those "screws" come two ways... some are phillips some are torx bits.... you said it looks like it should of never come out so that tells me it is a torx bit


i don't think there is a true diy for dash removal, but there are diy's for smaller projects, use those to take the whole thing out.... and searching the interwebz can be your friend..... this is what we are trying to get into peoples heads but everyone thinks we are mean



i would never start such a big job without a plan of attack

What's the temps like where you're at? If you're doing this outside in rather chilly weather, then yeah, the plastic **** if going to break...

I take cars apart all the time without a plan of attack. When its not a primary mode of transportation its not a big deal if its not together by a certain time.

I do search but the internet is crazy. I like to search forums. The screws are Phillips but impossible to get to without bending something a way it shouldn't bend. I got both screws but I did it a weird way.

I am in a heated garage. Its breaking because its brittle plastic. Some of it was already broken but I am not the kind of person that will put it back together and not care that there are broken parts that I cant see. I will replace everything that is broken.

When I did my heater core, naturally, the dash had to come out, and I had my steering wheel in the exact same position yours is in in the pics above; from what I can tell by the pics, you're almost there. When doing said heater core job, I came across a DIY for it that was a bit more descriptive of the process than I can regurgitate to you, try searching the forum here, filtered to B5 section, for "heater core" and you'll find my posts about when I was doing it, and then go to audiworld.com>resources>tech articles>interior>heater core swap (I would post a direct link, but every time I try linking the page, the link just opens up the whole list of interior tech articles and not the actual article) and that article has a better description of getting the dash out, which, just in case you haven't done it yet, tells you to drain the AC lines and disconnect them and the heater core lines, as when you pull the dash out, those lines are attached to it so they need to be disconnected in order to get the dash out without breaking more stuff

Good luck!

That must be a really loud car, with really dirty vents and you must really hate wood grain

I REALLY HATE WOOD GRAIN! Wood does not belong in a car! The car is not loud but more sound deadening is a good thing no matter how quiet it is. The previous owner was a heavy smoker so that's why I want to clean the vents.

Thank's for the info! I got the wood grain out. I may not remove the dash if I have to drain the A/C I don't want to pay the price to have it recharged. I can clean the vents a different way but its not going to be perfect. I will decide later I guess.

Q-Tip?

Tornador. Its a handy air powered tool that uses enzyme cleaner. You shoot it into the vents at 125psi. I am not talking about the vent covers I am talking about the piping.