RE: 2001 Dashboard Cracks
EASY DASH FIX YOU CAN DO YOURSELF for LESS THAN $40
Yes. Have a 1999 Ram 1500 with multiple cracks on the dash. Dodge did buy mass produced dash's for these trucks overseas and they are defective. The dealer would not do a thing (as it is not a safety issue involved - just a cosmetic issue). they simply don't care. Anyway would not buy another Dodge truck because of this. Would gladly pay more for a Chevy or Ford truck just because of the customer service issue.
Anyway. here is a quick fix I do in my shop to remedy this situation and it is cheap and looks very excellent.
First, go to Home Depot and buy a tube of GE Silicone II clear.....make sure you get the right stuff or it will not work.......It is 100% Silicone window and door caulk with the white and gold tube...$4.89 per tube...don't buy the cheap stuff.......
Then put on some vinyl gloves and caulk all your cracks in the dash with this..MIne was broken into about 10 pieces and I had to put it back together like a jigsaw puzzle........Once you put all the pieces and align them caulk all the cracks...Use a lot of caulk in excess........then you take your finger with the vinyl gloves and smear and smoothen your caulks all over.....Make sure you smoothen it pretty good as you will be putting a dash cover over this the next day..........Just smear the silicone with your fingers on the crack lines so it covers the cracks and both sides of the cracks about 1 inch on each side..........Let dry overnight.........
The next day your dash will be really solid as the silicone hardens yet remains pliable and bonds the plastic dash perfectly.........Just install a nice dash mat on top of this and you have a very nice looking dash now that will not rattle and looks really great in case you might want to sell your truck..........I bought my mat at: CarCoverGuys.com and got the velour one in gray which looked really great........You can install the dash mat easily too as you go also to Home Depot
and get Elmer's contact cement in the quart and brush it on all over the dash and install your cover........Let sit overnight also to dry.........the whole project will cost under $50.......
Good Luck !
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