lawmanz28

I have got a 1996 Camaro and the dash is cracked on the passenger side corner and the fins on the defroster vent keep busting and now most of them are missing. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to change the dash pad or if it would be best if I took it to a professional?

1995blackttopta

its not too bad, you just have to remove the A pillars by the windshield (i can't help you if your car is a hard top but if its a t-top you just take the tops off and undo 2 screws on each one and pull them down from the top area and then straight twords the back of the car)

then you bnasically just pick up the dashpad, if yours is only semi broken you kind of have to bend it at one side to slide it out one side at a time, if yours is like the one i replaced in my car, iit will basically just break in half as soon as you try to move it, then putting one in is kind of a pain i had a friend of mine do it cause i was afraid of breaking it and he had taken his out of his 95 t/a many times, basically you kind of have to bend it slightly to get it in and its just like i said to take it out, you put one corner in first and then kind of have to carfully bend it to slide it around the other A pillar

there's no screws or bolts holding it in, just velcro, and the A pillars that sit over it

n2ceptor

As stated above, but be ready for more cracks to happen when moving.... One of the many little flaws the 4 gens have... But we love them anyway...

Garcia95

my dash pad is broken, so where can i get another one

neil350

I bought mine from GMpartsdirect.com, really easy to install. I'm sure Jason Cromer or Sal? could get you that part.

Terran2k

yeah my dash pad is cracked too, started off small on the driver side, then it grew, then one day I came back and its a big crack forming a triangular piece that kind sits there half-assed, then couple weeks ago it took a right turn and has now made it half way to the passenger side. Im going to buy a dash mat to cover it up for a bit. I wonder if there's anything you can do to re-enforce them so they wont crack anymore.

Interceptor1

Mine is also cracked like Terran2k's, with a triangular break. When it's cold its more noticeable, when the car sits in the sun and is hot inside the parts expand and the crack is almost invisible, that happened when I bought the car, I test drove it at noon and I didn't see it, and then the next day early in the morning I got in and said "what the heck??"

I plan on getting a new one, and was thinking of running two reinforcing strips of fiberglass (about 1" wide) underneath to reinforce it; but using epoxy instead of the polyester resin.

94maro

same hting happened to me a few months ago and i just replaced it. you can also get a replacement at moderndaymuscle. they have some parts that you can't get from GMparts direct anymore.

and if you have a hardtop...the a-pillars just pull off. not a hard install to do.

Interceptor1

Darn it guys... I'm !!!

I went today to a junkyard and found a '94 that had arrived 2 days ago. it had a blown V6 but the car was intact, I checked the dash pad and it was perfect!!! I could not believe my luck! Being the perfectionist that I am, I got from it a rubber bumpstop for the glovebox, 2 for the hood, the dome light cover, an a/c vent, the rearview mirror (mine had a 3/4" crack), small bits that make a car look complete.

then I went for the dash pad. The guy at the junkyard said $60, then I haggled it down to $50 and he said ok, he never even saw the piece we were far away from the car and he was busy. I went for it, removed the a-pillar covers, and then started to lift the pad behind the gauge pod. I removed 2 or 3 clips, and then when I reached the center, where it has a grille... I was carefully prying it up and then CRACK!!!!!!!!! dammit!! I could not believe it...! I'll never find another one in that condition... I just left it there and walked away, the search goes on for another one. Maybe it was too brittle from the heat and age.

Lesson learned, next time, pry it off from one corner and then the other, leave the center for last.

n2ceptor

Welcome to the Mad Dash Crack Off.....

Brangeta

I must be really lucky, both my dashes are perfectly fine (knock on wood). I have a question though...

Do you guys who have cracked ones set stuff on the dash? Books, ipods, etc? Or do you just park your cars outside a lot in the sunlight?

neil350

I replaced mine 5 years ago with a new one from GM, was about a 100$ and it still looks fine.

texz

Mine is cracked in 3 pieces, all on the right side. Sitting in the sun did it. It will be the next "repair", along with a new windshield that has 4 pretty good sized rock chips/cracks. Just dreading a nice bump in the road that will shatter them both.

camarolvr69

Sunshades would help prevent dash cracks.

1995blackttopta

yeah sunshades are a must.... mine had a small crack by the vent, and then one day i parked it at a restaraunt for a few hrs in the hot phoenix sun, and came out to a crack on the pass side over by the left side of the pass airbag that literally went from the airbag to the windshield

so now that i got a used one that is 99% perfect (has one little slither of plastic missing right on the edge up by the gauge cluster surround) you can't see it from behind the wheel, and you can't see it just glancing at the car, only if you're looking straight down on the windshield you can see it..
anyway i went and got one of those 2 piece sunshades that folds up into a circle (has to be the supersized one, the biggest they have) and i use it religiously