cracking dash from extreme heat..

[Slappy]

Modified by Slappy at 10:30 PM 9/13/2007

[nismodrfts13]

yeah whats that all about?!?! i have 92' and shes cracked like a poop shoot, it sucks any clue where to gte a new dash? anyone? i need to fix my poop shoot

[lonelywanderer]

same thing happened to me... i just bought a dash cover until i can swap in my uncracked dash....

[1991S13]

I don't know if there is any way to stop it...

I was told to smear vaseline onto the dash and rub it in to soften it up and prevent cracking caused by the heat. Maybe if you start to now it would prevent it from getting bigger?

[Florida240sx]

I got some fiberglass...Too late to fix.Yuo might be able to put somehtign in between.But after a while the crack will get bigger and you got to do it again.

[SLiC]

Same **** happened to my S14... lousy Utah desert air. I don't see any way of fixing it, and replacing the entire dash just seems like it would be expensive and a pain. Now I have an ugly dash cover to keep it from cracking more.

[naed240sx]

This is just a guess, but I am sure that the slowly cracking plastic problem is similar to a cracked windshield. One crack will slowly start growing and growing. The only way to stop this is to drill a small hole through the very tip of the crack, so that now the separating force is distributed across an arc rather than at a point. So... drill out the tip of the crack, find some liquid plastic, or glue or whatever you want, and fill in the hole. I am pretty sure that this would solve your problem.

[PrinzII]

What protectants have you been using on your dashes? Chances are that the protectant combined with the heat may have accelerated things.

[bentsprocket]

Mine done this, this year. I used epoxy(( clear )) then used a sponge to form the roughness. Cause our dashes aren't smooth. I then used a mixture of flat black and semi black to blend it in. Guess what.......? I looks like shet.The only reason I done this, is the guys who did my interior said it would prevent it from speading. It did stop but the clear epoxy alone looked somewhat better. If I missed something he said it would explain the ugliness

[Clearalbino]

Hey Bentsprocket, What company paint did you use on the dash?

[Graphfixz]

you can stop it buy drilling a little hole at the ends of the crack.

[naed240sx]

so you have tried that? see my post above^ I know it works for glass, so it seems like it would work for a dash too. Good to know thanks

[BomexS13]

I guess try to "moisturize" the dash to prevent it from cracking. Excessive heat causes cracking. I wipe mine with lexol every week.

[Rusted_PS13]

I went with your idea today Naed240sx, but i didn't know what to fill it in with...any ideas?

BTW: I used a needle to make a small hole for the tips

[naed240sx]

um, my all-purpose filler stuff is called shoe goo. It comes in black or clear, and is for repairing shoes. Its basically rubber in a tube, dries in like 12 hours and remains very flexible. Try finding some of that, or a very similar product is available at home depo, called carpenters goop. It doesnt come in black, but with such a small hole, you cant go wrong i guess.