jwteknix

ok i searched and found nothing about dash removal in a second gen, but did find a write up by amp for the third gen, was wondering if any one has or knows of a write up for the second. if not those who have done it before plz lend some advice. i have a 88 se comin to me and has no interior and a blue dash so i figured that since i have to redo the interior any way theres no way im keeping a blue dash in there and i have a near mint conditiond grey dash in my 88tii so i started to pull it apart and got almost all the exterior **** off the dash w/o breaking it however i could not figure out how to remove the temp control unit and the side vents by the door. any one have any suggestions on these and what to do to remove the rest of the dash. o and i do have dash removal experience we do them at the dealer all the time this just seems like a different beast lol any help is welcome.

james

Richter12x2

If they ever get rx7club.com back up, there was a step by step how to take your dash out in the 2nd Gen FAQs section. I've had mine out 3 times now and I don't remember anything tricky about the temperature control unit - I want to think it stays with the dash and just unplugs from the back. The FC is really pretty easy - like 7 bolts, 5 plugs and it's out.

Baldy

When you open both doors, there's a plastic panel one either side of the dash. Under those are a couple bolts (2 on each side I think). On either side of the center console, like where your knees would be, are 2 more plastic panels on either side. There's a few bolts under those (2 on each side I think).



Pry up the long, metal defrost vent/trim piece where the dash meets the windshield. Careful, it's sharp around the edges. There's a few bolts under there (3 I think).



Under the steering wheel I believe there are 2 bolts holding the column stuff to the dash assembly.



Now here's the part I'm not sure about, but there are a couple connectors under the steering whee area, I *think* it's 2 blue connectors that you need to disconnect.



Be sure to remove the shifter, shifter surround, and it might be best to remove the center radio surround to keep it safe (since they're prone to cracking).



You don't need to remove the idiot light cluster or the HVAC controls.

jwteknix

nice now one more question about the dash harness does it come out w/ the dash or after the dash is out will i have to remove the harness b/c i wana put a s5 tII drive train in an s4 sa and i know u need to swap dash harnesses

Baldy

I haven't actually done it, but logic would dictate that it would be much easier to remove the dash harness once the dash is out of the car.

Richter12x2

I ummm... I've rewired the dash harness and I have to say, I don't know why you would need to swap dash harnesses, most of it deals with the A/C, the blower, and the gauge cluster, I'm pretty sure there's some detailed stuff at rotaryresurrection.com detailing everything you need to do to swap an s5 into an s4 and vice versa.



But yeah, the dash harness would definitely be easier with the dash out of the car.