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I’m in a funk right now. I have met a piece of trim that has me beat.
It’s the trim at 1:15
https://youtu.be/YI2vT3uX5Sc
The workshop manual is no help. It just says to lever from the side. Which is nothing like the video. Unfortunately the video has an edit so I can’t be sure what he did.
Can someone share a detailed picture of the exact tabs/trim holding this piece in?
Last edited by John McM; Jun 18, 2023 at 07:41 PM.
The workshop manual is no help. It just says to lever from the side. Which is nothing like the video. Unfortunately the video has an edit so I can’t be sure what he did.
Can someone share a detailed picture of the exact tabs/trim holding this piece in?
ya that one is a bitch.... I've had to take apart a dozen times, and still don't think I've done it correctly... like you mentioned, just pry it apart from the sides... its super tight and feels like its going to break.
note that the "leather" piece is connected to that trim as well as the upper part of the steering column, so you have to romove them together. The steering column is held together with 3 t10 screws (not a common size).
I hope someone chimes in withi some better magic...
ya, i had to fight to get that piece off when removing my instrument cluster for some reason. IIRC, there are four molded-in thick plastic hooks: two at each end, on the back of the piece in question (see index finger in pic in previous post) that are not visible. the two tabs, one at each end, hook to an immoveable something above and the other two to an immoveable something below. one cannot just pull them out without breaking the hooks off. they are, as i said, molded in and hanging on to another piece of plastic.
this demands they, both ends, need to be squeezed together and pushed back and only then pulled forward in one swift motion. great force is required as the hooks cling to their respective "immoveable somethings" like enraged limpets. the problem is that only a gorrilla possesses the hand strength to do this.
if memory serves, success demanded a lot of simultaneous upward and downward compression, rags, two sets of vice-grips, a lot of shouting and a second set of hands. in my case they belonged to a very reluctant and sullen teenager.
i distinctly remember googling something about "touch-up paint" afterwards...
Last edited by hueyhoolihan; Jun 19, 2023 at 05:25 AM.
Thanks to both of you. I managed to do it, but what a drama.
Given I need to replace the dash, I did try to cut myself some space. I don’t think it helped.
So to answer my own question.
There are four locating tongues. They have no tabs and do not lock the piece in place.
The main part locking mechanism is a tab on the upper side of each end, directly behind the cluster *****. They lock into an indent in the dash foam. They are ‘helped’ by smaller tabs on the bottom.
Ultimately, the Porsche workshop manual is correct. However the part is on very tightly and it takes a lot of leverage on the ends and you don’t want to damage the dash. Main locking tab. Locating tongues. These have no tabs and are not holding the part in.
Last edited by John McM; Jun 19, 2023 at 07:39 AM.
The upper trim piece on the steering wheel is made up of three parts, two of which are easily disconnected.
1. The top clamshell on the wheel
2. A leather joiner and
3. A bridge that runs under the cluster.
The top clamshell is easily disconnected from the leather joiner. Doing this makes the bridge removal easier. You will need all of the help you can get.
The bridge is a complicated piece of trim. It has two long tongues and and two small tabs the locate the bridge under the cluster. These make moving the bridge difficult but they DO NOT lock the bridge in.
Effectively what locks the bridge in place is four tabs on each side that fit into indentations in the flexible dash.
The largest tab is on top, behind the cluster **** on each side. There is a smaller top tab and two smaller lower tabs on each side.
The challenge is that the bridge ends form a slightly closed grip on the dash and the bridge is reinforced ie it won’t move much to release the tabs. Another challenge is that there are limits places to grip the bridge to pull it out.
Ideally, you want to lever the top of the bridge ends up, to release the top tab. Simultaneously you pull the bridge forward.
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The trim from hell. Upper steering wheel trim
the problem is that only a gorrilla possesses the hand strength to do this. 
