How to remove this part of the 1998 dash

[HuguesL]

I would like to remove the dash and struggling to remove the instrument panel. I managed to unclip most of it, but as you can see on the video below, I cannot unclip the left part near the door.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Any screws hiding above the instrument cluster?

 

[HuguesL]

Any screws hiding above the instrument cluster?

Yes ! I bought my Sprinter 314 service manual (from workshopmanuals.org) and indeed i need to remove the screw holding the instrument cluster, that screw is under the left speaker grill. Unfortunately the manual does not say how to remove that grill. There are clips but they don't show where. I managed to remove the right speaker grill to compare, but the clips are not at the same place. I'll proceed cautiously not to break anything.

 

[Nautamaran]

Also have a read through the Dodge manual available here:

http://www.diysprinter.co.uk/reference/2006-VA-SM.pdf#page1295

You will need to remove the A-pillar covers to reach the speaker cover screws. These snap into slots in a nylon strip embedded within a rigid foam block, all screwed to the metal pillar. The covers pry off by pulling the upper end straight back from the corner of the wind screen (i.e. towards your face when seated in the van), but be warned that the nylon strip will have become very brittle with age, so go gently.
See: http://www.diysprinter.co.uk/reference/2006-VA-SM.pdf#page1310

-dave

 

[HuguesL]

Also have a read through the Dodge manual available here:

Thanks for the link, but mine is a 314 from 1998, quite different, no screws to hold the speaker grill, only clips.

 

[Nautamaran]

Thanks for the link, but mine is a 314 from 1998, quite different, no screws to hold the speaker grill, only clips.

Yes, I saw that your dash is quite different, but your A-pillar looks very similar to mine, so I suspect a similar removal strategy may work?

My 2004’s speaker grill snaps down with vertical plastic clips located along the inner edge. These plastic tabs will release under moderate vertical pressure, then the edge pivots up, hinging on a pair of flat horizontal tabs along the outer edge, which extends below the A-pillar trim.

Removing the speaker grille exposes the screws that secure the rear edge of my dash top cover, which in turn exposes the screws securing the instrument cluster.

Good luck,

-dave

 

[HuguesL]

My 2004’s speaker grill snaps down with vertical plastic clips located along the inner edge. These plastic tabs will release under moderate vertical pressure, then the edge pivots up, hinging on a pair of flat horizontal tabs along the outer edge, which extends below the A-pillar trim

Indeed that's how my right speaker grill was attached. I could press the tabs with a screwdriver and pop them out.
But my left speaker grill (the one hiding the last screw for the instrument panel) is different. No tabs along the inner edge, they seem to be along the back and front edge, but I can't get a screwdriver in, so I'll have to use some more vertical pull force to pop them out I guess. I'm just worried about these 24 years of UV light making them easy to break. Let's see.