crazycarlitos

i believe in order to take out the dash itself, some (or most) of the front console needs to be removed in order to reach few of the bottom screws holding the dash in.

tedious, to say the least. Prob not a 20 mins job..

please document with pics, if possible. It will make a great DIY thread.

PhilD

Crazy! It doesn't look like a particular quick and easy job, but I just don't see how it takes that long.

bmwtye

So ive been doing other things in my interior and have taken apart most of the dash. I have the lower dash off, dash vents off, upper defroster panels and speaker cover off, sport chrono off, instrument cluster and cluster surround trim off, steering wheel and steering column housing off, pcm center stack out. Honestly having removed all that, taking the dash off itself doesnt seem that hard. The longest part is getting to this stage where you have everything else removed already.

Quadcammer

6 to 8 days and $3k is a load of bull****

1Carnut

I do not know about the .2 but it is not as hard as they make it sound but not a job for a novice nor a one person job. You need to work from the top and the bottom at the same time, and it all comes out. It may look like one thing on the diagram but it is far more complicated than that. My guess probably two days of labor max though I have feeling Porsche techs probably don't do this type of thing often so they may have no clue how long it takes.

Ptech1

"Porsche techs probably don't do this type of thing often so they may have no clue how long it takes"

This type dealership and tech bashing is exactly why actual Porsche technicians who could easily help in situations like this treat these forums and the info and opinions contained within as the black plague.

Should probably run 6-8 hours customer pay, not days. But, I wouldn't consider this a do-it-yourself unless you are familiar with larger mechanical projects and are ready to organize your *** off. (as in individually bagging and labeling bolts/screws by location for reinstall) Taking a lot of pics also helps with harness routing. As bmwtye stated, removing all the required parts before the actual dash is most of the work, including all trim, switches, lowering steering column, etc...

douvillier

I would be very cautious of removing the dash if for cosmetic reasons. You invite squeaks/rattles and scratches. Also, as stated above, routing of harnesses is very important as you can have rubbing issues with resultant electrical problems. Remember, the dash is installed in the factory with no windshield , seats and supported by a mechanical arm. Its also done by workers who have installed them hundreds of times. Its installed with the mindset of never having to be removed. Just buy one with a leather dash.

slicky rick

My idea is its a simple job if you know where the screws are. Essentially remove all parts connected to the car's electrical harness, clear up the passageways eg. Remove steering etc and dash should just be pulled out. Of course im guessing based on dash removal of a merc. Once anciliarries were removed, a few screws and the dash just pulled out. Yea i would say 1 day labor max.

C4S in Rome

I am (was considering this post) the same thing, did anyone actually ever do this ?

Thanks,

myw

My buddy has , he swapped his plastic dash with a full leather one. Lots of stuff to remove but it looks great now

redmonkey928

I have done this.

You need to remove the entire lower dash, windshield to save some headaches. Center console and steering wheel can stay. But it certainly does require much more than just the "dash" pad.

One work day, and possibly into the second it fair. 6-8hrs as mentioned above would be a fair labor charge as it is not a fun job per say.

dalancroft

Translation: "It's a PITA and we don't want to be bothered."

Ezkill

Yea, I have a full leather dash sitting in my garage...haven't installed it because every place has quoted me 25-30 hours of labor. Removing windshield(which I absolutely hate having done to any car) as well as the possibility of introducing rattles and squeaks from the new dash, I'm sort of on the fence about it.

gpjli2

700$ dealer sounds like they figure they are looking at 6 hours. Rattles in the dash afterwards: priceless

andy92782

Not sure how you get the dash out but here's how Porsche originally put it in.

Fast forward to 33:30: