how do I remove the dash on a 2001 D? Any airbag considerations I need to be aware of?

The material is detached and curled on the front edge (damn Texas heat!). Anyone else tried to fix this?

 

Well since you will have to drop the steerimg column I would be concerned about the airbag. Just take the negative terminal off the battery and cycle the key a few times for good measure, once your done with that have fun ripping your dash out and good luck. I have pulled the dash on a 92 taurus and a good thing I learned was if it doesn't budge wiggle on the dash a little to get an idea of where it is still anchored down and start looking around. Label everything especially plugs, grounds, and any vacuum lines you may come across.

 

whoa! I don't need to take out the whole dash, just take the "top" off. does that require total dash removal?

 

I have the same problem on my '02 SLT. It looks like there are two screws under the bezel and a screw on each end, underneath a plastic cover. I am going to attempt to fix mine soon. Let me know how yours comes out. I think I can use some spray adhesive (Elmer's) to re-apply the material. I would hate to pay an upholstry shop for something that might be an easy fix. I live in central Alabama and the heat just killed the glue last summer. God bless you!

 

It is all one piece right?

 

It is one peice. I was thinking about disconnecting the battery to avoid messing anything up with the airbags. The passenger side bag meets the front edge of the dash, right above the glove box. Just be careful and take your time.

 

Well then it is a dash removal then. Have fun with that and as said take your time...

 

I just looked at the project and it seems to be more entailed than I thought. I had to remove the bezel trim around the speedo and radio and found two more screws. There still seemed to more screws around the passenger side that I could not see. I had to stop and put everything back together before going on (wife needed the truck). What else do I need to do? The vent and trim piece by the pass side airbag did not want to come out and I did not want to force it. Any help is appreciated.

 

I have a '01 3500 and I am currently replacing the top half of my dash... I also had to replace the heater core so I decided to do both when I got into the dash... you have to remove the ENTIRE dash to get the top off ... some stupis engineer designd the thing to screw together everywhere... and sone fo the screw are on the underside of the dash, and you cannot get to them without pulling everything out... I am on my second day of this project and I am finally abou tto put it back together.... If you start pulling on the top you will start breaking stuff without pulling everything out first... I have noticed tho, I dont think you will have to put all the underside screws back in .... alot of them are just redundant screws... all of the screws in the top side of the dash should hold it togeher pretty good so if you ever have to get into the dash again you wont have to go through this same process... Im not going to put all these screws in... I will post again later to let yall know how that went....

 

better solution:

I was able to use the brush on the contact cement to apply glue to the vinyl and substrate by standing on the running board and looking through the windshield. I also used a turkey marinade injector syringe (large bore needle) to inject cement under the vinyl in the middle of the dash. I was able to cover about an 8" circle through a single hole. take your time and be careful to work any air bubbles back out through the needle hole or you'll have a permanent bubble.

worked like a champ, though.