Pulling dashboard on 03 LX Sport

[FordMan77]

It appears that my Sport may have developed the infamous plenum panel door hinge crack/failure. I get air ONLY from the dash vents, EATC test comes back clean and temperature controls work fine. I still have to scope the vent to prove it but pretty sure that craptastic plastic hinge has likely died after 20 yrs.

Anyone have a good how-to on pulling the dash on this? I've skimmed through a few but wonder if I can get away with just moving the drivers seat all the way back and drop the column w/o damaging anything there or do I have to pull it off the steering shaft completely? Pretty sure the center console/shifter assembly can stay in place, or at least I hope it can.

[friskyfrankie]

I've seen many folks simply dropping the steering column (along with a lot of other stuff) but that was to do the heater core. Not sure you can get to the vents completely but it seems reasonable.

[sly]

If you can pull the air plenum out to do the heater core, you can get at all of the vents. They're all in the same box. The real pisser is removing the seats to get the rear heat vents pulled up to allow the air plenum to be removed from the firewall. If you don't have the rear floor vents... then it's not as big a deal. But yeah... I tend to leave the dash bolted in on the driver kick panel and just drop the steering column and remove all the firewall bolts across the top and the center supports and passenger side bolts. Pull that mess out and then pull the complete airbox out. You have to remove the passenger side face bag bomb to get at some of the bolts on the firewall easier for removing the air box. Also, the panel across the top behind the defrost vents comes out with a panel puller. That will expose the bolts you need to remove there.

[packman]

How difficult is it to remove the gauge cluster?

[friskyfrankie]

With careful care, the gauge cluster removal is going to be the least of your issues. Shift indicator cable needs some care but the rest shouldn't be a problem.

[packman]

Ah............I forgot about the shift indicator cable. Broke it in the '86 CV when I dropped the steering column.

[friskyfrankie]

Yeah, it doesn't take much to snap that plastic.

[VicCrownVic]

But, no shift indicator cable on an LX Sport cluster.
As Sly said, heater core job and this door job should be very similar. Should be able to put the driver seat all the way back and down and just drop the steering column. Curious if the center console needs to be removed on these. Since I've never worked on a Marauder, LX Sport, or LSE I'm not sure but I was thinking the center console would be in the way.

[FordMan77]

Yea, I located a heater core how-to with pics that should get me there. My only thought was the console too. I'm going to search some Marauder sites and see if it has to come out too.

[sly]

Yeah... I think the console has to at least come back 4 inches to get enough room for the dash to come back far enough to get the airbox out. If it has the air vents to the rear in the console, then absolutely required and will probably require removing the seats and carpet to get the rear floor vents moved back to get the airbox off the firewall.

For the instrument cluster, lower steering column, remove the black bezel (two bolts in the top of the cluster area into the dash) and the rest I think is push clips you just pry free with a trim tool. Cant remember if the headlamp switch needs to come out as well or not to just get the cluster out, but after the bezel is off, there's 4 screws holding the cluster in typically and then disconnect all the electrical on the back side as you lift it out of the dash.