1983 Volkswagen Scirocco MK2
Dashboard Removal
Tools Needed:
- Phillips head screwdriver
- 24mm + torque wrench
Alright. You want to remove your dashboard to get to your instrument cluster, duct-work, or wiring? Here you go! Lets get into this
Before you start taking stuff apart, I highly recommend you get a system for keeping track of screws and where they go. I used small pie pans numbered, and logged what things went to on my phone. Whatever works for you!
To prevent any unwanted electrical issues, remove and isolate the positive terminal of your battery before starting.
First things first, start by removing the glovebox. Open it up, and there will be 8 screws (4 per hinge) that you need to unscrew.
This next part was tricky for me, but you need to remove the bar on the right side keeping it in place when opening. (Or not, you can do it with the lid attached)
Then, facing upward, there are 4 screws you need to unscrew, remember to keep track of what screws go where.
After that, remove the glovebox latch (2 phillips heads) and the entire glovebox should come off.
Moving on to the instrument cluster and its surroundings, this only has 3 screws.
There are 2 on the bottom side of the trim around the cluster. Once unscrewed, pull the trim toward you, then up between the dash and steering wheel.
Now, on the top of the cluster, there is 1 screw. This, along with 2 other pins we deal with later, is holding the cluster in place. You can unscrew this one, but be careful not to drop it. (I dropped it twice.)
Once you can get your hand in that space, reach around to the back of the panels with the hazards/headlights/belt/brake/etc, and push them toward you. Once out, unplug them and put them aside. Be careful not to break the little spacing bar between them.
Now that thats done, lets move on to the steering column.
Below the steering column, there will be 2 screws you need to undo. The one closer to the passengers side is a pain to get, but a long screwdriver should do the job.
Now the bottom piece of plastic on the steering column should come off.
Next, pop off the "Scirocco" plate on the wheel, and unplug the 2 harnesses on the bottom backside the wheel.
Now the fun part. Get a 24mm and remove the steering wheel. This will take a LOT of force, and may require 2 people. Do NOT use the steering lock to hold the wheel in place, either prop it in place with a block of wood or get someone else to hold the wheel. The nut is threaded on normally, not reverse thread.
Once you've got that off, the wheel should come right off.
Next lets move on to the heater controls. The plastic around the arms slides off, and the panel around the control arms should pop off easily. Finally, the ashtray slides right out.
Unscrew the 2 screws on the top of that panel.
Now, this parts a little tricky. In the middle heater, there is a bar between the 2 vents. This takes some finagling, but will come out. I tilted the air vents inward and bent the bar slightly to one side to give it some room on the sides.
Once thats out, there is 1 screw holding the vent in place. Remove that entire casing.
In the glovebox hole there are 4 screws, remove those.
Last but not least, on the left and right side of the dash, there are 2 screws on each side you need to remove.
Once those are out, pull up and toward you with the dashboard. Be careful of any cracking on the dash.
You should be done! As per the Haynes manual, assembly is the reversal of removal.
This couldn't have been done without this guide.
Any issues/things I missed? Contact me! saturnquack.sq@gmail.com