Anyone know how to remove the plastic portion of the dash ...not the padded part the hard plastic part closest to the windshield

 

Just hit it with a hammer and pull it out. It's going to shred to pieces anyways

 

There are four clips on the dash pad that holds it in place. I use two wooded paint sticks on either side of the clip and pry up. If your replacing the pad with another one I cut off the metal retaining clips!

 

The hot Georgia sunshine finally got the best of mine. Its cracked in the middle. I want to replace it. Guess I'll have to go to a junk yard and find one. I just want to know how to remove one and install one without damage.

 

It will be almost impossible to remove a used one without damaging it. It "can" be done, but the likelyhood of your success is very slim, these cars are over a decade old plus the ones at the wrecking yard have seen nothing but sunshine for years so the dash will be very brittle.

To do it:
- remove the A-Pillars from both sides (phillips head screwdriver)
- use a plastic trim-wedging tool to slide under the front of the dash and firmly pry UPWARD while holding the rest of the dash down and restricting as much other movement as possible..
--one just infront of the passenger side airbag
--one just to the right of the Window Defroster Vent / Alarm Light / light sensor
--one just to the LEFT of the Window Defroster Vent
--one directly infront of the steering wheel.

- the front of it will move back the back of it near the windshield will be velcro'd down, gently and ever so easily and evenly move the dashboard toward yourself to break the grip of the velcro
- you will be forced to SLIGHTLY bend ONE SIDE of the dashboard away from the A-Frame to clear the A-Frame, more than likely if you managed to keep it in one piece to this point, its definitely going to crack here...

I personally wouldn't bother. I replaced mine with a brand new GM unit for about $500 - but I only went that route because the eBay one simply put would not fit in my car and left me completely without a dash so I had no other choice. If you're feeling confident you can get away with an eBay dash for about $280 - 300ish.. but you will likely have to modify the tabs that snap on to get it to work, and Velcro did not work for my case.

Otherwise, you can use a dashcap or dashmat.

Good luck.