Dashboard
Fascia Removal & Replacement
(4.0/4.6/P38)
Introduction: Reasons for Removing
the Dash Fascia
Tips for Preserving the
Old Fascia
Fascia Removal Sequence
Replacement With a
New Fascia
Additional Tips
Parts Sources
Related Information
Introduction: Reasons for Removing
the Dash Fascia
Jos Geuze of
Kuala Lumpur found that exposing his 1995 Range Rover 4.0 SE to the tropical climate in Malaysia eventually caused
warping of the top of the
dashboard (or "fascia panel").
After inspection from underneath through the glovebox compartment,
and the instrument area with the instrument pack removed, he
concluded that he needed to change the whole thing as the underlaying
plastic was cracked nearly everywhere. Jos bought a dash fascia panel
from a
breaker in the UKand changed it without much problem. He kindly shared
his procedure with us so that other owners could benefit.
Jos found that removing the whole top of the fascia is actually not
much work, and gives excellent access to such items as the blend flap
motors and heater core pipes. Accordingly this may be an excellent
alternative approach to servicing these items (see the heater blend
motor page and the heater o-ring page).
Tips for Preserving the Old Fascia
Panel
Temporary cures for dashboard fascia panel warping can stave off
replacement for a
while. Shown below is a photo of Jos's old dash before removal -- with
glued plastic strip visible. Old dash is held down with some tie wraps
through holes drilled in vent duct behind instrument panel which tie
down the plastic piece for demisting the window. Without the plastic
strip and the tieraps the foamlining climbs up so far that from
outside you can look under it through the window.
|
Old dash before removal,
with glued plastic strip and tie wraps in place.
|
Dash Fascia Removal Sequence
Before beginning the job, it is desirable to disconnect the
battery. Also, have an assistant ready for when you get to the end of
the sequence, to help with lifting out the dashboard as one piece. Jos
offers the following step by step advice for the actual removal
process. Jos's instructions are for the Right Hand Drive models, but
are similar for LHD.
1. Remove the glove box compartment
2. Remove panel under the steering wheel
3. Remove the side panels of the middle console. I would
like to add that I did this the following way: I removed the
fixing screws of the panels. I
took out my radio (which is not original range rover but a pioneer)
from the center console. Pushing aside the top part of the side panels
gently will reveal fixing screws of the center console. I unscrewed
them but left them in place. Further unscrew one more fixing screw from
the center console next to the light switch. After this the whole
center console is loose and can be lifted up a bit to undo the sprag
clips of the side panels, where after they will come off easily. Some
degree of carefull twisting is necessary to get the end from under the
chubby box, window switches pack, but I managed it without damaging
anything. After the side panels are off, you can remove the screws of
the centre console. When fitting be sure to put the screws in place
before mounting the side panels screwing the tight afterwards.
4. Because the center console is loose allready, remove
all electrical wires. Make photo if you are not sure how it was
connected, or write down which color goes where.
5. Remove the veneered panel above the glove box. I
found this the most difficult part of the whole operation. It is fixed
with 4 pins into plastic fixtures and need carefull pressing
between the plastic of the dashboard and the veneered panel.
6. Now remove the airbag unit by unscrewing 4 special
star bolts 5/16 inch from underneath. Unclip the electrical wire
and handle with care and maintain upright position as decribed in the
workshop manual warnings.
7. Remove the climate control ECU by unscrewing 4 screws, removing
electrical connections through hole of the radio and move it out
8. Now remove screws of the plastic panel around the cockpit, and
remove it. Unclip electrical connection of the opening button for the
fuel tank lid.
9. Remove instrument pack after unclipping electrical connections.
10. Now remove the fixing bracket of the instrument pack at the
driverdoor side, by unscrewing 2 nuts 8 mm. After this you can remove
the screw that holds the air duct in place. In my case it was not
fitted. Probably too difficult to get it back in for the sevice crew
from Landrover Malaysia. You need a special screw driver with the small
claws that hold the screw in place if you want to put it back. After
this move the sliding duct and remove the whole duct out.
11. Do the same thing with the duct at the passenger side.
12. Now you can access the 4 bolts that hold the top fascia (8 mm
bolts). One each at the outside, and the others above the sliding
ducts. In the photo's attached you can clearly see the fixing points of
the fascia.
13. Undo the screws that hold the bottom plastic parts to the steel
frame. (around the glove box 6 pcs under the steering wheel 4 pcs.)
14. Now the whole fascia is loose and can be moved 10 cm from the
front. In the center there is covered with some tape a round hole in
which the connectors of the sun sensor and alarm system led are hidden.
Unclip those.
15 To be able to move the whole fascia I removed the plastic side panel
at the driver side. This side panel under the foam covered part is
fixed with just two screws, which can be easily unscrewed, and removed.
16. Now you can lift out the whole top of the dashboard together with
the plastic bottom parts through the passengers door.
Above is a picture showing what
the interior looks like after removing the dash assembly. Below is a
view of the dash after removal, with the loose bottom part turned over,
separating it from the rest of the assembly.
Replacement with a New Dash/Fascia Panel
The photo below shows the new dash lying upside down before
installation. Note that the
plastic piece at the driver's side that needs to be removed (see step
15 in the sequence above) is still present in this photo, but is
removed in the second photo
below.
The photo below is a comparison of the old (foreground)
and new (background) dash fascia assemblies. In the shoebox at
left are the plastic ventilation pieces for defogging of the windows
and some other broken plastic pieces. On the tip of the old dash is a
plastic strip glued to keep is somewhat in shape while waiting for the
new dash. The plastic between the window vents and the window was all
in pieces lying under the dash. Through the opening for the center face
vent you can see that the bottom part that was glued onto the top part
had come off, with the hot melt glue transferred to a sticky greasy
substance!
Additional Tips
Before removing the old fascia panel, cover the steering wheel with
foam or
plastic to prevent scratches.
The steering wheel sould also be moved to the lowest possible position.
Signaling lever
and lever for control of the wipers to be at the most down
positions. Chairs to be moved as far backwards as possible.
If it is difficult to remove the screws that hold the
ducts in place ( item 10 and 11 above), you can try to leave the ducts
and
just move them aside while you undo the bolts, by turning them around
the fixing point. As I allready mentioned in my case the screws were
not fitted anymore, and I myself did not bother to fix them back.
After the dash is removed remove the cable from the
glovebox lock and fix it back only after you have placed the dash back.
This to prevent the cable from being trapped between the steel frame
and plastic parts of the dash. A bend in the cable will cause problems
with the closing of the glovebox lid. I had to fit stronger springs in
the glove box lock to overcome the extra resistance of such a bend.
With the dash top removed it is now a piece of cake to
remove the other ducting and access blend motor flaps etc. The
operation described above took me around 3 hours to remove, and 3 hours
to put back. (Also another hour to make the glovebox lid work
again!)
It might be handy to have some help when moving out the
dashboard. It is not heavy I estimate it at 10 kg, but it is better
when someone guides it around the steering wheel and control levers.
Parts Sources:
A complete new dashboard, if available at all, is likely to be
extremely
expensive. This is the sort of part I would source from one of the
recyclers such as Car Cannibal. They
specialize in Rovers only, and
warranty all the parts they sell.
This
page last updated September 2006
