Removing / refitting dashboard

[bobbe]

Hi all,

Is it at all possible to remove and refit the dashboard without needing to remove the A pillar trim (and therefore the soft-top catches)? Is there any way to unclip or otherwise separate the dash from the bottom of the A pillar trim that means the trim doesn't need to come out?

I am very keen to go nowhere near the bolts that hold the soft-top catch, since removing them seems to be a nightmare.

Thanks in advance!

[Ardent]

Cannot answer the question directly.

I know it's been covered in here somewhere, don't recall mention of the catches. But do recall dash removal being a bit of a job.

[Joesson]

@bobbe
Before buying my 2 I looked at one in particular, ticked all my boxes , came with a hard top, lots of paperwork, was allegedly the seller's daughter's car.
It had the engine management light on! This was perhaps 2 years before my association with MR2 ROC.
The seller said he would sort the light out.
Went back with son in law who didn't like how the car drove! He is a JLR senior development engineer.
The seller told us that he had removed the dashboard to "sort the EML out"
That was'nt the car I bought!

[bobbe]

Cannot answer the question directly.

I know it's been covered in here somewhere, don't recall mention of the catches. But do recall dash removal being a bit of a job.

Yes I've seen various guides and I have a pdf of the service manual. All of it looks doable except that you need to remove the pillar trim. And to remove that you need to remove the soft top catches - which seems to be a very bad idea as the bolts are threadlocked and made of a soft material so strip easily. And if they strip, they need to be drilled out...

[bobbe]

@bobbe
Before buying my 2 I looked at one in particular, ticked all my boxes , came with a hard top, lots of paperwork, was allegedly the seller's daughter's car.
It had the engine management light on! This was perhaps 2 years before my association with MR2 ROC.
The seller said he would sort the light out.
Went back with son in law who didn't like how the car drove! He is a JLR senior development engineer.
The seller told us that he had removed the dashboard to "sort the EML out"
That was'nt the car I bought!

I wonder did he tinker with the instrument cluster, which is very easy to remove - but if that's someone's approach to sorting an EML then definitely best avoided!

[bobo83]

Yes I've seen various guides and I have a pdf of the service manual. All of it looks doable except that you need to remove the pillar trim. And to remove that you need to remove the soft top catches - which seems to be a very bad idea as the bolts are threadlocked and made of a soft material so strip easily. And if they strip, they need to be drilled out...

I have removed them and re-installed them on two different cars with no problems. I did use an impact driver, wouldn't advise to do it by hand.

[Gaz mr-s]

Yes I've seen various guides and I have a pdf of the service manual. All of it looks doable except that you need to remove the pillar trim. And to remove that you need to remove the soft top catches -

The soft top catches don't need to be removed.  I didn't think so when I read this earlier & just got confirmation from someone who's been breaking them for years. 

[bobbe]

The soft top catches don't need to be removed.  I didn't think so when I read this earlier & just got confirmation from someone who's been breaking them for years. 

Interesting - all the information I've seen and the service manual says that to remove the pillar trim you first remove the catches

And from what I've read, refitting the pillar trim properly seems to be nigh on impossible with the catches in place

If anyone can say for sure otherwise, I'd be very interested

[Gaz mr-s]

Interesting - all the information I've seen and the service manual says that to remove the pillar trim you first remove the catches

And from what I've read, refitting the pillar trim properly seems to be nigh on impossible with the catches in place

If anyone can say for sure otherwise, I'd be very interested

I thought you were incorrect, but the only time I've dealt with them was about 7 years ago, so memory not firm. Hence I asked a man who's worked on hundreds.

[bobbe]

I thought you were incorrect, but the only time I've dealt with them was about 7 years ago, so memory not firm. Hence I asked a man who's worked on hundreds.

Okay, thanks.

For reference, this is from page BO-43 of the service manual, which is about removing the dashboard: You cannot view this attachment.

This guide to removing the dashboard also says to remove the catches: https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=27927.0

I appreciate that a breaker might have figured out how to remove the trim without removing the catches - but this discussion makes refitting the trim without having done so, in particular, sound like a nightmare: https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=59965.0

And, as I say, I am not just interested in removing - I want to be able to refit