Worked on my cracked dash this past weekend

[papaman]

Took 2 hours this morning, but that includes wiring up a USB outlet. Watched the video before hand for tips, and just a side note I do car audio/video so I'm comfortable doing stuff like this. It'll probably take most people a little longer...

sweet! any tips for getting the new one in? looks like the old one was split above the instrument cluster which probably made for a quick removal.

 

[NathanJax]

Did you utilize rubber washers?

Nope. After looking at how many bolts hold it on and what i'ts trying to accomplish, I don't think its a big deal. If it happens again it happens...

 

[NathanJax]

sweet! any tips for getting the new one in? looks like the old one was split above the instrument cluster which probably made for a quick removal.

Steering wheel down, gear shifter down. put it in the cab all the way (in your lap). Hold it up and then it just slid in, nothing too crazy at all. I did it all by myself

 

[tsuintx]

Thanks for the pics.

After watching the video of the guy yanking and tearing the crap out of the dash without breaking anything, I'm feeling a bit more confident. Pretty sure I'm a bit more careful than him.

And since the price difference between the DashSkin and a new GM part is not that huge, I'm starting to lean towards actual replacement. We'll see...

 

[papaman]

Thanks for the pics.

After watching the video of the guy yanking and tearing the crap out of the dash without breaking anything, I'm feeling a bit more confident. Pretty sure I'm a bit more careful than him.

And since the price difference between the DashSkin and a new GM part is not that huge, I'm starting to lean towards actual replacement. We'll see...

if you're just getting the main dash part, i know for me it would have been $355.51 (pn 23224747) from gmpartsdirect.com. i will also need the upper dash, which is another $213.17 (pn 23224733). the price seems to fluctuate quite a bit from time to time on the website, but haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else.

 

[tsuintx]

Don't necessarily need the upper part, but looks like it'll be 500 bucks, or so no matter what since shipping is 160 bucks.

Guess I'll check with the local dealer at some point how much they charge. Probably after tax it'll still be more expensive.

 

[NathanJax]

Don't necessarily need the upper part

I ordered both just in case (could return if I didn't need it), and when I started to tear it apart, I realized one side was actually broke, just couldn't see it.

 

[#1taho]

if you're just getting the main dash part, i know for me it would have been $355.51 (pn 23224747) from gmpartsdirect.com. i will also need the upper dash, which is another $213.17 (pn 23224733). the price seems to fluctuate quite a bit from time to time on the website, but haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else.

What about wrapping your dash to save a few bucks ???

 

[papaman]

well that didn't take long. the crack over the instrument cluster broke again even though it was reinforced. i know what's going on my xmas list....

 

[Fubar0715]

FWIW, even the cheapo hot stapler does work. My tried the epoxy on my old 03 Tahoe and ended up with more pieces of dash than when I started. End up at a bone yard and found one with 2 cracks but still in 1 piece. I brought it home, whipped out the hot stapler, stitched all the cracks, and then epoxied all the seams. It was was considerably sturdier than just the flimsy plastic dash. When I get around to looking at fixing the '13 dash (only broken above the cluster) it will be with my hot stapler/epoxy combo...

I picked up the stapler off Ebay with about 100 staples for about $35 shipped.