DIY: 850 Dashboard Repair

[Oreo931]

Over the years I’ve repaired and/or replaced at least 5 dashboards in 850s. I’ve used a number of repair techniques and by trial and error have found that only one type of repair is a permanent solution. This thread contains a discussion of the various repair methods and a short write up of the best solution: fiberglass. This write up can also be used for x70 dashboards since they are so similar to 850s.

 

850 dashboards suffer a huge design flaw – the mounting points. They are made out of plastic and due to age and wear and tear, they WILL deteriorate and break over time. Unless your 850 has been driven only on smooth roads for its lifetime, I guarantee you have at least some mounts that are broken. Unfortunately, when the mounts break, it puts more stress on the structure of the dash because the weight of the dash is no longer evenly distributed. The increased stress, coupled with driving on bumpy/poorly maintained roads, inevitably leads to cracking in various parts of the dash structure. Many with broken dash mounts will also have cracks in the long, black plastic piece at the top of the dash adjacent to the windshield. The long black plastic piece is attached to the structural parts of the dash, so when the structure cracks, so does that piece.

 

Here’s a picture showing the stress cracks along the structure of the dash. You can bet there is cracking on the backside of the structure of the dash as well. More on that below.

 

 

If you are repairing a used dashboard, you will very likely need to repair/reinforce more than just the mounts. You’ll need to address the structure as well. On a new dashboard, the structure is obviously intact, so you could probably get away with just reinforcing the mounts. But new dashboards are virtually impossible to find – we’re talking about 20+ year old parts here.

 

Repair methods that do not work:

 

-Metal strap method on dash mounts: there are many write-ups that show people reinforcing the mounts by attaching metal straps or other metal-based supports. The metal is attached to the structure of the dash with rivets, screws, etc. DO NOT DO THIS. This is the absolute worst thing you can do and it WILL ruin your dash over time. I have personally tried this repair method, and it resulted in a destroyed dashboard. The dash is quieter and more secure at first, but over time, it will break. The problem with this method is that when you drill/screw into the dash to attach the metal supports, you’re actually weakening the plastic structure of the dash. Over time, cracks WILL develop at the drilling/securing points, which will result in further cracking throughout the structure, and ultimately a ruined dash. In short, do not screw or drill into the plastic of dash. Example pics:

 

 

AGAIN, DO NOT DO THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

-Gluing/epoxying the dash mounts: this method will only work well if you have zero cracks in the structure of the dash. As mentioned, 99% of you are going to have at least some minor cracking around the dash structure. Reinforcing the mounts is only a band aid fix. The fact that the structure is impaired means it cannot properly support the weight of the dash, or the force of bumps in the road, and it will deteriorate over time. Your mounts will eventually crack off of the dashboard and you’ll be left with a dashboard that “floats” in the cabin, moving around and rattling like crazy.

 

-JB Weld: I used this on one of my dashboards to reinforce the mounts AND structure. I applied liberal amounts of JB weld on the dash mounts and structure, basically anywhere that looked like it could crack. It has held up for several years now, but I am not confident enough to say that it’s a permanent fix. I’ve seen JB weld crack in other applications, so it’s not the best solution.

 

Permanent solution: fiberglass. Use fiberglass to reinforce the dash mounts and the structure of the dash. In essence, you’re building a dash within a dash (queue inception).

 

The first two pictures are not mine, but they provide a good bird’s eye view of the areas you want to reinforce. I’ve inserted red arrows showing some of the areas you want to reinforce on the top of the dash. On the underside of the dash with the mounting tabs, it’s self explanatory.

 

 

 

The remaining pics are from my repair. The first group of pictures shows the condition of the dash when I got it. The tabs were broken off, there were holes in the back of the dash, etc. Obviously, before fiberglassing anything, you’ll need to attach the mounting tabs to the dash. I used super glue.  My go-to superglue is Loctite super glue “professional.” It’s the absolute strongest and quickest drying glue I’ve worked with. It’s awesome stuff, but it’s extremely strong, and very easy to accidentally glue your fingers, clothing, etc, so be careful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the mounting tabs are in place and everything is dry, you can move on to the fiberglass. You’ll want to use coarse sandpaper to rough up the areas you intend to fiberglass. This promotes adhesion. I didn’t sand the mounting tabs though, as they were too delicate. As seen in the pics, in addition to fiberglassing the dash structure and around the mounting tabs, I fiberglassed the mounting tabs themselves. The fronts, the sides, and the bottoms. The result is an extremely strong tab that will outlast the car. However, once the resin sets you’ll have to sand down and smooth out the mounting tabs. A dremel with a sanding wheel attachment works well for this. You’ll have to drill a hole in each tab for where the bolt goes through since fiberglass now covers the hole. Once you’ve smoothed out the tabs, make sure you test-fit the screw brackets that slide on to the tabs. You want to make sure the brackets fit firmly and the screw holes of the brackets lines up with the holes of the mounting tabs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other areas you should reinforce include all of the mounting points between the dashboard and upper dash pad. I did not use fiberglass on these areas due to the shape of the mounting point, and also because I was concerned about adding too much thickness. If the reinforcement on the mounting point is too thick, you will end up with a gap between the dashboard and upper dash pad. You could use JB weld or other epoxy, but I used a product called plast-aid. Available on amazon. It’s the best plastic repair product I’ve tried – and I’ve tried many different products. I also used plast-aid to repair the upper dash plastic piece by the windshield – more on that below. Pics of the repair:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, this last part is optional. I tried to repair the upper plastic part of the dash that sits against the windshield. I used plast-aid, which worked awesome. It was a huge amount of work, and you have to be very careful because the plastic is so thin and delicate. Unfortunately, it ended up being a huge waste of time, but I’ll get to that in a bit. My goal was to repair all of the cracks and holes in the plastic and end up with a smooth part that looked new. I almost did it. You can see my progress in the pics. It was looking pretty good… Obviously, the first step is super gluing any pieces that cracked off

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to the bad part :( . I sprayed the plastic piece with a coat of black SEM interior paint. For some reason, the repaired portions of the plastic stood out like a sore thumb. My next idea was to try and cover up these imperfections with some textured paint. So I sanded the area down, and sprayed the plastic with some rustoleum black textured paint. As soon as the paint hit the plastic, I heard loud cracks, looked down, and saw that some of the thinner cracking I had repaired was now re-cracked!!! I don’t know if there was a chemical reaction between the paint and plast-aid, or if the cold aerosol spray reacted with the plastic, or what, but the point is, it cracked. At that point, I was completely fed up with the repair, and decided to give up and simply use the extra dash cover trim plate I had purchased in a VS group buy a while ago. Maybe the result would have been different if I hand-painted the piece, but I guess we won’t know unless someone else tries it.

 

 

Thanks for looking. 

 

 

[Yellow95]

Great write up. 

[survolvo]

Good write up. I might have to do this sometime if I ever get the urge to work on the car again.

I also have your address now.

[Oreo931]

3 hours ago, survolvo said:

Good write up. I might have to do this sometime if I ever get the urge to work on the car again.

I also have your address now.

Lol. That's my parents' address. Good eye. 

[andyb5]

Awesome write up Adam, thanks for putting this together.

I'm planning on doing this to my spare dash in the next week or two so the timing is excellent.

[H0lD mY d6InK]

That's fantastic Sir!

I am looking very hard for a crack free dash for my T-5R. Like a needle in a haystack......

[skloon]

Did they change the dash mounts at some point ? my 94 has 325000 on it and sounds like a washing machine filled with bricks, 95 has 430000 and is quiet as all heck- and any idea how long to remove a dash ?

[Yellow95]

Takes Alan (Tech) under 30 minutes to remove an 850 dash.  Me, over an hour.

 

[Oreo931]

94+ 850s should have the same dashboard structure and mounting points. The condition of a dash depends on a number of factors, such as the roads on which the car was driven, the condition and maintenance of suspension components, the climate/temperature where the car lived, whether the car was garaged, etc.

These dashboards are actually quite easy to remove. There are four 10mm bolts on the firewall under the wiper cowl, and four t25 torx screws in the cabin. You'll also have to remove the steering wheel + airbag (two t30 torx, one 18mm bolt), steering wheel cover (four torx screws), and turn signal and wiper levers.

If you want to remove it in pieces (which I recommend if you are removing for purposes of repair/reinforcement), then it takes a bit longer since you have to take off the dash pad.

There are tons of write ups online showing how its done. For first timers, I would estimate 3-4 hours to remove everything. I can do it in much less time since I've had the "pleasure" of repairing so many of these. I think I pulled an entire dash from the junkyard in ~30 minutes. If you want to save the dash you are removing, I would suggest taking your time. You are working with plastic that's 20+ years old. It can be VERY brittle.

[T5power]

Nice write-up, Adam!

[apeacock]

Solid write up. I don't think i saw where you got the fiberglass materials though. Any suggestions? 

[Oreo931]

6 minutes ago, apeacock said:

Solid write up. I don't think i saw where you got the fiberglass materials though. Any suggestions? 

Any basic fiberglass repair kit will work. Your local auto parts store should have them. Here's what I used:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Fiberglass-Resin-Repair-Quart/dp/B000BO7CVK?tag=viglink22560-20

I went through nearly two of the 7.2oz kits, so I would suggest buying the 28.8oz kit pictured below.

You can also use carbon fiber cloth instead of the fiberglass mat if you want to be extra cool 

[apeacock]

1 minute ago, Oreo931 said:

Any basic fiberglass repair kit will work. Your local auto parts store should have them. Here's what I used:

https://jet.com/product/detail/8d1fa15a247e4d329b16cda4efdd952f

I went through nearly two of the 7.2oz kits, so I would suggest buying the 28.8oz kit pictured below.

You can also use carbon fiber cloth instead of the fiberglass mat if you want to be extra cool 

 

Carbon fiber would be cool!

[andyb5]

1 hour ago, apeacock said:

Carbon fiber would be cool!

Hmm maybe I just found a use for the spare 2k carbon fiber fabric I've had kicking around for a few years  so overkill but why not?

[apeacock]

22 hours ago, andyb5 said:

Hmm maybe I just found a use for the spare 2k carbon fiber fabric I've had kicking around for a few years  so overkill but why not?

#jdmforever