Speedometer / Instrument Removal

[thehackmechanic]

I've thoroughly read this:

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2484&highlight=remove+cluster

and its links, and just want to be certain I have this right.

--Working left to right on the gauge cluster, loosen the knurled nuts holding in each gauge, rotate the gauge CCL, and push it backward (into the recess), which then allows you to reach in through that hole and loosen the knurled nut on the gauge on the right. I've done this.

--Undo the two 7mm nuts, one on the left and one on the right, holding the wood grain cluster panel, and pull it toward you. I've done this.

--The cluster panel hits the cowl, so the cowl has to come up/off. I've removed the 7mm nut on the back of the left side, the Phillips screw on the bottom of the left side, and the 7mm nut on the back of the right side, but I can't get to the Phillips screw on the bottom of the right side as the console is in the way, though I can see it through the side. I've ordered a flat offset ratcheting screwdriver to try and undo it.

My question is: Are people saying that there's a trick to getting the speedo out from behind the cluster panel without completely unscrewing and completely lifting off the cowl? I've tried lifting the left side up while leaving the right side screwed down, and I'm hearing and seeing terrifying cracking of the vinyl covering on the part of the cowl closest to the windshield. I know this probably has nothing to do with whether the right side is still held on by one Phillips screw -- it's probably just 42 years of adhesion of the vinyl dash to the vinyl cowl -- but one of the few mint parts of my car is the uncracked dash, and it's scaring the **** out of me.

Thanks.

--Rob

 

[sfdon]

Rob- did you un do the 2 screws?
Under the dash holds down left and right side of the hood

 

[sfdon]

Sorry I wrote in haste hoping to help.
A few ideas- the knurled nuts are serrated and have nut fittings on them.
You usually only loosen one per instrument.
Removing one instrument at a time is best.
There are 2 nuts on each side make sure you are doing the right ones.

 

[thehackmechanic]

Don, I think the right screw is unreachable unless I disassemble the console. It's an air conditioned car. It looks to me like to get a straight shot at the screw, the evap assembly and that brittle plastic intermediate piece connecting it to the front vents has to come out, and I'd rather live with a broken odometer than take this apart.

 

[HB Chris]

I loosened the screws for the hood as best I could, didn't remove all. After removing cluster gauge (easy) speedo is next. It was a tight squeeze but I removed cables as needed to remove speedo. Then the tach. You need to turn them in multiple directions to get best egress.

 

[Arde]

I removed all instruments without even loosening the hood. I have no AC but I do not believe any of the AC apparatus extends into the instrument cluster. Maybe I am wrong and there is plumbing below.

My key recommendations are to do all this work while sitting on the seat rather than lying down looking up into what you are doing. Close your eyes until you are comfortable you do not need eyes for this job. All fingers.

I started from right to left because the clock is the easiest and that way you make room. Speedo was last and hardest, where it was hard to remove the speedo cable, and then once the speedo was loose it was hard to get it out via the small opening below. I may have loosened only one of the speed screws, but that is sufficient to remove and reinstall.

Knowing that it can be done is half the work! Then the other half is removing it, and the third half is reinstalling.

 

[rsporsche]

i found it easiest with the steering wheel removed. i'm getting ready to do it again, i put a different set of gauges in so i could see if they worked better. answer was nope. so time to take them all out again, check all of the grounds better, and see if i can sort out some of my gremlins

 

[sfdon]

Ac car is a monster for that screw.
I think you could get by just taking time and believing!
Forget the hood.

 

[Sven]

Rob,

The instrument cowl is attached at four points: two nuts (directly below the vertical base of the cowl (which I think you found), and two screws that are almost horizontal, with their heads facing forward, that secure the main dash piece to the cowl. I didn't think you could get to these screws without first taking the upper dash & cowl out as one piece. They are recessed way inside the dash itself.

I tried removing the instruments without removing anything else, but finally gave up and pulled the whole dash instead. Either job is PITA.

 

[thehackmechanic]

It sounds like some of you (Arde) are saying:

"I removed the gauges by pulling them out from the back, under the dash, and did not even try to remove the cowl or the woodgrain cluster panel"


and some of you are saying:

"I did what you did and tried to remove the gauges by removing the cowl, then the cluster panel, but didn't completely remove the cowl or the panel and was able to somehow maneuver the gauge past the front (passenger compartment side) of the panel"

and some of you are saying:

"Yes, it's a total bear, I either removed the cowl (and yes that right hand screw is terrible to reach) or I removed the dashboard instead of the cowl and slid the cluster panel forward into the pasenger compartment."

Am I understanding that correctly?

 

[restart]

yes, i too got mine out under the dash. i only loosened one of the knurled nuts, gave it a twist and zenned it out the bottom of the dash with a bit(lot) of patience. Finding the right angle was the difficult part but once you get the angle it pretty well falls out.
and you probly, you dont have to touch the chrome ring to get the gears out, just take the big nut off the back. DAMHIK

It sounds like some of you (Arde) are saying:

"I removed the gauges by pulling them out from the back, under the dash, and did not even try to remove the cowl or the woodgrain cluster panel"


and some of you are saying:

"I did what you did and tried to remove the gauges by removing the cowl, then the cluster panel, but didn't completely remove the cowl or the panel and was able to somehow maneuver the gauge past the front (passenger compartment side) of the panel"

and some of you are saying:

"Yes, it's a total bear, I either removed the cowl (and yes that right hand screw is terrible to reach) or I removed the dashboard instead of the cowl and slid the cluster panel forward into the pasenger compartment."

Am I understanding that correctly?

 

[HB Chris]

Just think of removing the gauges as an e9 right of passage! Once you've done that you can tackle almost anything.

:-D

 

[chapa]

Here are a few pictures from the back of a 2800cs instrument cluster. Speedo is gone, but a good view of what you're feeling around for. New to Photobucket, corrections and suggestions for appropriate procedures for posting pictures appreciated.


photobucket.com/user/jameschapa/library/Coupe Parts?sort=3&page=1

 

[restart]

the day of my coupes safety inspection I woke up at 4am and had my odo gears working by 9am. And that was trial and error.

on another note, cuz i saw the link....
The bookstore just phoned to say my' hack mechanic' book is there. When I ordered it the young guy suggested I might like zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. I didnt bother to tell him I read that 2 times in my youth, when it first came out and a couple of times sincee then. Haha. But it was great to see that book being classed with the all time classics!
It was mentioned on the 02 forum as well.
Bests, A

 

[restart]

it just drops out right below where it lives. you have to get the cables, wires and driver beer holder door, complete with its sliding hinge parts off. I dont get why you would go to the other sid of the car?

 

[thehackmechanic]

Speedo is out

Okay, once I understood that it was POSSIBLE to pull the speedo out from the back, it took me just a couple of minutes to do it.

Now that I've done it, I'm not sure it was at all necessary to unbolt the two nuts holding on the back of the cluster panel. Maybe it was. Undoing those nuts allowed the cluster panel to come forward an inch or so, which may have given me a little more room to work. I'm not sure.

The mind is a funny thing. I've had a spare instrument cluster on my desk for nearly 30 years from a 2800CS I parted out. I don't remember the ins and outs of how I removed it the cluster. But because it was whole and intact, I kept assuming that the way I had to get the speedometer out was to get the whole cluster out, which meant pulling the cowl off. Now, having the spare cluster, of course, was useful because it allowed me to know exactly what was on the back of it, where the wires were and so forth.

Incidentally, the 2nd screw holding the right side of the cowl down that I was referring to is located beneath where I'm pointing to with the screwdriver. It's not on the "other side of the car"; it goes up through the dash and screws into the bottom of the right side of the cowl. But I don't see how you can get at it with the console and a/c evap assembly in place. I've ordered an offset ratchet screwdriver, but it's a moot point now that I was able to pull the speedo out from the back.

Thanks guys.

 

[thehackmechanic]

I found my own 25 year old post on removing the dash and instrument cluster

God damn this is funny.

Now that I have the speedometer out, I want to disassemble it to change the odometer gears. So I searched for "disassemble speedometer" and up popped this. I probably wrote it up when I was parting out the car the spare cluster came from. My younger self meets my older self (I actually have a song about that; long story.)

I now see the disconnect between the Phillips screws I was talking about (the ones that come up from beneath the dash and, I thought, screw into the base of the cowl; this appears to be incorrect; my notes below say they hold the dashboard down) and the Phillips screws other people were talking about (that are on the windshield side of the dash and screw the cowling to the upper dash piece). It's a good thing I didn't try harder to pull that cowl off, or I would've cried when I broke it, and the top dash section, into pieces.

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7960&highlight=disassemble+speedometer

 

[Arde]

Okay, once I understood that it was POSSIBLE to pull the speedo out from the back, it took me just a couple of minutes to do it.

Now that I've done it, I'm not sure it was at all necessary to unbolt the two nuts holding on the back of the cluster panel.

Thanks guys.

Woho!
My wife does not believe me when I tell her that I am getting tired of being right.
Me knowing everything can be a burden, especially on her .

 

[rsporsche]

i just took mine out - had them out and in my hands in about 20 minutes. i took everything out from the front side
1. removed the steering wheel
2. removed the grab rail metal trim and the grab rail (removed the headlight switch and unhooked the hazard switch along the way
3. unscrewed the hood screw at the bottom left side (other side was already removed)
4. took the nut off of the back left side of the cluster
5. wiggled the cluster panel loose
6. undid the speedo cable
7. unscrewed the nut on one side of each gauge
8. unplugged the gauge harness and brought everything inside

 

[rsporsche]

how do you remove the trip odo cable?

question - my 2800cs gauges didn't have the trip odo cable on them. my other set does, but i am curious how to remove it. i don't want to break it or screw it up. any advice would be appreciated