Speedometer removal?

[MMercury]

No need to remove the dash. I got all of mine out by starting with the combo instrument, then the speedo, then the clock, the tach was last. I loosened two screws holding the hood but it barely moved. I still had room to take everything out by twisting, turning and occassionally cursing. The two screws that are hardest to reach when reinstalling I simply tightened before putting the instruments back in, testing until they would be snug with a slight twist then tightened the lower screws. Replace all bulbs too.

If you have the center console out (and it is a US model), replace the two tiny light bulbs at each end that illuminate the heater controls.

Unless this procedure is undertaken regularly, shortcuts are easily forgotten. Complements to MThompson for his pictorial efforts which go a long way toward making the procedure seem simple. http://users.ids.net/~thompson/bmw/cs_dash.html Nevertheless, any aspiring hand model should think twice before undertaking the procedure. :wink:

FWIW, additional thoughts on the procedure can be found here:
http://www.cscoupe.org/tech/message007.html

 

[George301]

Speedometer removal

Hello everyone. Is there an up to date link for the instructions on removing the speedometer? The ones in this post no longer work. And if there is - Thanks in advance to M Thompson.

thanks
george

 

[MMercury]

Hello everyone. Is there an up to date link for the instructions on removing the speedometer? The ones in this post no longer work. And if there is - Thanks in advance to M Thompson.

thanks
george

Links have obviously changed or disappeared. From memory, MThompson's writeup was thorough. The forum contains several discussions that may fill the voids, including deQuincey's photos.

This may help:

http://www.e9coupe.com/tech/message007.html

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7945

 

[rsporsche]

George,

send me your email address in a PM and i will send you a MSWord document with the description in it. it is very thorough and helpful.

scott

 

[George301]

Thanks guys, and I see Restart has recently posted a description of his work, too.

This forum really helps we e9 ownership
thanks again
george

 

[m_thompson]

My writeup on the spedo/clock removal is here:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...nxtdGhvbXBzb25vcmd8Z3g6MzI3ZmUwN2Q0MDRlNzI2OQ

 

[jmackro]

I have all of the guages back in, but I can't get to the nuts that hold the top right of the speedo and the top left of the tach.

Do I need to take the front part of the dash off, the lip?

You are doing this the hard way!

You don't need to disassemble much of the dash or console. Here's the trick: While you can't reach the top knurled nuts with the gauges in place, you can reach the lower nuts. And, you can adjust the tightness of the upper nuts before each gauge goes in by simply reaching in through the gauge hole in the dash..

So starting with the rightmost gauge, set the upper knurled nut at some degree of tightness. Trial fit the gauge - if the top doesn't wiggle, tighten the lower nut and you're done. If the top is too tight/loose, move the gauge out of the way, adjust the top nut, and try again.

As each gauge goes in, do the same operation on the next one to its left. This may sound tedious, but you'll get good at it after awhile, and it's a whole lot faster than trying to disassemble/reassemble the dash.

HB Chris gets credit for teaching me this trick. Actually, upon re-reading this thread, I see that he explained it in post #17 above.

 

[restart]

+1 on the fitting the top not before installing and...one thing tho..if you didnt notice is that you have to twist the gauge slighty clockwise to slip the tab under the nut, and slightly counter-clockwise to remove. This is a big key to success in this project.