Curling dashpad

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WiggyHD

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I just bought my daughter a 1999 Grand Am with 115,000 on it. The biggest eyesore on it is the dashpad curling up where it meets the windshield, and where it meets the instrument panel bezel (two humps over gages). I bought new plugs and filters for it the day we brought it home, and there was quite a bit of oil in the spark plug valley. I assume that would be one of the cam cover gaskets or the timing cover. So:

A) Glad to be a new member of the forums!
B) Is it possible to replace the dash pad, or de-curl the dashpad?
C) Is it best to let a shop take care of the oil leaks? I am a competent mechanic with 20 years of maintaining Military aircraft.
D) Are there typical things I should look for that are usually in need of attention on this car? Any recommended updates?

This is her first car, so I finally might get Father/Daughter time with her making repairs or updates.

THANKS!
Mark
 
welcome to the forum, you can try finding a dash at a local junk yard but could try experimenting with a hair dryer first but doubt it would come out well. If you have the 2.4l it can be a little more complicated but no more so than what you are probably use to. Other than that change all fluids, cooling system, engine oil and filter, transmission filter and fluid, brake fluid.
 
So, basically, heat to soften and form. Then I would use cloths or something to keep it's shape until cooled? Makes sense. I'll give it a shot. Or I'll wait until we have our 110 degree summer and form it back then?

THANKS!
Mark
 
Mark, let me know how it goes. The same thing happened to the grand am I just bought. I was just going to replace it with one from the junkyard but if it can be repaired without too much trouble I'll give it a go.
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With the heat here in the summer (that caused it to curl in the first place), I may use that to my advantage since the car will be parked outside. Wait til about noon-two pm when it is good an hot, start wedging towels wrapped around sand bag weights (girl thing), between the windshield and the pad to massage it down. If that doesn't work, I'll try other things. I haven't been able to find one in a wrecking yard anyway. If all else fails, I'll trim off the curling parts and throw on a "Dashmat". I keep you posted on how things go!

Mark
 
:s Yeah, I don't know that I will have any luck either but also have the heat - TX. Ok I'll try to tackle it on my end once I finish rebuilding the engine. I'll post if anything works also.
 
No and my Grand Am got in a wreck so I'll probably get another at some point but I just don't need it right now. My plan would be to take the dash out itself and heat it, then glue it down.

Other people don't want to go that far so they may just put a rubber hose at the forward part of the dash to help keep the curl down. Then again mine was curling around the leg area so that would still be an issue.
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WiggyHD said:
I just bought my daughter a 1999 Grand Am with 115,000 on it. The biggest eyesore on it is the dashpad curling up where it meets the windshield, and where it meets the instrument panel bezel (two humps over gages). I bought new plugs and filters for it the day we brought it home, and there was quite a bit of oil in the spark plug valley. I assume that would be one of the cam cover gaskets or the timing cover. So:

A) Glad to be a new member of the forums!
B) Is it possible to replace the dash pad, or de-curl the dashpad?
C) Is it best to let a shop take care of the oil leaks? I am a competent mechanic with 20 years of maintaining Military aircraft.
D) Are there typical things I should look for that are usually in need of attention on this car? Any recommended updates?

This is her first car, so I finally might get Father/Daughter time with her making repairs or updates.

THANKS!
Mark
Click to expand...
https://youtu.be/7vU7egZ2enA
 
My grand am had this issue... so bad it literally broke my defroster grill into pieces. I was doing the hose under the windshield for awhile until the 100+ degree heat was making the hoses pop out on their own. Happened one day and I was in a mood so I got frustrated and started screwing the damn thing down. Worked surprisingly well. I used a 90° flexible arm attachment on my impact so the screws could be placed so that theu weren't visible from inside the cabin.
 
Meathead said:
My grand am had this issue... so bad it literally broke my defroster grill into pieces. I was doing the hose under the windshield for awhile until the 100+ degree heat was making the hoses pop out on their own. Happened one day and I was in a mood so I got frustrated and started screwing the damn thing down. Worked surprisingly well. I used a 90° flexible arm attachment on my impact so the screws could be placed so that theu weren't visible from inside the cabin.
Click to expand...
Was it white because I bought one with screws in the dash like that
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Meathead said:
My grand am had this issue... so bad it literally broke my defroster grill into pieces. I was doing the hose under the windshield for awhile until the 100+ degree heat was making the hoses pop out on their own. Happened one day and I was in a mood so I got frustrated and started screwing the damn thing down. Worked surprisingly well. I used a 90° flexible arm attachment on my impact so the screws could be placed so that theu weren't visible from inside the cabin.
Click to expand...
How well did this work? Is it possible to see pics? I at the point of doing what Wiggy HD was talking about with cutting it and putting a Dashmat on it.

Thanks
 
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