I just bought a 98 dodge ram 1500, 4x4. The radio, ac buttons lights, etc were wiggly so I took the dash bevel off. When I did this, the entire frame core mount was brittle and everything cracked. A new one is $900 plus my time to fix. Has anyone used wood or metal brackets to fix this problem. Pictures would be nice.

 

Trouble is, the plastic gets brittle over time, and no amount of glue or wood and screws can fix that... You may repair one section, and it'll just break somewhere else.... I believe there is a company that makes replacements, not sure on pricing though....

 

I'd like to know where you're finding a new lower dash unit for $900. Last I check, the only place I could find was making them for $1,650 and they hadn't started making them for the '94 - '97 trucks - https://drtparts.com/product/dodge-dash-replacement/

 

Let me know if you get this attachment. You can also look up on ebay 98-01 DODGE RAM 1500 DASH FRAME CORE MOUNT DECK ASSEMBLY AGATE CHARCOAL rm121. I think it comes in beige as well.

 

900 bucks for a USED dash....... That seems a bit excessive....

 

The older trucks had metal frames with the plastic dash parts attached to them. Seems in 98 they decided to cheap out and made them out of all plastic. I know they had passenger side air bags at some point and the lower dash storage compartment. Not sure what else changed. May be cheaper finding one of the old metal frame dashes and see if it could be made to work. The upper plastic dash if it's not cracked it probably will so get a replacement before putting it in and having it crack in a short time. I picked up a complete dash at a swap meet for $25, It is not cracked but not sure if i would trust it.

 

I plan on making a frame out of wood and plastic. Might not be done for a while bc I will traveling for a few weeks but I will post it when finished.

 

My '96 truck's lower dash is made somewhat similar to the '98 and up models. There some metal in the very lower parts of the dash, but not around the entire perimeter. The biggest changes I've noticed between the '94 - '97 lower dash and the '98 - up 2nd gen lower dashes is the passenger side air bag, deletion of the upper cup holder and changes in the duct layouts. I feel certain that someone with start making both 2nd gen dashes using 3D printers at some point.

I also picked up a good used dash out of a donor truck relatively recently and plan to use it in my truck after replacing the top dash panel. Unfortunately, I have no choice, as I haven't been able to source a new lower dash for the '94 - '97 trucks to-date.

 

Obiles HID & Truck Accsy 10788 Harry Hines Dallas, Tx 214-514-0109 has Dash cores and actual Dash tops made out of fiberglass. They are decent but will require drilling some holes that were not drilled when cast along with all the slots the bezel clips push in to. Running about $600 on Dallas FB market place for dash core alone. I would say a quality of 7 on 1-10 scale. I have seen them on TEMU also but not installed one yet.