Need help removing Gauge Cluster - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Just purchased some white face gauges for my cluster, can any one point out the steps of removing the cluster from the dash? Don't know where to start and can't seem to find where the screws are. Is this a hard to do task? Thanks!

Toolpants has a writeup on it I believe. If I'm not mistaken, you have to take off your steering wheel and such first.

No steering wheel removal necessary. It ain't no fast process thought... http://www.whiteson.org/boxster/mods/obc/ I'm sure Jeff (Toolpants) has pictures of how to replace gauge faces step by step, and I hope he'll post them. Until he does or if he can't do this quickly, here's some info to help you get along the way. 1. Use the link above to remove your instrument cluster. 2. When you've got it removed, bring it into your kitchen table so you can work on it. 3. Gently remove the two instrument pins in front of the cluster that set your dimmer and time. These pull straight out, and should not be twisted or bent to "pry" them out. Just pull straight out. 4. The front of your instrument cluster, containing the rings and clear plastic faces for all three gauges pops off the front of the unit. You will have to remove the left and right metal brackets on the far ends of the cluster (looking at it left to right) if I'm not mistaken... check that first. This front part of the cluster is a tight fit and it won't be easy to get off... so be gentle but firm. 5. After the face is removed, take a plastic fork and pry off the needles carefully, remembering their exact position when removed. Slide the fork underneath and use the curve of the fork to push them upward by pushing down on the handle end of the fork. 6. The existing faces can then be carefully removed by lifting up a corner with a sharp knife and pulling them away from the face carefully. 7. I have gotten this far with my old gauge cluster, but I haven't put on new faces. So, I cannot tell you what to use to affix the new faces to your cluster. Jeff or others will have to tell you what to use. I'd search renntech as well if I were you if Jeff doesn't chime in on this thread, and I hope he does because he's the expert. 8. Push needles back on, re-assemble the cluster face and side brackets, and go back to your car. 9. Plug in the plugs in the back, hook up your battery and turn on the ignition to insure it all works right before you put it back on the dash... try this after dark too to see how the gauges look and to insure you got them on there right (see note below). NOTE: Let me say that it's really important for you to insure that the lowest part of the gauge face seats squarely on the bottom of the cluster, versus allowing any small spaces at the bottom. I say this because if you don't get the gauge faces flush with the bottom of all three semi-circles, light from the backlit LCD's will show through at night... the new cluster I bought had a manual gauge replaced on the right side and the person who did it did not get the face low enough. Now I have to look at a sliver of light peeking from behind the face during night driving. Very annoying. Hope this helps! If Toolpants doesn't go into his treasure trove of pictures to post them or show us all a link to the page on renntech where he's already done this, I will try to take some pics for you and post them here or just put up a new page on my web site for this maneuver.

THANKS!!!!! This helps so much!!

Hang on buddy, I am throwing a pictoral tear down for you right now. It will be done in about 20 minutes. It's really scary doing this without all the help you can get when a replacement is a minimum of $1200.00 and insult to injury is having to park your car while it's on order from the motherland.

Here you go! http://www.iwantaporsche.net/cluster.htm [Jeff, you have inspired me to become as helpful to others as you have been to me over the past year. God bless you, friend!]

That's pretty good, TP Jr. Where do I sent the $1? http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1562 I like the plastic fork which is an old BMW trick. The real trick is to put the needles back on the shafts where they were before since they are not "keyed" or your gauges will be off. We also put tape around the middle dial because some people complain about light bleeding through with aftermarket faces. We do test the cluster before it is put back together.

"we put tape around the middle dial" Hmm. Do you put the tape on the inside of the dial, around the bottom, or what? This is a hard statement to picture in my mind.

The yellow line points to it. My Boxster friend Henry is in the picture and he said this eliminates the "glow" issue so tape was used on Ray's cluster.

Techart, make sure you record your gas mileage when you first intall these gauges. I failed to do this on my Miata and the needle was not on fully and instead of having half a tank I had ZERO tank. Ran out of fuel in the middle of the Licoln Tunnel here in NYC with two Tour Busses barreling towards me. Scariest momment ever. Luckily they stoped withing three feet. I should have known that after how ever many miles the needle should not have been as high as 1/2 full.

Perfectlap: got yah!! Do you have a Miata? I used to have a NB8C as well, I had AVO turbo, Full Bomex kit, TE-37s, veryfast and fun car. Thanks all for the tips and advice, I will do the job over the weekend, I'll try to post some pics.

Miata was the old car. I had no intention of getting one and was hot for an S2000. Thought I was only going to keep for one summer ended owning it for nearly six years. Had no idea what a grassroots motorsports car this was. http://www.cardomain.com/profile/tyremarbles