348/355 Dash Removal Procedure

[Terry]

This procedure is for the 355 and Jason (candellara) will post the extra/different actions for the 348.

1. In order to gain a little more clearance in the corners of the dash to aid removal.
a. Remove sunshades
b. Remove upper windscreen surround trim (overlaps with windscreen side trim).
c. Remove left and right windscreen/door trims.
d. Remove the steering wheel, much easier with this out of the way.

2. Remove centre instrument binnacle via two screws on lower frame. All the electrical connectors are different so no need to identify.

3. With access through the instrument binnacle, remove right and centre air vents.

4. From below and above, remove left vent.

5. Remove radio and centre instruments. This makes the dash easier and lighter to handle.

6. Disconnect electrical plugs, 2ea left side (tweeter and glove box light) and 2ea right side (tweeter and temp sensor).

7. Remove six upper dash attachment bolts (10mm socket) and five lower attachments, cross head self tapers.

8. In the centre of the dash below the instrument binnacle are two rivets securing the edges of the two lower dash trims. Drill out the right hand rivet to facilitate removal of the right hand lower dash trim.

9. The dash should now be free to pull rearward and pop out of the two outboard fixing studs. Pull back about 100mm just enough to gain access to the two nuts securing the right lower dash trim. Remove these two nuts and the small right hand lower dash trim can then be removed. I did this to provide greater clearance when removing the dash and to reduce the risk of damage to the leather,

10. Lift out dash.

With the dash out, it is a good opportunity to clean the lower windscreen and the forward portion of the dash. Air vents can be washed and the glove box disassembled for a good clean. I used Woolite to clean inside the glove box. I tried a variety of leather cleaners but all still left the tide mark on the dash from previous cleaning. I then used Connelly Hide Food which really does a superb job and removed any traces of previous cleaning. After applying Hide Food remove any surplus with a micro fibre cloth for an original finish. Any aftermarket wiring for audio or alarm can now be correctly routed and tied with good access. I also upgraded the speakers and hid away the crossover behind the dash. I will post these details in a separate post.

Re-installation is a reverse of the above. I drilled out both the rivets below the instrument binnacle and replaced with self tappers, much easier for future access. The leather needs peeling back behind the rivets to avoid any mess during drilling then re-gluing afterwards.

I have included a number of pictures which should be self explanatory. Ill be happy to add any clarifications and I’m sure Jason will add his part shortly.

 

[candellara]

Excellent write up Terry - Apologies for my piece (1st time i've written anything up!)

Fot the 348 variant - it's pretty much the same for the upper dash removal - with all of the fixings in much the same place - with the exception of the centre console.

A word of advice for 348 owners though.....348's are that little bit older and alot of pieces are fragile. Before removing the upper dash remove as many surrounding components as possible to avoid scratching or marking them (steering column cowlings etc). Also, if you don't REALLY need to remove the dash - DON'T. My reasoning was as Terry - to clean the front edge of the dash and resolve a glove box issue. To remove the centre console of a post 1990 car (open storage compartment as opposed to model with lockable compartment with lid):

1, Remove drivers side footwell carpeting enclosing the console - 4 self tapping screws buried in the carpet pile. The drivers footrest is part of the panel)
2, Remove passenger side footwell carpeting (drivers side must come off first to gain access to two of the screws fixing the passenger side)
3, Remove stereo (if fitted)
4, Remove ashtray and unplug wiring to cigarette lighter(two screws)
5, Undo 8mm nut securing rear part of console (at rear of ashtray housing)
6, Undo 4 self tapping screws holding rear console end panel (which faces the firewall) Don't try and pull this off as it slides upwards after screws are removed) Storage area of console can now be removed exposing a screw which affixes to the floorpan
7, Remove gear knob and 2 screws attached the shiftgate. Remove shiftgate
8, Remove two screws just to the rear of the shiftgate which affixes the console to the floorpan
9, Slide aircon control panel down, pull back and unplug guages, a/c control and warning lights. This panel is the removed.
10, Undo two screws which affix the console to the stereo housing
11, Undo two screws which affix the stereo housing to the lower dash
12, The centre console can now be pulled back, stereo housing removed and console taken out.
13, Re-assembly as reverse

I've attached some pictures (although not as detailed as Terry's). With the dash removed i did the following:

1, Removed air vents, disassembled and cleaned as they were "tacky". I used neat alcohol and now are as new. Be careful if taking vents apart - they're fragile and expensive if you break them
2, Removed glove box and replaced all securing nuts with nylock variety to stop them working loose.
3, Replaced glove box gas strut as my glove box lid wouldn't stay open - price approx £20 from F dealer
4, Re-glued any leather that was starting to peel away on the inner dash
5, Removed upper dash vents and re-finished them as again they were "tacky" to touch
6, Cleaned and treated all leather - cleaner lower section of windscreen
7, Thoroughly cleaned centre console and all conpents there-in
8, Removed all dials, disassembled and cleaned all perspex dial covers
9, Tidied up stereo wiring

Everything is almost back together - although prior to removal A/C display was fine - but after re-assembly i now have a fault code "E1" which i need to resolve. The only thing that has been touched was the a/c control was unplugged and the lower dash sensor for the air-con was disconnected to facilitate dash removal. Now need some help with this.