Dash board disassembly

PhilipE

Active member
I am doing a stereo install. If anyone else is thinking of this. If your needing more than a couple of extra stereo speaker wires. The dash cap will need to be taken apart to install any add on with a plug to the back of the radio. So here are the steps to pull the dash cap off.

Here is the starting point. This pic shows the tools I am using. You will need a T20 torex screw driver. A small skinny screw driver. A 4" regular blade screw driver which is not shown in the pic. It was laying on the floor. The long piece of plastic is a windshield removal/ install tool I have. I preferred it over the screw drivers as much as possible.

d1.jpg

This pic shows the A pillar trim and where to pry on it. The 4" screw driver works best here. After it is removed.

Lift up the outside of the speaker grille. It should pop loose. If it seems stuck look down the right side. You can see two plastic clips. Push in on the closest one it will release. Then move to the one closest to the windshield.

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Now that brings you to this pic.

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Lift upward at the red arrow in the pic. That will pop up the air bag cover. Pull towards the windshield. That will remove it from its front mounts.
Then that brings us to the next pic. All comments will be below the pictures now.

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In this pic. First thing it to pop the air bag cover off. It is mounted with 4 snaps. Pulling the bottom snap works best. Doing it from the top puts a lot of pressure on the bottom tabs. After the door is loose. Just let it hang where it wants to. Remove the screws marked in red. Remove the metal cross brace above the front two crews holds down.


With the limits on uploaded pic's. I need to start another post. Please do not post till I have the thread finished.
 

PhilipE

Active member
d6.jpg

In this pic remove all the screws marked in red. The bottom three screws are holding a metal bracket. Just let it stay in that area. No need to remove it. At this point you can remove the bezel with the heater/A/C vents in it. The vents are clipped into the inner ducting. That is the only thing holding it. Do not try to pry in the center of the air bag opening. Just around the air vents. If your lucky they will come out easy. My outside one was a bear coming out and going in.

d7.jpg

In this pic remove the two screws marked in red. Remove the clip to. LOL

Now we move to the dash board side.

d8.jpg

Remove the two screws marked in red. These screws are shorter than the rest of the screws in the dash. Keep them separated. The long screws in the dash will most likely raise bumps on that bezel. After the crews are out. The bezel should pop out. It is clipped into the air vents like the passenger side. Unhook any switches attached to this bezel. These plugs do not have retainer clips on them.


d9.jpgd10.jpg

These two pic's are of the gage cluster cover. Remove the two screws pictured. Lift up on the cover and pull towards the steering wheel. That will remove it.
 

PhilipE

Active member
The next pic I wanted. I didn't take. That was the hold down bolts for the gage cluster. There are two, both are in plane sight on the back side of the cluster along where the cover was mounted. After the two screws are removed. Tilt the cluster forward to access the wiring plugs. There are two plugs.

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To remove this plug and the other black plug. Press down on the area with the red dot. Push the gray lever towards the red
dot. Push the gray lever all the way down to the bottom of the fitting. That lever is what releases the plug.

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The black plug is the same as the white one.

The other control box doesn't need to be unhooked. Just take a screw driver and lift up that round part. It will lift up and just lay the box off to the back of the dash. No reason to unhook it.

Sorry about the blurry pic's of the back side of the dash. I had to shoot threw the windshield for them.

d13.jpg

Now the wiring is unhooked. Just pick the gage cluster up and out of these two lower mounts.

d14.jpg

Remove the screws marked with the red arrows.

At this point the dash center cap will lift off. It might fight you a little ate the A/C controls.

To put back together just reverse the steps. When reinstalling the bezel/s don't try to force them anymore that you need to.

d17.jpg

Now for the reason I made this thread. I looked for info on this. There is not much out there. You can find a few posts with a couple of hints. Youtube has one video. Its not much of a help but it does show somethings. The pic above is showing the area the radio sets in. If your doing a stereo swap and need to add a mic or sat phone plug to a stereo. The only place you can run them is where the red arrows are. Trying to bring anything in from the yellow or drivers side. Forget it. Bring every thing in from the passenger side. The only place you can get wires to the back side of the radio is the red arrows.

Got any question throw them out.
 

220629

Well-known member
...

Got any question throw them out.
No questions, but a comment.

First. Great photos and explanations for disassembly. :thumbup:

I've installed a new head unit and rear speakers in a 2004 and a 2006. I never needed to disassemble either truck that much.

I popped the passenger side tray out as you indicate, and took the same part loose on the instrument cluster side to use a stiff wire as a fish for the wires.

Everyone has different methods.

:cheers: vic
 

PhilipE

Active member
I was doing a sat reciever install with the stereo and a mike for phone usage. Both use a 90 degree plug on the ends of the leads. The area where the cable have to go will not let you fish a 90 degree plug threw it. I tried every trick I knew. After a day it was time to pull the dash apart all the way.
 

bcman

Active member
View attachment 154448

In this pic remove the two screws marked in red. Remove the clip to. LOL
Thank You! I took apart my dash about 3 years ago and ended up with two metal clips after reassembly. I've never known where they go until now! The shelf above the airbag seems to stay put without them, but I'm gonna go reinstall the clips right now. If I can find them...
 

PhilipE

Active member
bcman those clips have two purposes. The first is the lock down points for the front of the air bag cover. The other is a support for the upper inner corners of the front bezel. When you remove your bezel you will see those inner corners are thin plastic.
 

englewoodfl

Early 2006 T1N LTV Free Spirit
I like this helpful documentation. I'd probably disconnect the main battery and any other - just never know when a airbag might decide to go off.
 

montanadan

montanadan
No questions, but a comment.

First. Great photos and explanations for disassembly. :thumbup:

I've installed a new head unit and rear speakers in a 2004 and a 2006. I never needed to disassemble either truck that much.

I popped the passenger side tray out as you indicate, and took the same part loose on the instrument cluster side to use a stiff wire as a fish for the wires.

Everyone has different methods.

:cheers: vic
Inspired by "220629's" comments, in my project to replace the MB factory radio with a Pioneer Bluetooth unit, I was able to fish a microphone connection from the radio cavity, go under the dash cover to the right side column, up to and then across the front edge of the headliner, mounting the mic in the edge of the headliner center in the center by the windshield. (The microphone is included with most radios and is necessary for using the Bluetooth feature on phone calls). Crutchfield's has an ample selection of radios very reasonably priced, with vehicle specific directions to remove/ install radios. For an additional $25 they will fabricate an interface harness, so the MB factory harness will plug directly into the radio you choose. Their website will tell you if the radio you are looking at will fit your particular vehicle. Very user friendly!

In the accompanying photos, I successfully fed a stiff copper wire (white in the photo) through the same canal as the factory radio wiring harness. In the second photo you can see a closeup of the inside of the radio cavity with my white wire following the same channel as the factory harness. In the third photo you can see the approximate route and where it appeared below the passenger side tray. I taped the microphone connector to it and gently brought it through to the radio cavity. You can also see in red the route under the dash top I was able to follow, and in the purple circle the black speaker wire that I taped to the end of the white fish wire. It went smoothly and easily.
Sprinter Radio Replacement Front View.jpgSprinter Radio Replacement White Fish Wire Follows Factory Harness.jpgSprinter Radio Replacement Fish Wire Route.jpg
 
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