From ABCvoice@worldnet.att.net Fri Jun 30 19:31:06 2000 From: "B. COLUCCI" Greetings John! >I took the radio out last night and can feel and see where >the clip goes, It sounds like you are talking about the passenger side wiper arm being the ailing part? >but I can not get in there to put the clip back. Is there an >easy way to get in there, or can the dash be removed in that area or...? Any >help would be appreciated. Been there and done something similar. Was having a problem with the USS GW leaking rain water around the passenger side wiper arm connection through the fire wall. So I did the easy thing and removed the radio. That did not give me enough access to get to the area that I wanted to apply some sealant. So I decided that I would turn to the factory, 89 service book for guidance. Their answer was far to barbaric for my desires; and frankly beyond my skill / nerve level. (Step I) Remove windshield. (Step II) Remove entire dash assembly. I was sure if I did pull it off I would end up with more leaks then I started with. So I devised my own plan. Ideally If we had cardboard glove compartments like older vehicles we could make this a real easy project. (Step I) Remove radio. (Step II) Remove glove compartment. We are not blessed with this luxury. The glove compartment is molded into the Instrumentation carrier. So the entire carrier must be removed. This means a lot of disassembly; and a lot of little screws. Be patient. Be careful; and take your time. You can do this. Having done it I think it is still better then removing the windshield. This procedure can also be valuable to those of you that may need to replace a control relay for the keyless entry system. These relays are mounted to the top of the A/C unit housing behind that oversized, waste of space, passenger side crash pad. I'm sure that some engineer was drooling over the thought of placing a passenger side air bag in this location. (Air Bags -yuck) Another good reason to own an FSJ; never produced with any type of air bag. Here it is, from memory: - Park FSJ away from blocking other vehicles; especially your wife's car. This may take a couple of evenings. - Disconnect battery; you will be playing around a lot of wiring. There is no need to light up yourself. - Remove dash bezel; be careful I'm convinced that you might break this plastic with the force of those clips. - Disconnect speedo-cable; yes that means stand on your head under the steering wheel, reach up and unplug. - Remove the screws holding in the gauge cluster. - Pull gauge cluster out to access the connection harnesses and remove them from cluster. - Remove screws connecting radio to carrier. - Pull out radio and disconnect wiring and antenna harnesses. - Remove screws connecting heater controls to carrier. - Pull out controls, disconnect lamp, disconnect fan speed double headed connector, disconnect temperature blend adjuster cable, and disconnect the vacuum harnesses. - Remove ashtray. - Remove ash tray carrier screws. You would not think it would have to come out; but it must. - Pull out ash tray carrier and disconnect ash tray light and cigar lighter electric connections. - Remove glove compartment door. - Disconnect clove compartment light and switch from the glove box. Now you see why the ash tray had to come out. - You have to remove the headlight / rear defrost / rear window controls. This has to be done from the back; but you are starting to get some open spaces to work in; just take your time. - Here is an oddity; there is a speed nut that attaches the defrost vent to the back side of the glove compartment. It is a bear to get at. Mine would not come off; so I had to whack off its attachment point with a pair of clippers. I never did see any reason for its purpose. - While in this area remove the attachment nuts that hold the defroster vent to the underside of the dash. - Remove the vent. Now we are starting to have some area to work in. - Now there are a myriad of screws along the top and bottom that attach the carrier to the dash. They have to come out. - You will also encounter some structural reinforcement braces that you must deal with and disconnect to aid in your removal of the carrier. You'll see the offending connections. - Well I think I have covered it all; the carrier should be ready to come out at this point. The disappointing part is that for all of your hard labor you still do not have a big area to work in; but it is much better with that dumb glove compartment, the radio, and heater controls out of the way. You have doubled your working area. - Do your work on the wiper arm. The good news is that you can now temporarily reconnect the battery, switch the ignition into accessory, and test out your fix in plain view. No smoke should billow out of the dash area during your test. Your FSJ can still function in this state; you've just removed a couple of smaller organs like the eyes, ears, and nose. - Once the fix is in disconnect the battery and reverse the above procedure. Until The Next Dimension, Admiral "Coluch." Starfleet Headquarters Ohio Post End Transmission........................................