Junkman2008

Well, I got a fix for you!

I wouldn't have fixed mine if a mod that I was doing hadn't went haywire. Just when I thought I had graduated from "shade tree mechanic" status, I got humbled by one of my typical car "touching" experiences. It seems like every time I touch the car, it becomes a Broadway production. The only thing that goes right is putting in some gas. Do the repair Gods hate me?

Here's what happened. I upgraded my taillights to Halo's. SWEET! Here's what they look like for those who don't know what Halo's are:



I immediately got the good ol' hyper-flashing (where the turn signals flash at a very rapid rate, just like they do when you blow a running bulb in the front of the car), and thus installed the hyper-flash cable that I purchased from Richard at Corvette Enhancements, who also sells the Halo's. Everything was going just fine until I couldn't get the knee bolster seated correctly. I was laying upside down fussing with this thing and then PLINK! Something fell out of the dash and I didn't have a clue where it came from. Damn, damn, damn....

I knew that it was one of those clips that hold a screw in place but like I said, I didn't know where it came from so I decided to remove the piece that surrounds the radio and AC. Geeez! I didn't know that was going to be another adventure! When I did finally get that off, I heard another blink! Something else had fallen off and I didn't know where it came from either. It's now 3:00 AM and my interior looks like my car was stolen.

So I broke out some music and decided to clean up all this stuff since I had it apart. That's when I noticed why my ash tray lid wouldn't stay closed. Check out the picture below.



Because the spring is all jacked up and not seated correctly, all the change I have in my ashtray ends up in my parking brake leather covering when I do a jack rabbit take off. The lid use to stay closed until I let the dealer work on my car (that's another story). The lid will open and close but when closed, it would slightly pop open for no reason. Now I see why. I reseated the spring and now the door stays closed the way it is supposed to. See the picture below:



Now that spring is seated correctly, I can take off and my change stays where its supposed to! Oh, and I figured out where all the pieces went that fell out of the car. I was kinda proud of myself after that!

The Junkman

lil vette

mmmmmmmmmmmmm
.

beav626

Thats one hairy ashtray...

But good job that is awesome

Got uid0

you should install the trucker air -horn to match the lights

Junkman2008

BigFoot was the previous owner. After getting stuck in the car for three days, he bought a Escalade for obvious reasons.

vettelover84

Cool fix!!! Its good to know . Nice Pictures too. It hasn't happened yet but when it does I will have this thread in the back of te brain!!

jrprich

Now smear some silicone seal around the spring hole and it won't fall out again

Vega$Vette

Crap. That's the only problem I have in my perfect Vette. The GD ash tray cover won't stay shut. It was fine until I took the dash apart to install my new gauges. Must have slipped the indent when I put ti back together.

Any way to get the spring positioned correctly without taking the console apart?

Thanks

mrm1149

Great thread, made me laugh! Looks like some of my escapades.........

Junkman2008

NOPE!

That puppy has to come out and that was fun....NOT!

FactoryRaceCar

Good job!

Someday I will gather the courage to take the dash apart

0TheRadioFlyer97

It's not that difficult of a procedure. If I recall correctly, two 10mm bolts, four 7mm screws. The fun part is figuring out what do do when you have the dash off. If you get carried away or it will end up like this:



The ash tray area is a popular spot for mounting EQs, ipods, XM/sirus satellite controllers and NO2/Alky controls.

Corvette-Chris

I think Nouman was kidding lol With that beast of a car he has, Im sure he has taken the dash apart once or twice haha

Junkman2008

Yea, a screw here and a screw there. You see, that's what suckers you into doing it in the first place and the next thing you know, you've got the whole interior dis-assembled. Then you're standing there and going, "Where the hell did this thing come from?"

After a couple of times, you're probably laughing at how simple it is but the first time you see that puppy in pieces, it's pretty scary!

FactoryRaceCar

Who me?!?!?!?!

Corvette-Chris

gator492001

Nice to know how to fix it ..thanks

0TheRadioFlyer97

The first time i took my dash (okay entire interior) apart, I had all the tutotials on my laptop sidding next to me as I did it. Taking it apart was easy. Trying to find all the pieces to put it back together again is the hard part.

Junkman2008

So did I! Man, it was a lonely experience staring at all that destruction by yourself!

Vetteman Jack

Thanks for the tip.