Volvo 850 Dashboard Mount Repair

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 01 Mar 2009, 15:38

Welcome to MVS,

That is too bad. Mine at least broke into 2 or at the most three pieces so they would glue back together to form the base of the repair. If you strike out at a local salvage yard for a replacement there is always www.Erievovo.com or another place that was suggested this week by one of our members,

www.voluparts.com/index.asp

There is also an outfit called Toms that is all over eBay with motors and transmissions, I'm sure they could help as well. I don't have their URL off the top of my head but if you search Volvo 850 motor on eBay I'm sure they will come up.

...Lee

Post by **MNCO1** » 02 Mar 2009, 18:12

I called around on instrument panel replacements. My local volvo dealer went for the jugular with a quote of $3300. I went to myswedishparts.com and found a new instrument panel for $650 with a shipping charge of $40. They claim it is the original part from the dealer. The store itself is actually located within a volvo dealership in Texas. They charge less because of less overhead. I haven't seen it yet but I'm hoping for the best. One thing though is I have the burled wood in my dash and instead of $650. the price would have jumped to $2200. I can miss the wood for that difference. Perhaps the original dealer quote (using my VIN number) was based on the burled wood as well. I didn't ask.

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 13 Aug 2009, 13:42

Hey Lee,

I have my dash out and am mulling over my options.....

It would seem that the placement of the square nuts needs to be pretty exact, but I am not sure my plastic tabs can be sufficiently recreated. When your tabs were rebuilt, did it allow for the nut to "float" a little bit inside of the tab so that the bolt could "find" the hole?

My tabs have some metal clips that kind of hold the nut, but one tab allows it to move in both the X and Y axis. The others prevent movement up and down but allow it from side to side.

Also, there are three picures in your post that I can't see. It just says "X Image". If I click on it, it says "image not available". I can't see the picture of the straps, the one after the box of tape, or the last one. Could you re-post those or maybe send them to me?

Thanks,

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 13 Aug 2009, 15:27

The attachment function seems to be having some issues - I let Matt know about know about it and he is working on it. Once that gets fixed I will upload the pictures directly to the site rather than through Imageshack where they seem to die. PM me with an email address and I can email you the pictures that are missing.

The captive nuts float enough to get everything lined up even after the reinforcing. As I recall I had to use a small Phillips screwdriver to move one of them to get the bolt started.

I intentionally drilled the holes in the aluminum strips a bit large so that it wouldn't limit the travel of the nut.

...Lee

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 13 Aug 2009, 17:15

Thanks, Lee. I will PM you with my e-mail. It was kind of frustrating because half the Volvospeed dash fix link pictures won't display either.

Any suggestions or tricks for bending the sheet metal? Yours looks so perfectly formed.

Also, I see you used self tapping sheet metal screws. I assume you drilled a pilot hole in the plastic? I picked up some #8 1/2 inch screws, does that sound about the right size to you?

Thanks again for your assistance....

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 13 Aug 2009, 17:55

I used #8 by 9/16" since that is what they had at the Lowes down the street. #8 by 1/2" should work fine. I bought the screws that self drill so I didn't drill in pilot holes but you need to be prepared to get off of the drill quickly as the screw bites so that you don't strip out the hole.

My technique was to mount the front of the aluminum and then form it back over the dash mount. Fold it up as tightly as possible to the gussets on the back of the original mount and leave a flat ear to drill through. Some of mine weren't as pretty as the others and I took artistic license for the writeup.

Pictures are on the way.

...Lee

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 15 Aug 2009, 21:59

Finally got the dash re-installed today and it's solid as a rock.

As MIJ would say, "another happy customer".

Thanks to Lee for this great post!

Post by **RobTheModd** » 17 May 2010, 17:48

I plan on doing this within a week or two, are their any little tricks you guys would have done to make it easier?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 17 May 2010, 18:22

are their any little tricks you guys would have done to make it easier?

Have a buddy on hand to help you get the dash out of the car. It is not heavy but it is very cumbersome.

...Lee

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 17 May 2010, 22:24

This was very tedious but extremely rewarding. Make sure you've got plenty of time so you don't have to get in a hurry and post questions as you encounter them like I did (and thanks again to Lee for his timely help). Hehe....I remember my wife took the kids to the beach and came back a day early to find the dash in the kitchen floor. She just laughed (whew!)

Volvo 850 Dashboard Mount Repair

Re: Volvo 850 Dashboard Mount Repair