here are some photos from removing the dashboard pieces and starting to patch together the pieces using carbon fiber.

To get the dashboard the dashboard out you definately have to remove the whole dash from the firewall. That is the only way to get to the screws that are under the dash and facing towards the engine. You also have to take out the passenger airbag to get the screws behind the passenger airbag cover. I will post specific steps on how to do those asap:smileup:

 

Today I finished assembling the pieces of the dash. I decided to use fiber glass for the underside of the dash because fiberglass folds around the sharp corners better. One thing I also learned that helps alot is to use superglue to temporarily attatch the pieces together so that they stay right where you need them while you are laying the fiber glass. To get the whole thing together it took me about 3 days mostly because I had to wait for the apoxy to set multiple times. After I got all the pieces togther I did multiple reinforcement pieces of fiber glass around the holes for the screws and in places it didnt break just make sure it wouldnt break in the future. Here are some pictures of the dashboard as a whole. I will post pictures of how to take off the dash when I put it back in after I am done.

You will notice in the second picture when i am testing how the dashboard fits back in the truck that there is still holes. Those are pieces that I had lost from throughout the years of the cracking but then I found them stuck behind my back seat. So the last picture is with the missing pieces.

 

Man oh man that looks like a crazy project. Good work though! Was this a common problem for these earlier dodges? I have seen quite a few posts about cracking dashes.

 

Yes this is a very big problem among the second gen dodges. Almost every one i have seen driving around has had a cracked dash. It is getting very hard to find replacement because they have stopped making them. So if you do find a replacement it tends to be very pricey

 

That looks like quite a large project
You are correct about the replacement cost, it would be close to $425. shipped to your doorstep
http://www.dashcover.com/ramcaporder.html
near bottom of the page

 

Wow. That should be strong now. I happened to find a complete dash with radio, all controls and air bag with no cracks anywhere for 200.00
Is there anything I should do to it before I install, to make it stronger? Would the repair covers that are available protect it?

 

Wow! you got a great deal on that! Yah there are two things I would recomend to help your dash last forever. First if you can I would layer the whole underside of your dashboard with fiberglass like I did. This is the for sure way you know it wont crack in the future. Since you dont have to put the dash pieces back together like I did it should take you a lot less time than me because you can just do all the fibergalss at once. If you dont have access to fiberglass then yes I would get either a hard shell cover or the rug type covers. the only thing i dont like about those is the hard ones may not match the color of everything else in the truck perfectly and the rug ones I think look tacky but that is just my opinion. Doing one of those two would be the best. In some peoples trucks thier actual dash cracks. Like all the plastic beams and such that are under the dash board. On my truck it cracked in one spot and i will post a picture of that spot. If you have access to fiber glass I would strengthen this spot with fiberglass. Its definately not completely necessary so If you cant strengthen it then its no big deal. But let me know if you have more questions I would be glad to help. Goodluck:smileup:

 

Awesome job i would def live to do this to my truck , ive never taken a dash apart so ill wait till u post up a small tutorial lol

 

did you see any reason for where it cracked, or did it just seem to be poor quality plastic, or did you blame it on sun damage?
Did the added fiberglass offer problems with refitting the dash in place?
John

 

I'm doing all this too. Except I need the whole LOWER dash too. Can't puzzle it, its completely trashed. Hopefully I can find the lower one at a junkyard and I'll get a new top cover and bezel from an aftermarket company. $900 for the lower dash/dash carrier from dodge..........

 

I agree -- WOW !

I would of just bought a new dash -- or a used one from the junk yard ..

god bless you for having the patience to repair and reassemble that mess you had to deal with.

you could have just put a dash carpet over it and been done .