Erik Juhl

Hello everyone,
A few weeks ago I posted a question about removing the instrument pod and promised to give a report once complete. Well, I got everything finished last night so here is what I have. First, the existing notes for the instrument pod r&r are very good so I won't repeat them here. What I will do is add what I thought was lacking or perhaps just assumed information.
First, my goal for this project was to correct the instrument light dimmer, the intermittent wiper interval, and the high intensity washer, plus restore instrument lights after losing them when I adjusted the steering wheel height. Now, removing the pod involves removing the four bolts that hold the pod in place. Two of these bolts also hold on a piecce of plactic trim towards the front of the pod(as you sit in the drivers seat). The other two are much longer and are located toward the rear of the pod. The rear left bolt is a cicnh to get at and remove. The rear right bolt is a whole other matter. This bolt might be completely inaccessable to you as it is really on an l-shaped extension arm that is bolts to the top of the ignition switch frame. This arm *might* be swung out enough for you to get at, but if not, there is a bolt underneath the ignition switch frame that is accessible. If you loosen this bolt, and the other three pod bolts are out, you *should* be able to slide the instruments carefully to the right. This will swing the l-shaped arm out just enough for you to squeeze an allen wrench up in thereand remove it. This part was unclear to me when I tried to get the pod off, so I hope this piece of clarification helps someone else in the future.
I should also warn you all that the pod on these older cars tends to be very fragile and the vinyl can be a bit brittle with age. When I got mine off, I immediately flipped it over and set it on my lap to admire my trophy. What I had failed to remember was that the steering wheel was of course off and the steering column exposed, which I hit the pod on when I flipped it and made a nice new little crack where previously there was none. ARGHH!!! Don't let this happen to you!
Now, everything is back on. I have cleaned my connectors, I installed new potentiometers, and new button for the high intensity washer and everything works beautifull. Now, I just have to get the washers working....

Randy V

Well done Erik. If you want to replace your pod in the future, Dan Brindle does a great job of restoring them. I bought one last month and now have a pod that is crack-free.

Here's Dan's site (click on the 'Products' link): Dan the Pod Man

Jay Wellwood

I echo Randy on Dan the Pod Guy - great service to us.

btw - did you go ahead and replace the PCB on the back of the Pod while it was off?

Erik Juhl

Randy, thanks for the tip. I'll have to look at getting my pod repaired once my other higher priority repairs are finished. Also, I didn't replace the PCB when I had everything off. All I did was check the bulbs(they were fine), and clean up the connectors using a white eraser that I used for drafting. Everything works fine, so I saved myself a few bucks.

H2

Good info. I'll be replacing my pod soon and this helps. I've done it twice now so you'd think I'd remember. Reminder notes help....even if they're a "few weeks" old.

H2