Removal of S70 center radio/climate control "cage"

johnnchrisr · Post by **johnnchrisr** » 05 May 2011, 15:19

OK, so I've seen the descriptions.....things like "SOB" and "pain in the a&%". Now, for the objective stuff. Can anyone elaborate a little more on removal of the afore-mentioned trim? My T5 with tan interior included wood grain and my wife's base model with dark gray interior had the graphite color I wanted. I'm now 3/4 of the way though swapping, having done steering wheel, glove box trim and center console trim (in other words, the easy stuff). Both cars look WAY better IMO, but there's still that pesky trim around radio and air controls. How exactly does it come out? It looks like the dash will surely need removing. Will all reveal itself then?

On a related note, my A/C is still not taking a charge and blowing warm (compressor cycles every 5 secs or so). Not knowing for sure, is it worth swapping out evaporator core when dash is out (since it will have to be done at some point anyway)? For that matter, I've got the irritating rattling dash which, to me, is yet another reason to remove the dash since it is sure to get worse.

Thanks!

Chris

db130 · Post by **db130** » 05 May 2011, 16:16

having recently removed TWO sets of the hvac console from junkyard cars and then installing one of the sets on my personal car(that'd make it 3 removal jobs+1 install job), some thoughts:

it is possible to install without having to remove the upper dash, i'd recommend a good 1/4" ratchet with various extensions. a flashlight would be helpful, as would some electrical tape to keep the torx screw from falling off of the torx bit

do you have a gray cage that's already out of the car? look at where all the holes are for the screws and you can use it as a guide to figure out what/where to remove. i might be able to get some pictures of a console that's already out of a car for you for guidance.

db130 · Post by **db130** » 05 May 2011, 16:22

i took these pictures of a console for a guy on volvospeed who said he was interested in them back in march(he flaked out):

good luck with your project(not many prefer the plain charcoal over woodgrain, but different strokes for different folks, as they say)!

johnnchrisr · Post by **johnnchrisr** » 05 May 2011, 16:41

Thanks much - this was very helpful, esp since both of my consoles are still in their respective vehicles. This gives me a little more confidence I can do this without a complete disassembly of the dash.

As for charcoal vs woodgrain, yeah.....I think the fact that this T5 already has so many other accessories in the charcoal color (steering wheel, switches, seat belts, etc) makes the charcoal console a nice touch. I also happen to think it makes the car look a little more sporty vs the luxury of woodgrain. Like you said though, different strokes.

Chris

johnnchrisr · Post by **johnnchrisr** » 10 May 2011, 19:22

OK, so just to close the loop on this one.....I finished the swap-out of these radio/climate control consoles, and it is time-consuming. One thing I will say is that it will go MUCH smoother with the right tools (true of just about anything to do with car repair). These are almost a must, unless you plan to get very creative:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... p17=947477

With the exception of the two 8 mm bolts holding down the rear of the horizontal center console, the only fasteners used are T25 screws.

The first thing is to remove the radio, then the climate control panel (slides out with pressure from behind after removing the radio). The horizontal center console should also be removed at this point - this is really just two bolts under the felt cover inside the armrest and two screws that are visible after removing the ash tray, as well as the e-brake cover which slides off the handle and unclips from the rest of the console.

After doing this, there are nine screws behind the radio/climate control console that need removing. By far, the toughest are the bottom two you can't see (one on either side) which are only accessible by going beneath the driver and passenger kick panels. The kick panels can be partially pulled away by removing a few screws which are visible after having removed the above-mentioned horizontal center console. After removing all screws (17 total), the radio/climate control console can pulled down and out, but only partially until all wire bundles and the ash tray light are removed from their 5 clips and holder respectively. Installation is, of course, the reverse of removal.

Enjoy,

Chris

johnnchrisr · Post by **johnnchrisr** » 10 May 2011, 21:02

A little more info on the two "difficult" screws - they're on roughly the same horizontal plane as the bottom edge of the hazard flasher button (see db130's corresponding photo above), in the afore-mentioned spots.

evolutionarywar · Post by **evolutionarywar** » 14 Feb 2019, 17:21

I know this is an old topic, but I used this thread to help me switch my dash trim from plain gray to aluminum. I can attest to the fact that it is a very time-consuming and tedious task. I attempted to do it without removing the dash but was completely unsuccessful. Matter of fact, it was much simpler to just remove the dash, then remove the trim and replace it with the new one. I would say, that this is not for a novice shade tree mechanic, Or someone who is short on patience. Lots of screws. Lots of Brito plastic that breaks easily, if you don’t find the plastic broke it already when you remove the dash.

Post by **abscate** » 14 Feb 2019, 18:05

With any dash work, replacing the evap probably makes sense, especially pre 1999, when evap drying was programmed into the ECC control unit.

I replaced the Al look with Plain charcoal from my 1999 Annuity car , I like that look more.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 15 Feb 2019, 07:47

I would say if you plan on changing out that trim, the best thing to do would be to pull the lower dash and kill as many birds as you can with one stone! Heater core, evaporator core, dash mount repair, and center stack trim.

It's doable with the dash in place, but not without possibly losing screws or cracking plastic here and there. The wood grain trim I installed in my GLT is held in perfectly after all the time it's been in there, so any screws I lost aren't that important!
I'm just mad I scratched my R's aluminum trim when I had the radio out a while back for the heater core (had to remove the Dolby sound processor). Fortunately it's a small scratch, because I am NOT going to swap that trim out.