Dashboard breaking loose.

[Tasty]

Hope I'm not duplicating a thread here. Anyhow, I have a problem that I am sure others have had. I have a '95 Sierra, and the three "anchor screws" for the dash have broken loose of the plastic. This has caused the dash to be able to really vibrate when I hit bumps and such. Anyone out there know of a fix for this problem that wouldn't include replacing the whole giant piece of plastic that covers most everything? I am brand new to these forums, and any advice would be great. Thanks.

[oldred95]

My 95 is doing that too. The passengers side is the worst. It'll move almost a 1/4 inch. If your dash is cracked there is some epoxy that napa (or atleast my local napa sells it) has and it holds 3500 psi and it works really good too. Where is your dash breaking out at? Do you know where the main mounting bolts are at? Is there a piece of 1 inch tubing that runs from side to side underneath the dash on your truck? There is one on mine but I have looked at a 98 and it was all open under the dash.:think:

[Tasty]

I have the 1 inch tubing that spans the underneath of the dash. I was talking to my brother this weekend and he suggested I put a bigger washer on the end of that screw with a rubber washer underneath to help hold the dash in place. Seems that those screws were just a bad idea in the design in retrospect. Directly in the sun and supposed to anchor a thin piece of plastic? Just not made to hold up.

[oldred95]

Are you talking about the three screws up by the defroster vents?

[Tasty]

Yes, those are the ones. I was examining the possible washer fix, and that won't work because there is nothing for the washers to grab onto as the whole notch has broken loose. This is a frustrating problem, and if it happened to me it must have happened to a million other people.

[LOWGREEN1]

My 95 has done it too. I have tried to call some billet companies and see if they would make a peice that covers the defroster vent ( and still function) and hold down the dash. They say there is not much of a demand for them. I say BS.. Mine has been broke so long and been bouncing around so long that the middle peice is breaking away now. It just looks horrible. Somebody needs to be slapped hard at GM for making such a bad design.. I even took my truck back to the dealership when it was new and they would not fix it because they said it was a cosmetic problem..BS. I wish some billet company would step up to the plate and build a peice for the defroster vents.

[DTSon22s]

I also have the same problem on my '95 Suburban. When I called the dealer to see how much a replacement dash would cost, they gave me some crazy price of $1200 or so. Don't remember exactly how much. So I made some cheap brackets that I had to bend myself to hold the dash down. It's not pretty, but it did the trick and a dash mat will cover the brackets. Better than paying over a grand for a new dash that I would have to paint to match my tan interior.

Quintin

[DTSon22s]

Here's a picture of what I did. Pretty ghetto, but it worked.

[DTSon22s]

Here's a picture of what I did. Pretty ghetto, but it worked.

[LOWGREEN1]

Originally posted by DTSon22s
Here's a picture of what I did. Pretty ghetto, but it worked. :LOL: :LOL: That's about what I did, but mine don't extend so far out. Hell even that is starting to crack out now. When I get the cash I'm going to hit the junk yards and get me another one and paint it up and make me a grill for the defrost vents to match my phantom grill. I might even try it with my dash I have right now. BTW DTSon22s I wasn't making fun of you, it's just that I thought I was the only one in the world driving around with custom made dash hold downs..:D :D

[oldred95]

Guess I better check that out on mine before it starts to crack. So you guys are saying that those three little screws hold most of the weight of the dash?

[LOWGREEN1]

Originally posted by chevyforu
Guess I better check that out on mine before it starts to crack. So you guys are saying that those three little screws hold most of the weight of the dash? It's not so much that they hold the weight of the dash, but it's only those 3 screws that hold the long top down. And once they start to crack, every little movement of the dash just breaks them out more.

[DTSon22s]

Then your whole dash friggin shakes at every bump. Plus, your cd player will most likely skip too if it gets bad enough. The sound is enough to work your last nerve. :cussing:

[oldred95]

It will move about a 1/4 inch on the big bumps but the CD player isn't skipping yet. The dash is next on my list of things to fix so I'll see just whats broken or loose. I think the 95's were just the practice year as far as interior goes. THey just seemed to throw **** together and make it rattle like a mf.

[Tasty]

Hmm, interesting idea on the bracket things. I think I will have to try a modified version of that before the dash starts to crack from moving around. It is a disappointing design by GM to say the least. With all the thought they put into other features of cars, how can they not look 5 years down the road and realize that a 2mm thick piece of plastic will not stand up to screws holding it down 2 inches from the windshield and blazing sun. It just boggles my mind. :whatever:

[oldred95]

I finally remembered to look at mine today and the plastic around all three screws is broken. I just finished my attempt to taim some of the rattles of my interior my insulating and such but it helped very little. I'm just gonna let mine shake its self to pieces and go on. Surely some day someone will come out with a better dash replacement for our trucks.

[LOWGREEN1]

Originally posted by DTSon22s
I also have the same problem on my '95 Suburban. When I called the dealer to see how much a replacement dash would cost, they gave me some crazy price of $1200 or so. Don't remember exactly how much. So I made some cheap brackets that I had to bend myself to hold the dash down. It's not pretty, but it did the trick and a dash mat will cover the brackets. Better than paying over a grand for a new dash that I would have to paint to match my tan interior.

Quintin Hey guy, you might try this site. www.car-part.com Look for your year, the dash panel and what state (Arizona) your from. They have some for 350 and under.

[Tasty]

I ripped off DTSon22s idea and bent up some custom brackets to hold my dash down. I bought em at the hardware store for about $2. I painted them flat black like the screws themselves so they would be a little less obvious. I will post a digital pic of what I did. It is working remarkably well so far, and I can't believe how much quieter it is in my cab. That dashboard was really making a lot of noise.

[DTSon22s]

That dash is the source of a whole lot of noise once that plastic breaks loose. Glad it worked out for ya!

[Tasty]

Well, apparently I can't make my picture suck enough by making it have to worst resolution imaginable in order to fit on here so I guess my fix will remain a mystery until I can squish it down further.

[Tasty]

Here is my fix.

[Tasty]

View #2.

This worked very well by the way. Better than the $200-500 bucks they want for a new dash, not to mention trying to remove and install a new one. Anyway, thanks for the idea DTon22s!

[oldred95]

I had an idea of making some little wooden blocks to fit down in the recessed area and then glue the blocks to the surrounding plastic. I tried making some today but I was in a hurry and they turned out like crap so I trashed them but I'm gonna make some more before long.