maverik259

Anyone know if this is possible? I've found several threads on how to take apart the cluster which I have done so far as it sits in peices on my floor lol...but I cant seemt o get the plastic from the face and I'm afraid of cracking it :O

maverik259

heres a dry fit of the side portions of what I am trying to do. I was able to squeeze them in from the backside but I cant get the middle one in w/o taking the plastic off...any ideas. Please help!

maverik259

lol ok so I'm 95% sure its glued in...thinking about taking a blow dryer to it to loosen the glue and then slowly pulling it off...maybe even a bit of oven at like 150...anythoughts?

maverik259

haha wat noone loves me?

fookoo303

i dont think 150 will be enough. The inside of your car on a really hot summer day prob reaches close to that temp and stuff isn't falling apart. But I've only put headlights in an oven so my guess is no better than yours haha.

maverik259

what temp did you use for the head lamps?

maverik259

i've thought about just buying a used one off ebay for like 50 and testing out on that one lol

phister

I'd buy a heat gun and do it that way instead of the oven but thats me, Ive seen guys do it about 250 in the oven.

maverik259

ya i was leaning towards the heat gun myself...

tommy

Oven would be much easier and give a uniform heating; the heat gun would just be a PITA.

Have a friend with a Honda do it; they've probably done it several times already.

fookoo303

I use between 230 and 250 and up to 20 minutes in the oven. It's different for every light. But headlights have a ton of glue that needs to be heated up. A cluster wont have nearly as much so i would think to leave it in for 2 to 5 minutes at 200. If it's not enough put back in for a couple more minutes. It's all gonna be trial and error.

dynomite05

I would buy that used one to practice on. If you F your up it's going to cost more than $50...

BF_JC230

Chances are it is not a solvent bond as to not craze the clear polycarbonate....it is most likely a sealant bond which would require a hot uniform heat. Polycarbonate begins to transition form at 310 degrees Fahrenheit, so anything this high, or more could cause it to lose it's optically clear properties...the housing is most likely ABS and will begin to transition around 210 degrees...I have a spare housing in storage - I will try and take a look to confirm material and construction opinion.

maverik259

so your basically saying that I should keep the oven under 210 to keep the form of the abs intact?

And ya I mean the part itself is 200 online but It would be easier just to buy a used cluster for like 50-60 and part it to replace the shield if my experiment goes wrong...

maverik259

well its in the oven as we speak. so wish me luck. xx

maverik259

ya this is pointless...the glue won't separate and i had it at 230 for 15 minutes...the i noticed the top edge of the clear part started to slightly deform so i ripped it out of the oven...can't lie I'm sorta pissed but whatever...

maverik259

so after cracking the right side of the plastic I decided to just bend the cf overlay and manipulate into the housing and go figure, it effing worked and turns out I did all this work for nothing!!!!!! fml

maverik259

btw fitment is perfect...I was actually surprised by that being that it only cost like $10 and it was from ebay

maverik259

reassembled

dynomite05

lol, it looks good. Shame you had to go through that though.

phister

Niiiccceee looks good

maverik259

now my cluster is all effed up...i installed with the key out of the ignition etc

dynomite05

uh oh

maverik259

ya i mean if i move the cable around i occasionally will get the mileage to show up but it goes away just as fast as it showed up...not sure what the deal is...i didnt touch the board with all the electronics etc...only the front fascia...

97W202

my boy mav went through a mission but said **** this I am spartan theres nothing I cant do! looks sick !! now I am scared to do mine lol

dyno dont u have a bezel installed? how did u do it?