M5 dash help......

[mark635csieuro]

I am going to be helping an M5 owner with replacing his dash. besides the obvious, are there any particular tricks or "good to knows" in doing this job? I'm an e24 guy, so I know we should remove the center console and cluster, I figure it will be pretty obvious form there, but just in case. And is it easy at this point to R&R the heater core? Does the A/C unit need to come out to make it easy like in the e24? Thanks for your help! Mark

[Matt Hernandez]

One "trick" is to when you get the glove box and console out, there is the support going across, break the welds with a dremel or whatever on the bar, otherwise you wont be able to pull the dash and vent attatchments out unless the windshield is out, no ifs ands or buts!

After the dash is out, drill a hole where that cross bar attatched since you destroyed the weld, and run a nut and bolt through it.

Easy as pie and will save you from damaging your vents and pulling out what little hair you have left from this job in the first place :P

All that comes out is the center console, steering column kick panel, glovebox, b pillars (make sure to remove them, otherwise dash is NOT coming out), and then undoing the latch that holds the dash vents to the heater area, a flashlight is your best friend.

Dont lose any screws.....

Take a look at the servo on the passenger side of the heater/hampster cage and inspect for looseness, the screws can work themselves out over time and i recommend using a light amount of the weakest loctite available on the screws.

Hope that helped, ive replaced about 3 of them.

[RonW]

[mark635csieuro]

[mark635csieuro]