96 Ram 2500, DIESEL, Long Bed, Standard Cab

Have search the forums high and low for tips/tricks to remove an OEM dash cover. Standard problem cracked all to he!! after 28 years or less.

Prepping for install of a Dash Skin and was going to shore up existing cracks with JB Weld Plastic Bonder to add some strength to existing before install of the Dash Skin.Dash Skin requires as much oem dash as possible to be there and uses RTV sealant to attach over top of existing.

Anyway, all screws/bolts out, dash loose toward seat side. Is there a trick to loosening the dash cover up by front windscreen? Are the vents in the dash somehow connected or sealed to ducting system...have broken a large piece off immediately in front of steering wheel but still can't seem to figure how to get that front to detach so it can be pulled out in as large a piece/pieces as possible. I saw numerous videos about replacement on You Tube, but all those guys just hammer it out into small pieces.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks.
zzzdogman sends.

 

Should just be some screws at the base of the windshield.... The covers really aren't the best solution though.... if you don't have a lot of dash left, it won't last long... Replacement dash tops are available for a couple hundred... Yeah, more expensive.... but, they last a lot longer too.....

 

The original dash is held to the metal support by pieces of plastic that are melted. The dash has flat pieces of plastic that go in to slots in the metal support then melted. I take it you are not removing the dash so you cant see them. If you are just doing the band aid(dash cover) just break away the plastic.

 

I'm going through the dash replacement for my truck. My lower dash was also breaking into pieces(in addition to my upper dash), so I needed a replacement. I found a good used complete dash assembly in a truck not too far from me. Of course, the upper dash is cracked in several places, but the lower dash is in great shape. I have a new upper dash panel that I plan to install on my newly acquired dash setup soon.

I found that it was best to remove the entire dash and wiring harness from the truck so that I could work on the assembly outside of the truck. That way, you can have complete access those pesky screws holding the vents to the upper dash easily.

 

Looked high and low and found a place that has reproduced the dash and a video of how to do it. Wished I had seen the video before i started. Look at DRTparts.com

 

Just FYI, DRT only produces the dash for the later model 2nd gen trucks. If you have a '94 - '97 2nd gen Ram, they still don't list a replacement lower dash for those trucks. Luckily, I found a good used one out of a truck here locally.