Entire XJS Dash Assembly Removal


Hello,
I am in the process of removing the entire dash panel
assembly including the climate control box from my 1986 XJS.
I have the windscreen out , most of the dash trim & glove
compartment is removed except around the gauges, speedo and
Tach.
The engine compartment is entirely empty and the entire
cabin interior is removed from headliner to carpet padding.
All that remains is the dash and steering column assembly.


My question is: where are the main fasteners located at to
remove the entire assembly and how many of them are there?


I can only locate two nut & studs , located on either side
of the windscreen lower pillars.


I am assuming with the steering column assembly removed, the
entire dash should pull straight out complete?
I'm pretty much doing a complete Tudor White restoration and
want to get the A/C coil and Heater core serviced while i
have the rest of the car in parts and pieces.


If any one has any good advice as far as service or
replacements whilst the dash is out, let him speak now or
forever hold his peace!
Cheers,
Stür

 

Define "Service" of AC and heater. Do you mean removing these items from the car completely?
(';')

 

Thank-you for replying.
My focus is on the fastener locations only, in order to remove the entire and complete dash assembly from the car.

Afterwords, i will be addressing the A/C coil and heater core for internal cleansing and pressure testing by an experienced tech at a radiator shop etc that can spot any or all possible failures.
Replacing all fuses, lamps, etc. and anything else that may be noteworthy of notorious failure while the dash assembly is out of the car.
I will also be addressing things like replacing the carpet padding behind the foot pedals which is tucked up under and fastened under the dash under components.
The engineers packed it all in like the Apollo missions.

 

My question is: where are the main fasteners located at to
remove the entire assembly and how many of them are there?

Instruments first: Remove the steering wheel inner (screws behind), undo the central nut; carefully keep the collets and pull off the wheel.
The instruments are set back in their outer cowling. Undo the screw holding the plastic side trim each inner side of the binnacle (the side between the cowl edge nearest the steering wheel and the actual instrument glass). Undo the screw each side that holds these to the cowl inner side. Next levering off the little plastic corner pieces to the left and right ends of the warning light strip.Under these are set back are two pozi screws. Undo these and pull them out with a magnet. Now the inner instrument pack can be eased out of the dash and the steering wheel is not in the way. When out JUST enough to get a hand round the back of it, carefully pull out the two large loom plugs that are fixed to it.

I am assuming with the steering column assembly removed, the
entire dash should pull straight out complete? NO it does not

Now the actual dash itself. The column must be removed next. It is held in by two large backets which are obvious when the lower dash panels are off and the instruments are out. Undo these, undo the various loom plugs to the stalks, unso the nut and bolts holding the spline end of the shaft to its next section down by the floor. Remove the light switch and ignition switch screwed on trim and switch pieces and unplug their loom plugs. Remove column. Remove the large blue rubber aircon blower to unit conduits. Ease out the switches each side of the computer, and the computer and unplug their loom plugs. Pull off the aircon knobs and undo their inner threaded ring fixings, this enables you to pull out the radio. Having done this, you can start to undo the central console fixings and remove that. All this last stuff has to be done to get at the aircon unit.

Finally, remove the glove box inner lining, which is held in my loads of tiny black screws. Having done this carefully pull the temp sensor tube off the dash hole above where the glove box lining was. Now you should be able to see the dash inner fixings high up just outboard of the aircon unit. Undo these. Also there are two fixings, one each side, directly behind the outer dash edge aircon outlets. Ease out these and you can JUST see them. Finally, there is a VERY hard to get at pozi in the dead centre of the dash top right by the windscreen bottom. This will be easy for you as the screen it out.


If any one has any good advice as far as service or
replacements whilst the dash is out, let him speak now or
forever hold his peace!

Replace the heater and the aircon matrixes in the unit. replace the expansion valve, check that all the solenoids work and that the vac tubes are correctly fixed and securely held. CLEAN ALL the EARTHS YOU CAN FIND. Clean and protect all the loom plug connections

Good luck
Greg

 

I have just reinstalled my dash and removed the upper steering shaft complete with wheel rather than just the wheel. Only held by a pinch bolt and a locating grub bolt with locknut. There is no need to remove the steering column in order to remove the dash.

 

Thank-you Greg, exactly the information i have been needing, now i can go to work on this before our summer passes away and the rain starts again.

Just to verify that there are "only the three main fasteners" holding the entire dash panel unit in the cabin, minus the obvious dis-connection of the dash gauges and the trip meter etc.. i will post this collage so everyone can more identify

 

I think that there are four main fasteners. certainly TWO on the passenger side and I seem to remember two on the drivers side plus the bits attached to the steering column.

Greg

 

there are four (4) 5/16 bolts in addition to the posi shown. Two vertical on the extreme outer ends and two horizontal just outboard of the air con unit. The inner ones are very hard to see and to get to due to the looms, ducting etc. The bolts are assembled loosely to the dash unit, they then engage with slotted holes in the flange running across the just below and slightly back from the windscreen aperture and need to be tightened with a socket while lying on your back and contorted.
The dash itself is not attached to the steering column, only the trim which needs to come off anyway.
The slots for the horizontal fasteners can be seen towards the ends of (6)
Edit. The posi shown in pic does not actually hold the dash, it holds the ducting assembly number 6 in the diagram.

 

I can see already how much fun this is going to be, removing all of this.

Hopefully next week i will start and photograph anything of importance that i find. I searched all over the web trying to find some kind of pictorial documentation of this job and could not really find anything until joining this web site, mostly everything is in worded description.

Now, is it these two either side upper fasteners and the Pozi screw in the center, plus the two outside nuts in the above photo just outside the small A/C vents for a total of five?

I am also looking at your schematic baxtor and it shows that, way underneath that there must be a couple of nuts at those two front open slot locations to loosen up and the black leather dash pad should just gently pull forward into the cabin slipping off?

 

Those fasteners circled in your pic are NOT holding the dash. They hold the cross piece (3) in the diagram. If you need to remove that the dash comes out first. The posi screw is to hold the front of the demist ducting and also does not hold the dash.
There is a screw on each end (left and right) of the vent insert front and centre of the dash pad. Remove these and the insert then hinges up and forward on locating tabs at the front of it.
There are studs and nuts on the underside of the dash pad corresponding to the slots you have circled in the diagram. You need to locate these from underneath and then just loosen them, do not remove the nuts completely. Apart from the outer two fasteners at the A pillars there are two screws on the front of the console above the radio position that need to be removed or at least loosened off. The lower part of the dash is slotted where it engages those screws.
The whole thing should then move clear

 

WoW! Thank You baxtor,
I'm starting to get the picture of all this now.
It makes sense seeing your diagram against my pictures, the individual components (crosspiece (3) demist ducting etc..)
I am going to try to start on this Monday and hope to have it out by Wednesday. I have to multi-task it in with some other things but will try to document it as i go along if possible.
They really got it call compacted in there.
Perhaps some will benefit from the photography in the future
Cheers,
Stür

 

just to clarify stur, the assembly (6) in the diagram is not part of the dash. The dash fits over it and is attached to it at the slotted locations either side.
I notice from your pics that you already have the vent insert out so you can ignore my instruction on that.
I had full intention of documenting my entire rebuild in pics but as usual that did not happen, looks like it is up to you now.

 

This thread is helpful to any member that considers removing the AC and heater from an XJS. I would assume the job is similar but different for the facelift cars. Maybe someone will post that procedure in time.
RagJag

 

Right now the glass is out and the center console and the headliner and all the leather.

I will try to get photos of the basic dis-assembly and identify all the fastener locations if possible.
I plan starting tomorrow morning with the steering column assembly removal.

I have a lot of work cleaning this project up, which includes a new leather dye job from the steering wheel throughout, inclusive to a new headliner covering.
Basically all the old O.E.M. upholstery adhesives and foam under laments for the most part have deployed their useful life.
It's basically at a very good condition TLC stage.
It got caught before tipping over that, is it worth the time and expense stage.

So far I'm about $5K into the V-12, but the way i view it is i will have a mystique 90% new Jaguar XJ-S when it's all tightened and cleaned up with an elegant sound system, pure violas and deep rich percussion in all that wrapped in Connolly quietness.

Cheers,
Stür

 

I'm new here and dredging up this old post as I'd like to remove an instrument cluster from a junkyard '88 XJS. I'd like to make sure I have all the correct tools in advance - any chance you or anyone else recalls the size of the socket needed for the steering wheel removal?
For the Pozi-headed screws, a typical PZ2 will work?

Thanks in advance...

 

Just thought I'd post this pic in here to show the locations of the five screws to remove the IC...

 

P2 are fine. The nut size is 15/16th SAE and you need a socket. prize off the plastic filler tabs each end of the warning light strip to get at the cluster fixings, which are deeper set than the warning light strip fixings you see also under the tabs

 

Thanks for the details. I'm not even sure if I have a 15/16" socket, but I have a 6-pt 24mm deep impact socket which should suffice.

I'm considering getting the whole black dash out, but clearly that's a bigger project. I'll study this thread again in case I'm feeling adventurous.

 

Got the cluster out today! Initially, despite having removed the five screws, it didn't want to budge. I ended up removing the two additional screws that secure the warning light strip. By doing that, I exposed some surface that I was able to better grab hold of the cluster frame and break the 30 year-old bonds of decomposed foam.

If anyone is near Allentown PA, the car is at Harry's U-Pull-It, but it will meet the crusher in about a month. The engine bay is pretty much untouched.