How can I remove the dashboard (just the speedometer, tachometer and so on - hopefully it is not necessary to remove the whole dashboard) to get access to all the small lights? The car is a 1991 Legacy (Station Wagon, 1800cc, 103PS, 4WD). Is it possible at all without special tools and abnormal small hands ?
It's quite easy to do actually. There's screws all around the black trim piece that encompasses the gauge cluster. Remove all of those screws and the black piece should come right out. Don't force it, you may have missed a hidden screw, I can't remember if there's hidden ones or not it's been a long time.
Then there's probably about 4 screws that hold the gauge cluster in. Remove those and then I think you just give it a real good yank to pull it loose from the speedo cable and then disconnect the harness and it'll come right out and you can go from there with whatever you're fixing.
98 Metro Hatch Daily Driver :)
91 SS EJ20G Engine/Tranny/Diff Swap Build Thread Here
"Your testes are close to your bottom but you still play with them all the time." Jeremy Clarkson
there is a screw behind your 2 heater vents, your mirror switch, your rear defrost switch, the blank spot on the right side of your steering wheel, above the speedo on top of the black piece there are 2 screws, above the heater contol buttons are 2 screws, and i believe after you take out your cup holder there are 2 more screws
you will also have to take the trim behind your steering wheel off... and if you want to make things really easy take off your steering wheel too... but make sure it's straight first
91 L-TW Wagon with a full Swap -RIP
92 SS Prefaced, GD dash swapped, 22T/205 Hybrid 20 psi - BEAST!
93 SS Bone Stock Gone!
94 TW Bone Stock Gone!
91 SS 4EAT Sold!
98 LGT 4EAT
98 LGT Wagon 4EAT
You can just remove the two bolts that hold the steering column to the dash. That will lower it a few inches and give you room to get the black trim around the dash out.
Legacy777 wrote:You can just remove the two bolts that hold the steering column to the dash. That will lower it a few inches and give you room to get the black trim around the dash out.
Yeah that's what I did. I wouldn't take your steering wheel off,t hat's more of a pain in the ass than it's worth.
Plus, it's so easy to get it back on one notch wrong and then your wheel is crooked. ALWAYS mark the wheel and shaft together before taking off a steering wheel. The teeth are so small on my metro and I forgot to mark it and I put it back on and now it's slightly crooked so I took it back off one time and put it back on and it was better but I'm not sure if it's straight on now and my alignment is off a bit or it's still slightly crooked. I don't even want to deal with it anymore so I just left it that way.
98 Metro Hatch Daily Driver :)
91 SS EJ20G Engine/Tranny/Diff Swap Build Thread Here
"Your testes are close to your bottom but you still play with them all the time." Jeremy Clarkson
Thanks at all (esp. at cj91legss - the exact description helped a lot).
The thing is now after I put the gauge collection back on its place - I tried whether everything is working. And it does - except the indicators. They are dead (the indicators itself and the small indicator display lights)! Actually I didn´t really change anything about them - I just removed the gray pieces around the steering column. Headlights, break lights and so on are all working. ... What fuse is for the indicators (I checked them but may have missed one).
I was so happy that the whole gauge collection removal thing was so easy and now this.
that's weird, did everything work before? if so, maybe you didn't get one of the plugs on fully or maybe one came off while trying to get te cluster in. these things happen all the tim with the cluster... altho im suprised you didn't have speedo cable issues...
i had some big hassles with the speedo cable
91 L-TW Wagon with a full Swap -RIP
92 SS Prefaced, GD dash swapped, 22T/205 Hybrid 20 psi - BEAST!
93 SS Bone Stock Gone!
94 TW Bone Stock Gone!
91 SS 4EAT Sold!
98 LGT 4EAT
98 LGT Wagon 4EAT
All problems solved! ... I didn´t know that the hazard switch needs to be connected as well to have proper running indicators. Man, if I would have known this before it would have saved me a lot of time.
Yeah, had no problems with the speedo cable. It came off pretty smooth.
Thanks again for the fast help! Its a good forum!!
kimokalihi wrote:It's quite easy to do actually. There's screws all around the black trim piece that encompasses the gauge cluster. Remove all of those screws and the black piece should come right out. Don't force it, you may have missed a hidden screw, I can't remember if there's hidden ones or not it's been a long time.
Then there's probably about 4 screws that hold the gauge cluster in. Remove those and then I think you just give it a real good yank to pull it loose from the speedo cable and then disconnect the harness and it'll come right out and you can go from there with whatever you're fixing.
Would that pretty much be the same procedure for a 94? I think I need to replace a bulb or two...
I wish I would have known the two bolts for the steering column would do it a couple years ago. I tore apart the whole dash at one point. It got put back together but I wasn't too stoked on trying it again.
?
Actually I didn´t really change anything about them - I just removed the gray pieces around the steering column. Headlights, break lights and so on are all working. ... What fuse is for the indicators (I checked them but may have missed one).
