Getting behind or under the dashboard M35A2

[Redleg130]

searched but really didn't find much.

I have an M35A2 and I need to do a couple things behind/under the dash. I got replacement heater hose sections to replace the rotten hose thats in it now. The 4in sections are easy to reach, but the 3in sections going to defroster vents are not. Also the low air pressure buzzer is intermittent and likely needs the connectors replaced. Both of these tasks would be straightforward, except for the part where no matter how I stuff my body in the cab, I cannot reach these things well enough to actually work on them. I have the parts, just cannot reach the places no matter which direction I come from, cushion and laying on floorboard from passenger or driver side isn't cutting it, and upside down isn't, so I am not sure how to tackle this.

Tips or getting pointed in a direction would be appreciated.

 

[MG2936]

searched but really didn't find much.

I have an M35A2 and I need to do a couple things behind/under the dash. I got replacement heater hose sections to replace the rotten hose thats in it now. The 4in sections are easy to reach, but the 3in sections going to defroster vents are not. Also the low air pressure buzzer is intermittent and likely needs the connectors replaced. Both of these tasks would be straightforward, except for the part where no matter how I stuff my body in the cab, I cannot reach these things well enough to actually work on them. I have the parts, just cannot reach the places no matter which direction I come from, cushion and laying on floorboard from passenger or driver side isn't cutting it, and upside down isn't, so I am not sure how to tackle this.

Tips or getting pointed in a direction would be appreciated.

get a small person to help you, friend of mine had the same problem, he is a big man and he had large hands. He asked me to help him because I had done it on my truck. I weigh 130 lbs and my hands were about half the size of his. Even for me I struggled a littlle. Not a fun job.

 

[Guyfang]

Every Motor Pool has at least one small guy. Guess who gets these jobs. Got any young kids?

 

[Adrok]

Can relate, not a comfortable spot. Put in there a few times as a kid. lol

 

[Valley Rock]

I inadvertently discovered that you can see that unbelievably annoying buzzer from the passenger floor, it has one wire, it goes straight up to the bottom of the buzzer .

It's pretty much in the center of the firewall, wire came off pretty easy, absolutely by far the best mod I ever made to my deuce .

 

[HDN]

I feel your pain. I had to get under the dashboard of my truck to remove the tunnel to replace the engine's magnetic speed sensor on the bell housing. I could've removed the seat to make it easier but that seemed to be more trouble than it was worth at the time. So I sucked it up and did the job very uncomfortably, switching from the driver side and passenger side floor. I was also able to somewhat reach it from the engine bay, but it was a very tight fit as well, not to mention at the very limit of my arm's reach!

 

[Redleg130]

While messing with my M37, and watching some tactical repair videos, it occurred to me that the instrument cluster can come off, perhaps giving me access to the vent tubing and buzzer.

I looked around regarding the speedometer cable and saw where some folks have removed the speedometer cable from the cluster, which would give a bit more room to work.

there isn't much info on speedometers specifically, but it appears the cable interior spins with the drivetrain and is read magnetically inside the dash speedometer. The interior spinning cable is flexible and can spin even when curved.

If I were to disconnect the dash speedometer to gain some room, is there any trick to putting it back in? Having never done this before, I don't want to mess it up since the speedometer works.

 

[G744]

Speedo cables are easy to deal with. Unscrew the nut, and just pull it off.

You won't hurt anything. It is a good time to squirt a bit of oil down the cable, it likes to be lubed a little.

Putting it back on is easy as well, just wiggle it in and run the nut up snug.

 

[G744]

I've seen the entire dash panel removed to do those jobs, there aren't too many bolts to deal with.

 

[HDN]

I've seen the entire dash panel removed to do those jobs, there aren't too many bolts to deal with.

Maybe I should look into that next time I need to get under there. Even just lifting the panel up a bit to get under there and not disconnect everything would be great!

 

[G744]

This is a dash I pulled some time ago. I wasn't trying to repair anything, rather salvage everything before it was scrapped.

Not hard to do for firewall repairs, if one disconnects everything, pops out the instrument cluster and pulls the Bowden cables from wherever.



Sorry 'bout the chainfall in the way.

 

[kendelrio]

This was how I accessed behind my M715 when I didn't feel like pulling the dash... seat came out and I got dizzy...