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Post by beckyman on May 20, 2012 19:48:51 GMT
Matt is about to send me a spare part in the form of the arm which connects to the wiper motor in Becky, my 33. All who hear of the need to replace this part blench and weep for me saying what a pig of a job it is going to be to do. Has anyone any sensible suggestions? I gather from the official factory manual that to remove the dashboard one must first remove the windscreen - Glory be!
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 20, 2012 20:03:53 GMT
Hi Marcus, don't worry too much about the windscreen removal bit. Yes you DO need to remove it if you want to take out the whole dashboard (including the supporting metalwork) but all the plastic fascia comes off by unscrewing about 6 screws hidden along the bottom edge. That does give enough room to work on the wiper system but it's still a pretty unpleasant job I'm afraid. To remove the dash fascia: Undo the 6 (I think) Phillips screws that hold the fascia along its bottom edge. You need to undo the ones holding the instrument panel AND the heater controls because the instrument panel hooks underneath the heater panel. Reach in under the dash and find the speedo cable connection at the back of the speedo. Undo it and pull it free. You CAN leave it connected until you start to remove the panel but it's a stretch, so I've found it easier to do from under the dash. Undo the two bolts that hold the steering column upper bearing to the dash. That will allow the steering column and wheel to drop far enough to lift out the instrument panel but you may find it easier to disconnect the bottom steering coupling and (if it's column mounted) the ignition switch as well so that you can lift the column right out of the way. As you pull the panel forwards there are a LOT of wires connecting to various lights and switch gear. All you can do is label them as you disconnect and try to disconnect as few as possible to get the panel free. Unfortunately they hadn't thought of multi-block connectors when these were made Once the instrument panel is out of the way you'll see that you can get access to the wiper mechanism - it's still tight but it's possible and much nicer than removing the screen - you'd have to disconnect all the wiring in any case if you did that!
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