BodybyFisher Posted December 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 This is something I'd like to try. My dash got bad this summer. I'm to chicken to do it though. I know I'll break something trying to get the dash off. If my cluster goes out again, the spedo shop will have it off for me and said they'd need the car for 5 days. I can do it then.. Was thinking of just taking the grill out and running a screw through each corner. The grill will cover it.. Saw one in the bone yard and was gonna snatch the dash and saw that's what they did. Didn't see the screws till I took the grill off. Dont screw it. Go to home depot and buy the adhesive that I used, use blocks of wood to distribute the force and clamp the vinyl cover down the the shell, it worked beautifully. You will need a few clamps Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 If I were to try this repair, I have to disable the airbag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 I would check with the FSM to be sure but I dont believe that I had to disable the air bags to take the dash pad off. My memory tells me that it was necessary to disable it when I removed my radiator and condenser as you needed to remove the impact discriminator at the front of the condenser and dropping it may cause the air bags to deploy. The tricky part of removing the dash pad is getting the air vents out. I used a very thin stock spackle knife and a credit car to stick into the side of the air vent to dislodge the catches on each side. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcard Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I have what may be a dumb question but why does GM and other car makers use these **** dash pads? iv seen so many cars with these foam/vinal dash pads curled/bowed up. my 05 monte carlo LS has it bad. right in the center of the dash pad up next to the front windscreen. looks horrible. my 2000 deville dhs has a slight bowing on the far right side. when i was car shopping for a deville i looked at one that had a dash pad that had bowed up so bad some idiot used a staple gun to "fix it". iv see a lot of cars with this problem. why not use a polymer or some type of quality plastic for the dash pads.Also why are they so dang pricey to replace? i was told a new pad for my montecarlo would be about 800 bucks at the dealer ship! thats insane and complete BS. a dash for my moms 94 z28 was insanly priced as well.i would probly pass out if i was told what a dash pad for my deville cost It probably has a lot to do with government mandated saftey standards, as well as maximized profit margins. I suppose we could make them out of painted steel, or woodgrained metal, but they wouldn't pass the crash tests. Do you know if foreign car makers have similar problems, or is there a better grade of plastic (vinyl) out there? I dont know about gov reg's as iv seen lots of new cars with hard plastic dash pads. but i would say that profit margins are liekly the problem. ether way i think they stink. its the one thing about my montecarlo i HATE. completly uncalled for,just plain cheap shoddy design imo. Any way i got some guarilla clue to try on the monte if that does not work i'll use what the TS used. i know that l.nail will hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 The tricky part of removing the dash pad is getting the air vents out. I used a very thin stock spackle knife and a credit car to stick into the side of the air vent to dislodge the catches on each side. How the heck did you get anything in there to get the vents out? I can't find anything thin enough to do it. They're tighter than a virgins............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Try using a paper thin plasstic credit card, thin steel rule, etc. All you need to do is get something in there to release the catch. Put the blade in while pulling the vent. It will pop. If you have trouble push the vent to one side, you will get it. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Try using a paper thin plasstic credit card, thin steel rule, etc. All you need to do is get something in there to release the catch. Put the blade in while pulling the vent. It will pop. If you have trouble push the vent to one side, you will get it. I'm so paranoid about cracking the fake wood.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 fake wood? definately not fake wood on the 96. It is zebrano wood. real wood. newer ones have faux wood (painted plastic) but yours should definately have real wood. I would love to see more detailed pics of your Deville GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 fake wood? definately not fake wood on the 96. It is zebrano wood. real wood. newer ones have faux wood (painted plastic) but yours should definately have real wood. I would love to see more detailed pics of your Deville Wow! I didn't know that. It looks like painted plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 wow I wish my Deville was that beautiful. Is that a white interior or shale? That is one fine 96 Deville GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 wow I wish my Deville was that beautiful. Is that a white interior or shale? That is one fine 96 Deville Thanks! I guess that's called shale.. I got that car at a dealer auction in St Pete, Fla, back in early 05.. It had 88K.. One non smoking owner from Tennessee. I liked it and decided to keep it. It has about 120K now. Always garage kept by the first owner. I had it garaged the first few years and now use a car cover. Have 4 cars and only a 2 car garage now..The dash is starting to lift though, and the gauge cluster is out. Getting that fixed soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 both my 96 and my 97 are doing that also but the seville doesnt have the speaker in the center like the Deville. Technically neither does my deville but the grille is there just no speaker GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 The dash pad on my '97 STS is sagging - the defroster vent is straight but the dash pad is lower than the defroster vent in some places. If the defroster vent was not there, it would not be noticed but I need to take a look at it. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I was under the impression it was painted plastic Anyway, this is actually a very easy thing to do, do not use a REGULAR credit card there are very thin ones that will work, if I recall, I used a very thin ruler, work on the side away from the painted plastic/wood. There is a little catch you are trying to dislodge in the center on each side, just get one side loose first once the thin stock is in there and stops, just gently pull on the vent. Here is something on zebrano wood http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/44801-what-zebrano-wood.html That car is in beautiful condition! Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I don't believe the base Deville of that era had the zebrano wood trim. That was for the STS and the Deville Concours. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 could be just me but I have had several apart and every one was real wood. even the ashtray cover and shift bezel is real wood. Very thick clearcoat on them. I have even had a few things on my Deville apart and found no plastic yet. GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I was under the impression it was painted plastic Anyway, this is actually a very easy thing to do, do not use a REGULAR credit card there are very thin ones that will work, if I recall, I used a very thin ruler, work on the side away from the painted plastic/wood. There is a little catch you are trying to dislodge in the center on each side, just get one side loose first once the thin stock is in there and stops, just gently pull on the vent. Here is something on zebrano wood http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/44801-what-zebrano-wood.html That car is in beautiful condition! Yeah the first owners took great care of it. It's all original paint. There are a couple of rust spots popping up though. I see a lot of these with rust around the bottom of the rear license plate area. This one has it too. Another small spot on the r rear quarter where the molding runs along. Looks to be under the molding though.. Not noticeable unless you really look.. The license plate area is the worst. I was gonna have it fixed, but the shop said they'ed have to spray up to the top of the trunk lid. I don't want to do that. Plus, they'll have to re do my custom pin striping.. I may just put something there to stop it and maybe add a small chrome plastic trim piece there. I just don't want to get into the original paint. Anyways, I get what you're saying.. Something like those plastic credit card sized calendars some insurance companies send with your insurance (State Farm). Looks like a credit card, but way thinner. It still looks to tight for one of those.. I'm also having the windows tinted tomorrow. I've been debating on that for years. Not sure if I'll like the look with the dark tint. I'd like to get the last year of the DTS. I don't like the new Cadillacs.. I have to many cars though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 OK, I'm starting this repair.. Got the liquid nail and did one side. I'll let that sit clamped up for a day or two and see how it looks. As for the vents, I thought the whole darn vent housing had to come out. I was trying to put the card between the wood and vent housing. Not the part that moves and the air comes out of.. DUH!!! I had the gauge cluster repaired and I had them leave the dash pad off for me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Haha, see how easy it was to get the vent out once you figured it out? Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 lol. is it real wood on yours? GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Haha, see how easy it was to get the vent out once you figured it out? I had the shop take it apart and they left it apart for me so I could fix the dash. But, I do see how easy it is now that I see what was taken out... lol. is it real wood on yours? I don't know, I didn't really look. I remember trying to get the wood off a 96 DeVille in a bone yard and broke it. It didin't look like real wood from what I remember. I'll look tomorrow.. Now I gotta figure out why I can't program the key fob, I'm doing it right and the remotes are good.. Must have a new problem.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Well I did the repair and re installed the pad. It looks pretty good installed. It doesn't look as good as yours did, but it's much better. It was curled up so bad on the drivers side that it almost touched the windshield. Plus, it shrunk a lot on that side too. Looking in through the windshield you can see how much it shrunk up. It was also coming apart near the vin # and I fixed that too.. Only problem is I didn't look at it till it was fully installed and you can see the black foam is a little messed up and some of the glue. I didn't think that would show near the vin.. I should have glued that down and cleaned up the excess glue.. Doesn't look to bad, but it's really bugging me.. As nice as this car looks for it's age and miles (125,500) I just couldn't get myself to spend $250.00 for a new pad.. You would think after 16 years they'd just blow it out cheap just to get rid of one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted August 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Is that the price in a scrap yard? I am glad you got it repaired and its looking better. Mine shrunk also but not that bad, most of my damage was around the speaker opening, and it was good for about 5 years after that. If you have scrap yards pay them a visit if you are not fully happy with the repair, you may find one in better condition Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Is that the price in a scrap yard? I am glad you got it repaired and its looking better. Mine shrunk also but not that bad, most of my damage was around the speaker opening, and it was good for about 5 years after that. If you have scrap yards pay them a visit if you are not fully happy with the repair, you may find one in better condition No, that's through GM.. I could be wrong on the price though.. Maybe it was more.. I checked on a new one a year or so ago and it was lots of money.. Could have even been $350.00.. I don't remember.. I've been checking the bone yards and there's nothing good out there.. There was one that wasn't really shrunk up much at all, but looked burnt from the sun. I gotta train myself to not look at the vin area and I'll be fine.. If it keeps bugging me I'll take it back off in the winter and fix that part.. Now that I know how it comes out it'll be a cinch.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jndnaps Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 OK, emailed my parts buddy at Autoway parts. Can't get the dash pad anymore.. Oh well.. Here are some pics. Mine not only lifted from the board, but the foam was also coming apart from the vinyl dash on the left side. I had to glue both the foam to the vinyl and the foam to the board. You can see how much it shrunk on the left side. It still looks way better than what it was. I should have taken pics before and after.. Stupid me.. For such a nice clean car, I can't believe the dash was so bad. I never used anything on the dash since I've owned it. Maybe the first owners used Armor all on it or something that made it shrink up that bad. You cant see the vin area screw up unless the sun is up over the car.. So it may not bug me much.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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