Originally Posted by redheadhunter21

it wasnt the design of the dash that caused it to crack it was the cheap plastic they used.

Originally Posted by pcfixerpro

Well purpl, I'll have you know that my findings object to this theory which is why I asked for proof. Well when my dash cracked, the pieces that fell did in fact have those lines. The only picture I can show you that you can see the (as you call it "reinforcement lines") is in my before shot.



I didn't think I would ever need a shot of the back on the old dash so I just took the pieces out and threw them away. My junkyard dash I pulled from a 99 to replace mine (along with some other goodies)



And here is the reverse side of the junkyard dash (that had two hairline cracks in it which I attempted to fix)



You can clearly see in this picture that a 99 dash also has the ridges. I encourage you to visually compare the mopar dash you linked to's underside, and the 99 dash I pulled from the junkyard. You will find them to be exactly the same including the casting mark positions. The only difference is my bro's camera did not capture the ridges clearly like in the other picture, but you can see that they do exist and are in the exact same position.

(ebay mopar original dash)


So for the record, we do have the ridges that purple claimed we didn't. And since I can't visually see any difference between the two, I think it is safe to assume that since the original failed, the replacement mopar on ebay will too since nothing structurally was changed.

Originally Posted by PurplDodge

You need to take the dash out of the truck to replace the dashboard itself. Mr. search ****, look in my thread i posted a few months ago. And then look in the FSM. Gawd, you're starting to sound like a newb!

Originally Posted by Miami_Son

Don't be a dick! The FSM is very confusing as it jumps from one place to the next and does not cover actual removal step-by-step with illustrations. It's vague, at best, much like your answer. You say you need to take the dash out to replace the cover, as if it was a simple task. I'll look for your thread, what was it titled? I plan on doing a very extensive DIY on this repair since it affects so many Ram owners. I'm already working on getting a replacement at cost for this. I will not be using a factory part as I don't trust it not to do this again.