Do I need to take my whole dash out?

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

okay, i am/was in the process of taking out my 21 year old speakers out of my 1988 ford ranger xlt, the dash speakers, so i could get some new ones while i was on spring break...well everything is at a standstill right now.. i thought i just needed an offset screwdriver to get my last screw out (triangle shaped screwing pattern for my dash speakers... the one that was closest to the windshield couldn't be reached by even the smallest screwdriver i could find which was about 2" long)

anyway, so i got an offset one, and it took forever because i could only do about 3/8 rotations instead of a full one... but the screw is out of the hole.. but there's like a plastic anchor holding it down!

i can't get it out guys! strong wtf.

it's like a baby tooth.. hanging on by the tiny-est little thread.. you just want it OUT!! but you can't fcuking get it!

any ideas?

Mark_88 · Apr 8, 2009

If all the screws are out then there is nothing else holding it in...except the wires...but if you drop the glove box you can put your hand right up in there and push it out...

BTW, I bought a stubby ratchet screwdriver that does most things...but I did need an offset to get one of those screws out...when you put it back in you don't need that last screw to hold it down...there should be four of them...and three hold it just fine...

I have to be honest though, I had a similar problem so I went to the j/y one fine afternoon and took a dash out just to see what it was like...and the speakers come right out with the dash...

If you must remove the dash...there are only four screws along the windshield (get a ratchet screwdriver and an extension bit) and about ten on the front...you need to gently pry off any trim but it just pops off...except the one on the light switch that you can leave on...just pull the light switch, pop it off...remove the guage cover, and then pop it back on and TURN OFF THE LIGHTS...I've drained my battery doing this...lol

But, overall...you should not have to pull the dash off...it's not that hard to do so but it is about an hours work...

GMWIGGS · Apr 8, 2009

Bigger Hammer? :icon_twisted:

A wise man once said "when your only tool is a hammer, all your problems begin to look like nail heads"

Not sure what to suggest on this one, someone will though.

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

Mark_88 said:
If all the screws are out then there is nothing else holding it in...except the wires...but if you drop the glove box you can put your hand right up in there and push it out...

BTW, I bought a stubby ratchet screwdriver that does most things...but I did need an offset to get one of those screws out...when you put it back in you don't need that last screw to hold it down...there should be four of them...and three hold it just fine...

I have to be honest though, I had a similar problem so I went to the j/y one fine afternoon and took a dash out just to see what it was like...and the speakers come right out with the dash...

If you must remove the dash...there are only four screws along the windshield (get a ratchet screwdriver and an extension bit) and about ten on the front...you need to gently pry off any trim but it just pops off...except the one on the light switch that you can leave on...just pull the light switch, pop it off...remove the guage cover, and then pop it back on and TURN OFF THE LIGHTS...I've drained my battery doing this...lol

But, overall...you should not have to pull the dash off...it's not that hard to do so but it is about an hours work...

well i am PRETTY sure the screw is out, it's the anchor that the screw is sitting in that is holding it in.
i've tried just pulling straight up, and can't get it out.. idk wtf is going on.

i've spent so much time trying different things to get it out.

kunar · Apr 8, 2009

if you have the 3 screws out, there is nothing else holding it in. just try to wiggle it round, it might be hooked on something. i just replaced my speakers a week or 2 ago, and i had no trouble at all.

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

kunar said:
if you have the 3 screws out, there is nothing else holding it in. just try to wiggle it round, it might be hooked on something. i just replaced my speakers a week or 2 ago, and i had no trouble at all.

i will take a picture of these anchors, or whatever they are.

the two other screws had them, and i assume this one does too, because i can see underneath the hole where the screw goes in, it's plastic of some sort.

i've tried harder than wiggling.

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

update, well me and a buddy got the one speaker out

but now i can't get the grill off the other.
idk if these screws are rusted, corroded, stuck on with 21 years of dust/etc... or what...

trying to take apart my whole dash, got a screw and it seems like it just spins in the hole (in the very front part of my dash), and took 4 out below the red plastic part (near my gauges and what not), and the dash piece is still not loose... not loose like it should be with only 1 screw left (that stripped one that i'm talking about)

idk what i'm missing, and it's fustrating... i'm sure this will be a good learning experience, it just sucks so far :icon_thumby:

Mark_88 · Apr 8, 2009

Look closely at the screws before you take them out because half of the ones on there don't actually hold the dash...and remember that the dash is actually two pieces...the top comes off with the top metal part that goes up to the windshield and the foam bolster (the padded part all comes off with the front metal piece)...once you undo the four by the windshield you still have about five or six on the front side of the dash...

A trick for removing screws might help...you need to lift on the metal as you turn the screw because it may need to be lifted slightly before the thread catches...this is not easy some times...due to the way it sits close to the glass...but if you can get most of them out try lifting up on the front padded part or get your buddy to help you and turn the screw while lifting up...

if the padded part is not lifting then check again for screws that are holding it in place...I don't remember exactly but I currently have my dash apart for when I was trying to fix my blower and a few other odds and ends...I will have another look at it and maybe can guide you better...

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

Mark_88 said:
Look closely at the screws before you take them out because half of the ones on there don't actually hold the dash...and remember that the dash is actually two pieces...the top comes off with the top metal part that goes up to the windshield and the foam bolster (the padded part all comes off with the front metal piece)...once you undo the four by the windshield you still have about five or six on the front side of the dash...

A trick for removing screws might help...you need to lift on the metal as you turn the screw because it may need to be lifted slightly before the thread catches...this is not easy some times...due to the way it sits close to the glass...but if you can get most of them out try lifting up on the front padded part or get your buddy to help you and turn the screw while lifting up...

if the padded part is not lifting then check again for screws that are holding it in place...I don't remember exactly but I currently have my dash apart for when I was trying to fix my blower and a few other odds and ends...I will have another look at it and maybe can guide you better...

it'd be great if you could take a look at your dash.

i will go try lifting up on the METAL part(the part that just holds the speakers and has holes for defroster) of the dash.. not the PLASTIC part (the part that frames the wood grain and gauges)

Mechanickid · Apr 8, 2009

the screws holding the speakers down are used to keep and anchor spread out in the hole. Remove the screws and the anchor is suppose to collapse. Being that they are 21 years old you may need to use a pair of needle nose pliers. I swapped speakers in the front of an 85 before but they were already replaced once,and I had the ENTIRE dash out. Ugggg.

Mark_88 · Apr 8, 2009

baxtej44 said:
it'd be great if you could take a look at your dash.

i will go try lifting up on the METAL part(the part that just holds the speakers and has holes for defroster) of the dash.. not the PLASTIC part (the part that frames the wood grain and gauges)

If you haven't already done so, the gauge cover needs to come off...it is screwed to the top part of the dash under the lip of the padded part...there are about five screws in that and you may be able to remove it by just undoing those, but the plastic gets brittle and may snap if it catches on something...

Really strange that the speaker won't come out though...did you disconnect the wire harness??? That will keep it in for sure...

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

Mechanickid said:
the screws holding the speakers down are used to keep and anchor spread out in the hole. Remove the screws and the anchor is suppose to collapse. Being that they are 21 years old you may need to use a pair of needle nose pliers. I swapped speakers in the front of an 85 before but they were already replaced once,and I had the ENTIRE dash out. Ugggg.

well i got my left dash speaker out, but now i can't even get the grill cover off the right one... it's like the screws are stuck, or like ultimate factory machine screwed in, tried two different screwdrivers (only two that can fit), oh and the offset screwdriver i bought, but can't get any leverage with this one

Mark_88 said:
If you haven't already done so, the gauge cover needs to come off...it is screwed to the top part of the dash under the lip of the padded part...there are about five screws in that and you may be able to remove it by just undoing those, but the plastic gets brittle and may snap if it catches on something...

Really strange that the speaker won't come out though...did you disconnect the wire harness??? That will keep it in for sure...

the wood trim is the gauge cover you are refering to? i got those screws out, they are directly below the hump right? i took 4 out of there i believe, do i need to pull down on the wood grain? pull up? i tried wiggling to get it out and couldn't.

btw, like i just said, i got my front left dash speaker out, wiring was hard to disconnect... do current speakers use the same connections?

Psychopete · Apr 8, 2009

baxtej44 said:
it'd be great if you could take a look at your dash.

i will go try lifting up on the METAL part(the part that just holds the speakers and has holes for defroster) of the dash.. not the PLASTIC part (the part that frames the wood grain and gauges)

The metal dash part and the pad are 2 separate pieces. The are connected with I think 4 nuts, both pieces can come out attached. The whole thing will need to slide forward, and you won't be able to pry it up until the metal piece is out of it's "seat". Well you probably could, but it would likely damage something.

There is also a catch-22, you cannot remove the dash pad with the passenger side speaker installed. You can get it a little more forward, but it will get caught. It sucks something so simple can turn into a pita.

Pete

Edit:

baxtej44 said:
the wood trim is the gauge cover you are refering to? i got those screws out, they are directly below the hump right? i took 4 out of there i believe, do i need to pull down on the wood grain? pull up? i tried wiggling to get it out and couldn't.

btw, like i just said, i got my front left dash speaker out, wiring was hard to disconnect... do current speakers use the same connections?

Once the wood grain dash panel screws are removed, it should come right out. There are 4 screws in the top and several along the bottom. You need to pull away the trim pieces to access the bottom screws. Becareful with the dimmer switch side.

What I did with mine is I drilled out the rivet on the stock speaker terminal, unsoldered the wiring, and soldered my new speaker wire to that so I wouldn't have to hack the factory harness.

Pete

baxtej44 · Apr 8, 2009

yellow is a removed screw
red is a stripped screw
and i still have one in the dash(metal piece) that spins, but won't come out

the front dash piece is pretty loose, like you can see i only have one screw left, and it's pretty god damn well stripped.. i have a feeling this was from when my sister was dating "a really good handyman", and she had him put the deck in my truck for my birthday last year.. without me knowing. cuz the screw was like that when i got in there

btw, the screw locations may be partially off... but like i said.. i think me and new speakers is only

stripped screw left in front dash piece
spinning screw left in metal dash piece
2 on grill cover
3 on right dash speaker

I WANT NEW SPEAKERSSSSS

built2bashranger · Apr 8, 2009

baxtej44 said:
yellow is a removed screw
red is a stripped screw
and i still have one in the dash(metal piece) that spins, but won't come out

the front dash piece is pretty loose, like you can see i only have one screw left, and it's pretty god damn well stripped.. i have a feeling this was from when my sister was dating "a really good handyman", and she had him put the deck in my truck for my birthday last year.. without me knowing. cuz the screw was like that when i got in there

btw, the screw locations may be partially off... but like i said.. i think me and new speakers is only

stripped screw left in front dash piece
spinning screw left in metal dash piece
2 on grill cover
3 on right dash speaker

I WANT NEW SPEAKERSSSSS

on the speaker cover (or any screw for that matter) if you cant get enough leverage grab the screwe driver with a pair of pliers then try and turn it using the pliers thats what i did on my 88
marcus

Do I need to take my whole dash out?

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