This mod should take about 2-3 hours for someone who has never taken a dash apart before. Make sure the engine is cold when you start.
Things you need to buy:
- 1 x New dial faces $75 + gst & post
4 x Coloured lights (T10) $8 ea + post
1 x epoxy resin $5-10 from hardware store
- very sharp knife / scalpel
long and short phillips head screwdrivers
mini phillips head screwdriver
camera (at least 2 megapixels)
anti-static wristband
a container to hold screws
someone with a good grip and skinny hands
The best conditions to do this mod are a sunny day with the top down for more space. Push the driver seat all the way back and make sure the screwdrivers are within reaching distance.
Step 1:
Unscrew the three screws circled in green in diagram 1.
Using the long screwdriver, unscrew the screw circled in blue in diagram 1.
Place your three middle fingers of each hand on the top half of the pod and your thumb and pinky on the bottom half. Push in and up with your middle fingers until the top half breaks away from the bottom. (There are clips in the middle of each side so putting pressure in the middle will work best)
Step 2:
Unscrew the two screws in the bottom of the dash cover (Circled in red in diagram 1) and pull the dash cover directly towards you, do not apply any vertical pressure. This should pop out abruptly.
Step 3:
There are 8 clips holding the plastic cover over the dials (two of these are circled in red in diagram 3). Carefully unclip them starting with one of the top corners and working your way across the top. The bottom clips should come out when the top clips have been undone. Remove the cover at the join between the black and white plastic.
Note: Be careful not to touch the inside of the clear plastic, you don't want to have to pull everything apart again because of a smudge.
Step 4:
Turn the car on and photograph each dial individually from directly in front to record where the needles need to go when you put it back together.
Step 5:
Carefully pull each needle off directly away from the dials. Unscrew each of the 8 small screws holding the dial faces on and remove the dials and perspex mounts (Remember which mount belongs with which dial).
Step 5:
Note: This may not be the optimal way to do this section, it is the way that worked for me.
Carefully cut the small needle stoppers at the base and, using a strong resin, glue them onto the new dials. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes.
Step 6:
Unscrew the 4 screws shown in diagram 2.
Step 7:
Put on your anti-static wriststrap and ground it to the car body (on a clean unpainted piece of metal).
Reach behind the dash and unplug the two wiring looms circled in green in diagram 3.
Step 8:
Reach behind the dash and carefully twist and remove each of the 4 dark green stubs. These are for the dash lights, ignore the black stubs. Change the bulbs with the colour of your choice and replace the holders, ensuring that you twist them back into place. Test them by turning the headlights on.
Note: If you are using LED lights and they do not work you may need to take them out and switch them around. This is because LED's have a positive and negative terminal.
Step 9:
By now the resin has set so screw the new dials into place. Turn the car on and, using the photos for reference, carefully push each needle back into place. Check that there is a gap between the needle and dial about the width of a dinner knife (about 1-2mm) so the needles can move freely. (Some of the needles can be tested by revving the engine).
Note: Getting the needles back to the correct positions can be a painful process, even with photos as guides. It took me 4 attempts to get all the needles back to where they should be. Even though they may look right when you replace them, a week of driving will show any errors (based on previous experience - I had my MX-5 for about a year before doing this mod so I knew where the needles should be when the car is cold/hot)
Step 10:
Replace everything in the opposite order making sure each part is clipped in and screwed in tight.
Post a photo of your finished product!
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