Hi, does anyone have a tutorial for removal of the dash pad on the lr3 or a range rover sport. I am about 80 percent done, but I seem to have hit a wall. thanks Phil

 

no, have not seen one, hopefully you've been taking pictures as you go so you can be the first. What's the hangup?

 

I removed the bolts on the instrument cluster but I can't get it to budge. It should just pull down. I will mess with it later today. Here is a photo of where I am now and where it started, before and after.

 

looks like you are replacing your dash cracks. You should be able to study the new bits to see how it is fastened. I would venture a guess to say it will be snap in with metal clips.

 

The dash is out, what a pain, I just hope that I can muddle through putting it all back together......time will tell. Found more dropping and urine deposits.....yuck. Also only found a few cut wires that weren't in the center console area. one or two at the base of each B pillar and a few at the bundles around the fuse box behind the glove boxes.

Looks like the rodents came in through the fresh air vent door behind the glove boxes. The vent must have been open when the accident occurred. They made nest in the center console, the lower glove box, behind the dash, behind the left side kick panel on the driver's side footwell, under the rear floor panels (on the range rover sport, not the LR3) and inside one of the rear side panels in the cargo area.....hope I don't get hepavirus........word to the wise when removing rodent droppings, use gloves, use a face mask, use common sense, I also threw out my shop vac filter and gave the shop vac a good scrubbing.

Getting the dash out was only part of the trek, by the way, there is a bolt under the center speaker, you need to take the speaker out to access the bolt. There is also a bolt that goes through the firewall and threads into the dash from the engine compartment side.

Be careful when you remove the steering wheel. The clock spring has a connector and some wires that don't take much force.... ask me how I know. I pulled on the steering wheel and with a bit of force, it pulled off, along with pulling several wires out of the connector.......one more thing to fix.

About the only thing still on the front firewall is the heater core and the wire bundles. I could still smell rat. I sprayed Nature's Miracle all around multiple times, the smell got better but was still there. I also sprayed simple green and wiped things down, followed by some diluted Clorox....that actually worked really well. Others claim it was in my head, could be, but the smell still still bugged me.

I was trimming some trees in the yard over the weekend. We have several eucalyptus trees. They are pretty fragrant. I ended up putting the cuttings in the truck and on top of some of the interior panels that I had removed to freshen them up. Time will tell, it smells great, although the truck is still full of branches and leaves.........one of the steering rack busses somehow broke off. I am in the process of pulling the steering rack. The bolt that secures the rack to the steering column has a size 8 torx head on it. I didn't have any torx sockets so that delayed the removal. I also noticed that the air pipe to the right front shock is cut, I will need to r/r that line, I just need to figure out where it runs... I have about 12 inches of the pipe that is connected to the shock and then nothing.......any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Then soldering the cuts and she will be ready for reassembly.........until the next unexpected issue......Thanks Phil

 

Wow - is that a car or a tree house??

Whatever it is i commend your efforts. Can't wait to see the finished article.

good luck

SK

 

I finally had some time to work on the truck today. Got most, but not all, of the chewed through wires fixed, probably about 30 wires that had been cut. The majority are on the bundles under the center console, the air suspension controls and the park brake. Interesting that it looks like a repair had been made in the past, possibly by the factory. the fiber optics line that goes from under the drivers seat and through the console to the dash. someone had left the old fiber optic line and replaced it with a new wire. There was also a splice in one of the other wires under the center console, weird.

I had to remove the steering rack. Evidently during the accident, the driver's side mounting buss broke off and the steering rack was pushed back under the engine block. During the process, the stub off the steering rack that attaches to the steering column damaged the retaining bolt that holds the steering rack stub to the steering column. It would not come out. i ended up having to cut off the stub to gain access to the damaged bolt. In the future, you can unbolt the column from inside the cab. You can also unbolt the two piece steering column, how you reach it while in the truck I don't know, you can see the bolt that connects the two parts, but I have no idea how to access it. I ended up having to use a cut off wheel to cut the lower retaining bolt in half, then I had to drill out the butt end. If I end up using the part again, I will need to use a through bolt and nylock nut. I ended up buying a steering rack off of craigslist that buy luck had half of the steering column attached, I also scored a driver's steering wheel air bag. Hopefully, I will get some time in the upcoming week to finish up the wire repairs, I may end up having to buy a section of the wiring harness to make the repair, the rats bit the wires off right at the plug......dang rats!

By the way, the eucalyptus branches seem to have helped with the rodent smell, it is actually getting better, I threw some more branches tonight. I just have to make sure I don't attract a koala........Phil

 

Wow-- At some point maybe you'll share how / what all happened to get this thing in that condition.

 

the truck was purchased new in Indyanpolis in 2006. Within a year and 15k miles on the clock, the previous owner got in a minor front end collision. Damaged the hood, the bumper the front left quarterpanel. The steering rack right side mounting flange broke and the steering rack was pushed back. The PO traded it in to the local dealer and bought a new one. The dealer sold it as it sat, unrepaired to a guy from San Diego. He shipped it out West. Had a buddy with a body shop that was going to get it repaired and back on the road. The economy was stuggling and the guy lost his shop, the got divorced. The truck sat for seven years and never really got repaired. They bought most of the parts to repair the truck did some minor repair work but not much else. Somewhere along the way, some pesky rodents took up residency in the Rover. The pooped, peed and chewed on some wires and then died. We got 8 out of the truck and tons of droppings and pee residue.

We gutted the interior, threw out the carpets and scrubbed everything that was left with urine neutralizer, simple green and bleach.

We have repaired most of the damaged wiring. I am trying to find a plug and some wires, the rats chewed some wired right down to the nubs.

I did get the engine to fire up, even with the old fuel in it. I quickly shut it down. I have a new steering rack on the way, a new air bag and a bumper cover. I am getting carpets, fogs, park sensors and some other misc parts out of a clean wreck up in LA. Surprisingly, I think that all of the codes that were showing were due to cut wires, I had a tranny fault, a suspension fault and a parking brake fault,

The steering rack should be here in a couple of days. Once I get it installed, and then get the radiator and a/c cooler installed. Meanwhile, I will get the old fuel siphoned out and ready to start up. I am not looking forward to putting the interior back in, it will be a nightmare. I may have to call in a pro......we will see. Hopefully, she will be back on the road within a couple of weeks. Then I can have the body and paint work completed and start driving this bad boy! Phil

 

what area did the rodents chew the harness? I had a giant nest that filled up the entire hvac between the cabin filter and the fresh air intake , I keep thinking I am gonna start getting shorts from chewed wires that I don't see ( I have not found any yet just know that's a possibility)


btw how do you remove the console between the seats?