Z3 Cracked Front Dash by Windshield

[K14Howard]

Dash trim was a success. Safelite put it in for me at no charge when they replaced my windshield today. Took less than 2 hours for everything. It looks great now, thanks all for the help

[Pthurlow]

Glad to hear that it all came together for you. The caps I have are black which wouldn't have done you any good.

[rf900rkw]

I'm about to pull the trigger on the coupe windshield. How did you/Safelite deal with the VIN sticker?

[Randy Forbes]

Just to add to the mystery, looking in through the windshield it appears my coupe has a separate trim panel, and the roadie does not!

mjgtp's (Impala Brown/tan 2.3) Rdstr is in my garage now, and it definitely has a (cracked) separate trim piece.

Neither my 99, nor 01 Rdstrs have a separate piece; dash is all one assembly.

Is this a Z3-thing only...?

[BimmerBreaker]

mjgtp's (Impala Brown/tan 2.3) Rdstr is in my garage now, and it definitely has a (cracked) separate trim piece.

Neither my 99, nor 01 Rdstrs have a separate piece; dash is all one assembly.

Is this a Z3-thing only...?

Im thinking it must be a Z3-only piece, I have dealt with //Ms almost exclusively and have no idea what they are even talking about!

Am I missing something, this looks exactly like the picture of his Coupe that didnt have the piece. I have no idea what piece we are talking about, and cant access realoem.com to check it out...

2000 M roadster

Here's a pic of my coupe dash where this trim would be, through the windshield. Any chance that on a roadster with the strip removed the dash top looks like this also (excepting screw caps, of course)? On my coupe, it looks like some sort of trim strip would fit in there if desired, but there's no reason for it.

[TimeoutCW]

Glad to hear that it all came together for you. The caps I have are black which wouldn't have done you any good.

Just wondering if you still have the set of black caps. If so, I'd be interested in buying them.

Thanks

[Vintage42]

I had stored that link a year ago for interior removal, but he does not remove the dash like you did in your photobucket picture.

[TimeoutCW]

Thanks for your reply and generous offer. I've tried responding via PM, but it appears my account may be too new to do so. Would you mind sending another PM with an e-mail address I can reach you at?

Thanks

[resunoiz]

on my 97 roadster, was in a unique piece....not removable at all

[TimeoutCW]

Glad to hear that it all came together for you. The caps I have are black which wouldn't have done you any good.

Did you receive the PM I sent you? Thanks.

[CMZ3]

This is an old thread. Maybe you saw my what I bought this week and one piece was this front dash trim panel. I have read all the post I can find and most say the job can be done with the windshield out or remove the dash. It does appear there are screws from the bottom but I say that because it's pretty secure in some spots. If there were screws from the bottom why would removing the windshield help. Just inquiring again to see if anyone has replaced it knows if there really are screws or what the deal is. I can see looking at the new piece there are petrusion that could go in a hole or align the piece but they don't realy look robust enough to thread a screw into without potentially breaking. Could it just be stuck tight in some places. I saw a comment where somebody had the glass company swap it out while the windshield was out and it was no big deal. Did they break the screw post off and leave them? I would be very appreciative to get to bottom of this.

[rf900rkw]

We could not remove the piece with the windshield out. I had glass guys waiting, so didn't have much time to tinker. With the three screws removed, the trim would not budge. I am assuming there are screws from the bottom also.

[CMZ3]

Looking at the back side of the new part. The large cover holes on each end appear to be access for dash assembly removal. Underneath there are a total of 6, 4 fin post which have thin side walls for alignment I think. Then there are a total of 4 - 2 fin posts with thicker sidewalks that appear to be what might hold a screw. Has anyone had this off, has anyone tried to remove screws from underneath the dash. If they are there can you get to them???

[kojohns]

I have this type of dash currently out of my car at this time... I actually swapped from an older plastic center section to an all vinyl dash... But I have to order this front trim piece as the vinyl dash didn't come with it. The only way to remove/replace the front trim piece is to remove the dash. The screws holding it in are basically sitting on top of the firewall and screw in from under the dash. So the console, lower trim pieces, glove box, radio, etc must all come out in order to remove the dash. Well... Maybe just pull the console back and away a bit? Either way... Fairly big job.

I took a quick picture showing one of the screws pointing up through the dash where it screws into the bottom of that trim piece... This is the passenger side looking in through the window:

[kojohns]

Interestingly, I don't see any referenced screws on RealOEM... But you'll need some. I can pull one and get some measurements tomorrow if you want to find something at the hardware store that'll do the job

[gmushial]

I have this type of dash currently out of my car at this time... I actually swapped from an older plastic center section to an all vinyl dash... But I have to order this front trim piece as the vinyl dash didn't come with it. The only way to remove/replace the front trim piece is to remove the dash. The screws holding it in are basically sitting on top of the firewall and screw in from under the dash. So the console, lower trim pieces, glove box, radio, etc must all come out in order to remove the dash. Well... Maybe just pull the console back and away a bit? Either way... Fairly big job.

I took a quick picture showing one of the screws pointing up through the dash where it screws into the bottom of that trim piece... This is the passenger side looking in through the window:

Are these possibly 51458398754, that go down through 51458398753?

[kojohns]

Are these possibly 51458398754, that go down through 51458398753?

No, I don't believe so. Those are the large ones through the sides of the dash and into the brackets at the ends of the tubular frame support for the dash. 2 large screws and 2 brass sleeves per side.

This is the reference diagram I'm looking at anyway:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...82&hg=51&fg=30

[CMZ3]

Thank you very much. This is the first post I have seen showing a screw. I was afraid they were blocked by the firewall. I have imagined a bunch of different ways to get around it but it sure looks like you have to get to the screws to do this right. I suppose with the windshield out you would snip the screws off and assemble it without them. I could imagine you could end up with a nasty rattle. If anyone has found a good cheat I am interested.

[msgolf41]

There's no "cheat" - you just have to take the time to remove the entire dash. Lots of things you can do to "clean up" while you have it out, though.

Set aside a day and you'll be fine.

[gmushial]

No, I don't believe so. Those are the large ones through the sides of the dash and into the brackets at the ends of the tubular frame support for the dash. 2 large screws and 2 brass sleeves per side.

This is the reference diagram I'm looking at anyway:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...82&hg=51&fg=30

From your RealOEM page #4 (the screws) and #5 (the sleeves), so: 51458398754, and 51458398755, respectively - they have them marked per your comments: 4 needed of each. [it looks like they changed the number btwn first gen and 2nd gen Z's, hence the difference in numbers].

[Z3X2]

I have this type of dash currently out of my car at this time... I actually swapped from an older plastic center section to an all vinyl dash... But I have to order this front trim piece as the vinyl dash didn't come with it. The only way to remove/replace the front trim piece is to remove the dash. The screws holding it in are basically sitting on top of the firewall and screw in from under the dash. So the console, lower trim pieces, glove box, radio, etc must all come out in order to remove the dash. Well... Maybe just pull the console back and away a bit? Either way... Fairly big job.

I took a quick picture showing one of the screws pointing up through the dash where it screws into the bottom of that trim piece... This is the passenger side looking in through the window:

How many screws are in that piece and were are they located? The 2001 Roadster has this part and it is broken and starting to come apart. The 1999 Roadster does not have this part.

[gmushial]

How many screws are in that piece and were are they located? The 2001 Roadster has this part and it is broken and starting to come apart. The 1999 Roadster does not have this part.

RealOEM quotes the strip/piece in question as being from "04/99", ie, only Z's mfg after that date.

[kojohns]

How many screws are in that piece and were are they located? The 2001 Roadster has this part and it is broken and starting to come apart. The 1999 Roadster does not have this part.

I'm counting six screws... they are along the front edge of the dash installed from the bottom of the dash pulling the front strip down. You cannot see them without having the dash removed... the picture I posted is showing one of the six coming up through the dash... the trim piece is missing... I need to order it.

[Z3X2]

Thanks I am going to try and break out the remaining chunks of that part and order a new one.

[kojohns]

ECS Tuning has pretty good pictures of the bottom side of the trim part... this will help you see where the 6 screws are so you can limit any damage when removing yours. What's your plan for reattaching the new part if not using the screws? glue?

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site...0975/ES119220/