cracked dash - I have an idea!

[AHofner]

I found a pretty good size crack running down the center of my dash the other day. Funny, it never mentioned it was going to do that. I, of course, searched the 3rd gen forum for information on what others are doing and found that most are either living with it or putting the dash pad from Geno's over it.

After tearing into my dash last summer to investigate an A/C problem, I know for sure that I do not want to tear the dash apart again, though I'm sure it would go easier the second time, to install a new dashboard in my truck and I would imagine that Chrysler LLC or whatever it is called these days wants a bunch of money for a new one.

The dashpad from Geno's sounds like an alright solution but I prefer to keep a clean stock look or improve my truck to suit my needs, not just cover over the problem.

So my idea is to epoxy over the crack, sand the dash down, tape off the areas not to be applied and then put a coat or two of Herculiner over top of the dash. My reasons are two-fold, 1st, the herculiner will cover over the epoxy and if the cracking is indeed the result of solar degradation, should eliminate that problem. 2nd, items are always sliding around and I would like a way for binders, gloves, etc to stay somewhat put.

Has anybody done this? Does anybody think it will work? Is there a product similar to Herculiner that is designed for interior use?

Thanks for your time.



Andrew

 

[04blackcherry]

Check out LMC Truck. They have a OEM style cover you glue on top of the old one. I think I saw a thread on someone doing that, with pictures. Don't remember if it was in TDR.

My dash is black. I put a gray dash cover on it out of self defence. The black is better for glare; the grey keeps it cooler. I throw stuff up on the cover. Stuff slides around a little, but there is so much room up there you have to use the extra space.

 

[JohnBoy5]

if you put that liner on the dash please take pictures, i think it sound pretty cool. i might do that to mine. I think its a good idea!!! i am not sure abou it sitcking, i do not know what it would take to make it stick either... .

 

[GLASMITHS]

I found a pretty good size crack running down the center of my dash the other day. Funny, it never mentioned it was going to do that. I, of course, searched the 3rd gen forum for information on what others are doing and found that most are either living with it or putting the dash pad from Geno's over it.

After tearing into my dash last summer to investigate an A/C problem, I know for sure that I do not want to tear the dash apart again, though I'm sure it would go easier the second time, to install a new dashboard in my truck and I would imagine that Chrysler LLC or whatever it is called these days wants a bunch of money for a new one.

The dashpad from Geno's sounds like an alright solution but I prefer to keep a clean stock look or improve my truck to suit my needs, not just cover over the problem.

So my idea is to epoxy over the crack, sand the dash down, tape off the areas not to be applied and then put a coat or two of Herculiner over top of the dash. My reasons are two-fold, 1st, the herculiner will cover over the epoxy and if the cracking is indeed the result of solar degradation, should eliminate that problem. 2nd, items are always sliding around and I would like a way for binders, gloves, etc to stay somewhat put.

Has anybody done this? Does anybody think it will work? Is there a product similar to Herculiner that is designed for interior use?

Thanks for your time.



Andrew

Is it solar degradation or just the heat? I put a custom cover on mine in '99 and removed it a couple of years ago and was surprised to see a very large crack. Put the cover back on. .

 

[EricBu12]

I was just going to say that is why I bought a carpet cover when I read the post above... . I had a 01 and had a carpet cover and never had a crack for 9 years... . So now with my 09, I bought a carpet cover for the Dash assuming that will protect it. . my dash and carpet cover is a light grey so maybe that will help

Maybe it is the general area, heat degradation, who knows. . It gets pretty hot here in Salt Lake but not all the time. . maybe that is why mine has always been good.

 

[JohnBoy5]

sounds like its the UV breaking it down to me. if yours did not break and you have it covered you were protecting it from UV light! good thinking!!!

 

[sag2]

$550-$750 retail depending on the color.

 

[GLASMITHS]

$550-$750 retail depending on the color.

Naw I paid around $200. for the 98 with our names and an AF emblem, grey carpet. Bought a cheaper one for the '09 for less than $100. 00. The 98 dash did crack with the carpet installed. That's why I question whether it is the UV or high heat.

 

[sag2]

Naw I paid around $200. for the 98 with our names and an AF emblem, grey carpet. Bought a cheaper one for the '09 for less than $100. 00. The 98 dash did crack with the carpet installed. That's why I question whether it is the UV or high heat.

That is for an OEM dash.

 

[BK]

Check out LMC Truck. They have a OEM style cover you glue on top of the old one. I think I saw a thread on someone doing that, with pictures. Don't remember if it was in TDR.

Years back I bought one of these plastic dash skins for my Yota hi-lux 4x4... worked great.



The stock plastic top of the dash was cracked all over the place. Just needed to check fit, trim a little, and it went in right over the stock dash.



Stack of phone books to hold it down over night, and it looked and fit great till it got totaled some years later.

 

[GLASMITHS]

That is for an OEM dash.

OH... and yes that is why I put the carpet cover back on.

 

[AHofner]

Well, I finally got fed up with the crack in my dash (hey, it wasn't that pressing!) I did just what I said and epoxyed the crack and then applied bed liner on top. At first I wasn't sure it would turn out alright, the liner went on really shiny and I didn't fill the epoxy in all the way so you could still see the damn crack. But then, after drying for a day, it kinda dulled out (though it's still pretty shiny) and the spray in liner kinda separated a little bit and now it looks like a "gator skin" texture. I still have a few spots to go back over where I didn't get close enough to the edge for my likings. Oh yeah, and I need to post pics!

But overall, I would definitely recommend this fix, 'specially if you want to fix a dash for $50 instead of $200!



Andrew

 

[ENafziger]

Interested in pics!

 

[AHofner]

Here are the pictures:

 

[Rockranch]

That looks pretty good. Thanks for the pictures.

 

[Regcabguy]

I choked and ordered a molded Dashmat from Genos. Put my hand under it and it was super hot. The black does indeed look better and reduces glare the best,but I don't think it's going to help with the cracks. :{



Eric,on hot days,how's the grey working to reduce heat?

 

[ENafziger]

Eric,on hot days,how's the grey working to reduce heat?<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Not sure if this is meant toward me or not... but I have a grey valour dash mat, and it still gets VERY hot underneath. The dashmat material is made permeable on purpose to let dash mounted speakers play unmuffled... and I have a hunch that the mats are permeable to heat/UV/whatever as well.

--Eric

 

[Regcabguy]

Thanks. I just put my custom sunshield up. That's a surefire way to cool that dash down. Our Honda's going on 7 yrs now with no cracks.

 

[HHhuntitall]

(I like this guy. He works on my kinda schedule... ... ) That looks pretty good. I'm not sure I like the color, personally. The texture doesn't look bad at all. I can't really see the crack in the photos. You said you could kinda see the line under the liner? I'm curious to see how long this will hold. Will it break next to where it's epoxyed? Will the liner hold it together? This is a very good idea, and cheap enough to draw my attention... ... keep us updated, please...



My dash cracked on my '03, so I ordered a skin cover from Coverlay, considering I'm a dealer... . it retails at $168, and looks ok. I'll try to get a pic posted in a new thread this week, myself... ... which means next year.....