How did everyone else deal with the cracked dash?

[iamdub]

Seeing that the dash has cracked in a bunch of different places for some people, maybe go the underside reinforcement route and have that piece of mind that it won't happen again.

Good luck on this and share your progress.

It seems that they all crack in the same places, at least at first, but then some have other cracks elsewhere and even whole chunks fall out. Someone once said that it's because it's such a vast, unsupported area is why it cracks. If it weren't for the southern climates, the plastic would be ok supporting itself. This is why I wanna brace the hell out of it when I have it out. Not just reinforce the areas that are currently cracked, but maybe make a "waffle grid" underneath the whole panel so it'd support a toddler if that ever were to happen.

Thanks, and I'll surely make a thread.

 

[VDV18]

Are you able to fill the crack with a type of resin or something and 'paint match'? I'm thinking similar to a wood filler or drywall, etc......

 

[iamdub]

Are you able to fill the crack with a type of resin or something and 'paint match'? I'm thinking similar to a wood filler or drywall, etc......

I'm sure there's something. But how would you match the embossed "leather" grain?

Generally, you can pull the cracked halves back together and then the crack is barely visible. No filling is necessary.

 

[VDV18]

Agreed, not sure how you'd do that. I don't have any dash cracks (NBS) so am not sure what they even look like (as in how wide).

 

[iamdub]

Agreed, not sure how you'd do that. I don't have any dash cracks (NBS) so am not sure what they even look like (as in how wide).

Unless a chunk falls out, there really isn't a "width" to the crack. It's just one side of the cracked panel drops down while the other remains up. Imagine cutting a sheet of paper down the middle, but not cutting all the way across to the other side so the paper is still one piece. You can lift one side and have a split. Lay it back down on a table and it looks like one piece but you might can see the thin cut line. That's pretty much how it is. They don't spread apart like the dashes in the old days when the vinyl would dry, crack and draw up. Those dashes had a plastic shell covered in foam-backed vinyl. These dashes are just a molded plastic shell with leather grain embossed into them. The plastic they're made of gets brittle with heat and sun exposure and they have a huge area in the middle that's not well supported. This leads to the cracks that are almost always in the same areas among all of these dashes.

 

[VDV18]

Ahhhh, this makes sense. Sounds like a monumental pain in the ass is all! Good luck to those looking for a solution.

 

[2011SSVHOE]

I saw that same video the guy made it look super easy, but putting it back together and not having any extra screws might be a hat trick, and then what about rattles in the dash?
mine I barely notice the crack.

 

[iamdub]

...and then what about rattles in the dash?

Now, while I have the dash taken apart, I'm gonna have to tap and beat on every joint where parts and panels meet to see if there's any potential for rattles and apply felt tape on any suspicious areas. You just added 4 hours of labor to my project. Thanks for fueling my OCD, *******!

 

[2011SSVHOE]

It's more like putting the correct fastener in the right place at the correct torque . Just my 2cents worth . I remember working on customers cars years ago and getting done and wondering where the left over fasteners went .

 

[iamdub]

It's more like putting the correct fastener in the right place at the correct torque . Just my 2cents worth . I remember working on customers cars years ago and getting done and wondering where the left over fasteners went .

My OCD will not let me leave it with unused fasteners. Shit, sometimes I lay out screws as I remove them so they go back in their original holes even if they're identical to the ones around them. When finishing up a heater core replacement in my '98 S10, I went to put in the LAST screw that went in the center of the dash under where the defrost vent snapped in. I dropped the screw down the defrost duct. After a few expletives, I just started backing out all the other screws to pull the dash back out to fish the screw out of the air box. Afterwards, realized that I probably could've just put the floor vents on and drove around a bit and it would've ended up in the floorboard.