C3 Dashboard Replacement - Doffing The Cap

We elected to remove the interior side pillars for extra working space. In order to do so, we first had to take off the upper windshield trim, which is held in place by eight screws.

We then removed the glovebox liner and subjected it to a thorough cleaning. Keep in mind that the plastic lenses, vents, and trim pieces on a C3 are extremely brittle, so it's important that they be handled with extreme care.

Next, we removed the four screws on the lower console using a 5/16-inch nut drive. Our car was already missing two of these screws, because the plastic that held them had cracked due to age.

We then took out the delicate plastic lens cover by very carefully removing the screws holding it in place. With that done, we removed the four screws on the sides of the dash, facing the doors (in the doorjamb area).

There are two large clips under the dash, holding it in place. They're not easy to see, so you may have to reach underneath and feel for them.

We were able to pull the dash out about 4 inches to unplug all the electronics. Write down each plug so you don't forget any of them when it's time to plug them back in. From our notebook: "Two plugs for windshield wiper and one large one for lights. Remove speaker wires, which should have a connector but were previously spliced."

The ancillary items were then installed in the new dash. The plastic on one of our car's vents was broken, so we took the opportunity to repair it.

Now it's time to install the new dash. Take your time with this step and have a friend assist you, if at all possible. Put the corners in one at a time (keep an eye on those metal clips so you don't tear anything), then drill the last four holes (two on each side), making sure the With the old dash removed, it was time to prep the new one. We began by cutting off the shipping supports.dash is lined up correctly.

With the old dash removed, it was time to prep the new one. We began by cutting off the shipping supports.

Here's a trick that'll make removing the light-switch assembly a bit easier. Pull the stalk all the way toward you, as if you're trying to turn on the lights. There's a button you can push that allows the mechanism to separate into two pieces. This allows you to easily remove it from the old dash and place it in the new one.

Once our dash was situated, we plugged everything back in and reinstalled the rest of the interior components to complete the job.

The dash doesn't have any pre-drilled holes, so you'll need to carefully line everything up, mark, and drill. Don't drill the four extreme side holes that wrap into the doorjamb; those will be done later.

The next step is to reattach the glovebox. Lay it in place and flip over the dash to attach the bottom two leg pieces; this will allow you to make sure the glovebox is centered. Adjust the door to get the best fit, mark the spot where the hinges are, and drill. The finished product should look like this.

As you can see, our plastic lens cover cracked at both corners during reassembly. Fortunately, we were able to obtain a replacement piece from Zip. After using a heat gun to soften the dash mounting points slightly, the new piece slipped right into place.

The entire dash replacement took around 10 hours. The process isn't especially difficult, but it does require patience, as well as an understanding that other components may break and need to be replaced along the way.