removing front dash pad
removing front dash pad i want to install my xm antenna under the dash pad but am unsure how to remove the dash pad. any help to this would be appreciated (pictures would help out even more if anyone has them) also if anyone has a better location that works well in a hidden location would be appreciated. i do not want to mount this outside the car or any place very noticeable.
yea the sun bakes that thing pretty good so any attempt to pop it off when you're not 100% even lifting it, it'll burst into a million plastic peices. Be prepared to buy a new one just in case lol
What he said... When the tech replaced my windshield in May, he asked me to show him how I routed my XM antenna so he could avoid it with this saw, and I said no problem, lifted the dash cover, and it broke in 2! I was leaving for a show the next morning and it really sucked! I just found a replacement pad last week and will be getting in the next couple of weeks. Install is extremely simple with T-Tops, just remove the pillar covers and the dash cover lifts at the seam from the dash. It is held down with several (3-4?) Velcro 1" 'spots.' I recommend working slowly when lifting the cover, and better yet, a couple of extra hands would help distribute the lifting pressure. Slow, gentle, gradual lifting will be your best bet. Once off, the cover is extremely flimsy, support it very well. I had a 6" steel disk (for antenna ground plane) handy, so I cut the foam padding out under the dead center cover to fit the antenna, stuck the antenna in the cut-out, taped the steel disc under the magnet side of the antenna with good ole duct tape, routed the connector end of the antenna line through the dash to the console area and reinstalled the cover. Totally invisible, and performed well. I have since canceled XM
I miss it. oh Sh*t now im scared , i have it mounted on the passenger side top corner of the windshield and not too good plus theres the (i know its there). any other locations you suggest to put it that i may not fall into the category of breaking anything. its about 15-20 degrees outside and that def does'nt help the flexibility of the material.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: somewhere that doesn't get snow
i took off the A pillers and just broke the dashpad in half to take it out 
then again i had a foot long crack over by the pass side airbag extending out to the windshield so it was basically broken in half already and thats why i was talking out to replace it.
the hard part for me was figuring out how the new (used) one went in. i was afraid i was going to break it so i took it to a friend of mine who used to have a 95 T/A and had taken his in and out several times and had him do it
then again i had a foot long crack over by the pass side airbag extending out to the windshield so it was basically broken in half already and thats why i was talking out to replace it.
the hard part for me was figuring out how the new (used) one went in. i was afraid i was going to break it so i took it to a friend of mine who used to have a 95 T/A and had taken his in and out several times and had him do it
so i heated the interior up real nice then took the pillar off, i used a long screwdriver to pop the first clip off. it was easy to feel around the dash with the screwdriver to get really close to the clip. then used a long needle nosed pliers to just place it on the recessed metal piece while my buddy gently held the dash pad up. thanks for the help guys it is appreciated
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Verdad Gallardo yea i got it patients, a buddy, long flat screwdriver, long needle nose, and a 12 pack thats the only way it worked. take 1 of those things out of the equation and it would prob have broken. thanks again guys my reception is 10 times better than before. now if only the pro fit bracket for my xm radio would show up i would be alot happier.
So I'll be taking mine out soon because it is broken, so my question is, how hard is it to get the new one in? I don't care if I break the old one taking it out, but I'd like the new one to stay in one piece.
Oh, by the way, it's a hardtop car. Any tips?
Oh, by the way, it's a hardtop car. Any tips?
I would like to see pictures of how the dash looks now if you have some.
