked. I have contacted theircustomer service a couple times and after some heated phones calls the onlything they are willing to do is refund the purchase price plus shipping oneway. Leaving me still out $60 for shipping back to them on a dash I will neversee again. Even though they advertise on their website unconditional money backguarantee and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They’re not very pleasant to speakwith. I’m sorry your product sucks, but don’t be upset with me about it.
At the end of the dayit feels good to have my truck back on the road. Especially now that everythingis working properly and the dash doesn’t look like a shooting range target. Itwas definitely a hassle dealing with it and I'm still going through arrangingthe refunds and returns. I’ll let yall know what happens. Check out thepictures and let me know what yall think. And if any of you have used the PPIdash and are happy with their product then I’m glad they suited your needs!Also, I am still left with the extra repaired LMC dash that I’d like to sellfor $100 if any of you are interested just pm me.
08-20-2015, 01:20 PM
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This is the first dashI got in from LMC
And the second dashfrom LMC. The first one is in the back ground. I wanted them to see I had twoof their broke dashes.
Now for the PlasticParts Inc. dash. First photo shows the rough cut side defrost vent holes.
And with the originalvent stuck in it.
And the second dashfrom LMC. The first one is in the back ground. I wanted them to see I had twoof their broke dashes.
Now for the PlasticParts Inc. dash. First photo shows the rough cut side defrost vent holes.
And with the originalvent stuck in it.
08-20-2015, 01:21 PM
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This is the bottomside of the passenger side on the PPI dash. As you can see there are no screwbosses to fasten the dash to the truck.
This is the originaldash in the same location. These are the bosses im talking about. They can alsobe see on the LMC dashes above.
This is the originaldash showing the screw bosses that are used to fasten the defrost duct to thebottom of the dash. They’re on the bottom of each vent on the dash; I believethere are five of them. That’s its only means of it being supported are by thesescrews. You can also see some of the ribbing casted into the bottom; this canalso be seen on the LMC dashes above.
Heres the PPI dash inthe same location. Notice no ribbing as well.
Original dash wherethe instrument bezel clips in place
PPI dash in the samelocation
The two LMC dashes Irepaired in primer
Painted
Dash out and laying onthe seat. Bottom left of the picture you can see the mounting tabs where thedash is supposed to attach to. Above that you can see the defrost duct layingthere.
Dash and everythingback in place.
This is the originaldash in the same location. These are the bosses im talking about. They can alsobe see on the LMC dashes above.
This is the originaldash showing the screw bosses that are used to fasten the defrost duct to thebottom of the dash. They’re on the bottom of each vent on the dash; I believethere are five of them. That’s its only means of it being supported are by thesescrews. You can also see some of the ribbing casted into the bottom; this canalso be seen on the LMC dashes above.
Heres the PPI dash inthe same location. Notice no ribbing as well.
Original dash wherethe instrument bezel clips in place
PPI dash in the samelocation
The two LMC dashes Irepaired in primer
Painted
Dash out and laying onthe seat. Bottom left of the picture you can see the mounting tabs where thedash is supposed to attach to. Above that you can see the defrost duct layingthere.
Dash and everythingback in place.
08-20-2015, 01:23 PM
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You can kinda see thecrack line in this shot. Its right where the dash curves over.
A close up on the twobrakes. One is just above the vent and the other is just below the pillargauge.
And lastly a pic ofthe truck
08-20-2015, 07:32 PM
#5
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Thinking about replacing your cracked dash with a new one? READ THIS FIRST W/PICS
Thank you for posting your experiences!
I'm sure everyone here, needing a dash, will also appreciate you taking the time to share this with us.
I'm sure everyone here, needing a dash, will also appreciate you taking the time to share this with us.
08-23-2015, 05:37 PM
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All said and done how many hours did it take to replace the dash? (Assuming one receives an undamaged dash) and what's about the cost with all the AC parts included?
08-24-2015, 06:43 AM
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All together I probably had around 10-12 hours in it. I was taking my time so Im sure it could be done faster. About $100 in the ac, including three cans of refridgerant. You can buy a case of like 20 cans at sams club and it comes out to around 5 dollars a can. Thats the bests price Ive found.
Also I did finally get in my refund check from LMC however they did not include the shipping so theyre supposed to be sending me another check for that. Still waiting on PPI to just send me a return label...
Also I did finally get in my refund check from LMC however they did not include the shipping so theyre supposed to be sending me another check for that. Still waiting on PPI to just send me a return label...
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08-24-2015, 02:04 PM
#8
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I rugged up my '98.5 and my '07 from birth. I hope the 2nd gens hanging in there,and my '07's doing well.
Our '05 Honda's never had a mat on it and is fine.
Our '05 Honda's never had a mat on it and is fine.
09-09-2015, 12:51 PM
#10
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Thank you for documenting your experience
Thanks a lot for your explanation and pictures. My dash is cracked and missing pieces, looks like [excrement] and is shameful, so every now and then I think about replacing it.
It was cracked in 2010 when I did the evaporator and heater core, but I left it alone and just put it back together. It is more cracked now. But after reading your post, I think it will just have to stay cracked and ugly-looking. There are too many things to fix that are important to keep it running - Life in general, not just my truck - to worry about my cracked dash!
Anyway thanks, you've saved me a lot of time, some money, and a bunch of aggravation. Now I can just leave it alone and not think about fixing it.
It was cracked in 2010 when I did the evaporator and heater core, but I left it alone and just put it back together. It is more cracked now. But after reading your post, I think it will just have to stay cracked and ugly-looking. There are too many things to fix that are important to keep it running - Life in general, not just my truck - to worry about my cracked dash!
Anyway thanks, you've saved me a lot of time, some money, and a bunch of aggravation. Now I can just leave it alone and not think about fixing it.
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09-09-2015, 01:12 PM
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Thanks a lot for your explanation and pictures. My dash is cracked and missing pieces, looks like [excrement] and is shameful, so every now and then I think about replacing it.
It was cracked in 2010 when I did the evaporator and heater core, but I left it alone and just put it back together. It is more cracked now. But after reading your post, I think it will just have to stay cracked and ugly-looking. There are too many things to fix that are important to keep it running - Life in general, not just my truck - to worry about my cracked dash!
Anyway thanks, you've saved me a lot of time, some money, and a bunch of aggravation. Now I can just leave it alone and not think about fixing it.
It was cracked in 2010 when I did the evaporator and heater core, but I left it alone and just put it back together. It is more cracked now. But after reading your post, I think it will just have to stay cracked and ugly-looking. There are too many things to fix that are important to keep it running - Life in general, not just my truck - to worry about my cracked dash!
Anyway thanks, you've saved me a lot of time, some money, and a bunch of aggravation. Now I can just leave it alone and not think about fixing it.
09-11-2015, 03:08 PM
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tow-it-all, I'm glad it worked out and you are happy with it! It is great when you overcome adverse stuff and get the job done to your satisfaction.
But reading your post made me realize that there are other things to fix and as bad as my dash is, which is really bad, there are more important issues to keep the truck running.
Truck and I are in a contest - who lasts longest. I'm want the truck to win - happy if it just keep running - but the cracked dash is like the lines on my face; "Doesn't hurt the runnin' of it none" as a friend used to say about minor stuff.
Hang in there, have fun!
But reading your post made me realize that there are other things to fix and as bad as my dash is, which is really bad, there are more important issues to keep the truck running.
Truck and I are in a contest - who lasts longest. I'm want the truck to win - happy if it just keep running - but the cracked dash is like the lines on my face; "Doesn't hurt the runnin' of it none" as a friend used to say about minor stuff.
Hang in there, have fun!
04-08-2018, 09:52 PM
#14
Wait - that's part of the irony of tow-it-all's story:
"...The PPIdash is $70 more than the LMC! I just double checked. ..."
Yeah, the LMC is (or at least WAS) cheaper...but I guess you have to plan to receive it from an 18-wheeler and be good at plastic-repair to get it done...
My version of this story, from before I think I'd even considered that there might be forums full of kindred souls, had me painstakingly digging in to the depths of the dash just to fix the condensate-drain leak - and leaf/dirt collection - before putting it all back together. I'd NO idea that the dashes even would crack, since mine in those days had only the vaguest of hints that this could be a problem. Still, I didn't like the tinny, cracky feel of the material, and since I was doing a lot of epoxy-glass work, I decided to back the whole thing with hella epoxy. Seems like I put a quarter-inch of thickest mat and epoxy over the full back side, thinking it would stop any future cracking that might extend from the tiny hints that had already started. Then I heaped on an industrial epoxy paint on the visible side, adding a web-paint effect to finish it off.
Well, epoxy and ABS just don't get along all that well, or so it seems, and in the year after that, the cracking blossomed, so now what I've got is like an ABS-dash puzzle that's resting nicely on a bulletproof epoxy tray. During my occasional death-wObBlE encounters, I expect to find the puzzle re-arranged, but that hasn't quite happened yet, so there must still be SOME kind of bond.
So tow-it-all, not to forecast doom, but I do wonder about the material LMC used for their replacement dash. Still stuck solidly to your repair backing?
---------
Also - I haven't done any research, but the other more-expensive item from PPI looks like it might be one of those glue-on caps, so not intended to completely replace your original - therefore not having all the reinforcement, etc. (Not that many people would even have anything left to glue such a dash cap down to...)
Dave
"...The PPIdash is $70 more than the LMC! I just double checked. ..."
Yeah, the LMC is (or at least WAS) cheaper...but I guess you have to plan to receive it from an 18-wheeler and be good at plastic-repair to get it done...
My version of this story, from before I think I'd even considered that there might be forums full of kindred souls, had me painstakingly digging in to the depths of the dash just to fix the condensate-drain leak - and leaf/dirt collection - before putting it all back together. I'd NO idea that the dashes even would crack, since mine in those days had only the vaguest of hints that this could be a problem. Still, I didn't like the tinny, cracky feel of the material, and since I was doing a lot of epoxy-glass work, I decided to back the whole thing with hella epoxy. Seems like I put a quarter-inch of thickest mat and epoxy over the full back side, thinking it would stop any future cracking that might extend from the tiny hints that had already started. Then I heaped on an industrial epoxy paint on the visible side, adding a web-paint effect to finish it off.
Well, epoxy and ABS just don't get along all that well, or so it seems, and in the year after that, the cracking blossomed, so now what I've got is like an ABS-dash puzzle that's resting nicely on a bulletproof epoxy tray. During my occasional death-wObBlE encounters, I expect to find the puzzle re-arranged, but that hasn't quite happened yet, so there must still be SOME kind of bond.
So tow-it-all, not to forecast doom, but I do wonder about the material LMC used for their replacement dash. Still stuck solidly to your repair backing?
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Also - I haven't done any research, but the other more-expensive item from PPI looks like it might be one of those glue-on caps, so not intended to completely replace your original - therefore not having all the reinforcement, etc. (Not that many people would even have anything left to glue such a dash cap down to...)
Dave
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