Dash Out

[Roydini]

Evening all!

I am building up towards taking the dash out of my van. I use it almost everyday so I'm keen to keep it off the road for as short a time as possible so I'm trying to preempt all possible outcomes and have all the right bits before starting the job. I'm going to replace the wiper motor, heater fan/motor & resistors but is there anything else I should order in before I get going? I've read some stuff about having to shear a couple of screws to remove the steering column - is that right? Should these be replaced, and where from?

Any advice or experience warmly welcomed!

Thanks folks

[CovKid]

Shear bolts which hold steering column can be undone with mole grips - not a big issue. If you want to fit under-dash speaker pods, dash out is best time to do so. Also replace washer pipe and tidy wiring.

[Roydini]

Washer pipe - good thinking. Any idea where you can get them? Is it just a length of standard tubing?

[CovKid]

Aquarium hose fits. Replaced mine with silicon pipe which you can also get in aquarium shops - as well as t-junctions if required. Over the years original pipe gets furred up with limescale.

[ghost123uk]

The flaps that direct the air according to where the heater control levers are, are sealed against the bit they mate to with a type of foam. This deteriorates badly (well it was on mine). I got some of that sticky backed foam draft excluder strip on a roll (B&Q etc) to use as replacements.

[Roydini]

Thanks for the advice chaps.

[MidLifeCrisis]

If you're replacing the heater motor then you will be splitting the heater box that it sits in - this box is either held shut with glue or with little clips; if it's held together with glue then once you have split it you'll need new clips to fix it back together again.
But it's going to be pretty difficult to tell if you have clips or glue until the dash is out?!?!?
If you pull the ashtray out and shine a torch inside then you might be able to see if the box is held together with clips - but it's going to be hard to tell?!?!

[Roydini]

Thanks for that Midlifecrisis. Am I right in saying that about a dozen clips are required to hold it together?

[Synkraut]

after having done the BMW brake booster mod on the doka, I will definitly do the same with the caravelle when I take the dash out.

It's also a good opportunity to apply some sound deadening /insulating material to the front of the car

[MidLifeCrisis]

Thanks for that Midlifecrisis. Am I right in saying that about a dozen clips are required to hold it together?

It might be able to get away with slightly fewer than than but that would be close - will allow for a couple to fly off and get lost!!

[drillmaster]

I used Gorilla tape to hold mine together when I did it about 18 months ago, been fine but clips would be neater.
Was one of the first jobs I did on my bus and was a lot easier and quicker than it sounded, if that makes you feel better!

[CovKid]

Drill holes and use cable ties is another way.

[CJH]

If you pull the ashtray out and shine a torch inside then you might be able to see if the box is held together with clips - but it's going to be hard to tell?!?!

Good man - that's just saved me a fair bit in expensive little clips. You can indeed see a few clips by peering in through the ashtray recess, provided you either pull the radio forward or you have one of those reduced depth deckless units.

I'm about to tackle this job soon, so was doing my homework. Happy to find that this job has evidently been done before on my van, as the shear bolts have also been replaced with normal bolts. Should be a doddle (famous last words). [Note to wiki editors: the article on dash removal says that those shear bolts can be replaced with M8 x 1.25 x 25cm bolts. Unsurprisingly those were proving hard to find on ebay before I checked under the cowling. The author clearly meant 25mm length, although the ones in my van are 21mm and have about 4mm of thread protruding through the nut]

I'm also going to move the blower motor onto a separate fuse from the wiper motor, since I prefer not to lose the wipers whenever the blower motor melts (not blows) the 16A ceramic fuse that they share. If I could get hold of a proper ceramic fuse it would probably be ok, but they all seem to be plastic these days and for whatever reason mine melt and fall out before they blow. I might look for a blade fuse add-on for the blower motor.

[CJH]

The flaps that direct the air according to where the heater control levers are, are sealed against the bit they mate to with a type of foam. This deteriorates badly (well it was on mine). I got some of that sticky backed foam draft excluder strip on a roll (B&Q etc) to use as replacements.

Anybody know how thick the original foam is, and what length is needed to renew it all? I'll be visiting Vehicle Wiring Products soon, and they have this stuff in 3mm and 6mm thicknesses.

[Ant-t]

Watching this with interest, I'm also building up to taking my dash out to fix my heater