JimC
January 5th, 2005, 06:21 PM
Pretty much everyone here expects to find some rust on the Defender, but while I was disassembling the 90, I unexpectedly discovered that my dash had rusted out.
This steel panel is hidden under the plastic tray and is backed with foam, a situation which evidently leads to rust when combined with constant water intrusion. I have to admit I'm not very good at remembering to close my dash vents, but I'm guessing this would have been a problem even if I did keep them closed.
You can see that the panel has actually rusted through in at least three places. Since the lower dash doubles as the heater plenum, warm air was escaping through holes that didnt lead to the defrosters...
Pic 1 shows the problem, pretty self explanatory. A control cable for the foot vents runs through the panel.
Pic 2 displays the old crappy panel next to the new stainless one sourced from Rovers Down South. I just transferred the hole markings and drilled them out.
Pic 3, all installed and looking pretty. I attached it with #6 1/2" stainless screws and silly-cone. Too bad its gonna get covered back up with a dull grey plastic panel.
This steel panel is hidden under the plastic tray and is backed with foam, a situation which evidently leads to rust when combined with constant water intrusion. I have to admit I'm not very good at remembering to close my dash vents, but I'm guessing this would have been a problem even if I did keep them closed.
You can see that the panel has actually rusted through in at least three places. Since the lower dash doubles as the heater plenum, warm air was escaping through holes that didnt lead to the defrosters...
Pic 1 shows the problem, pretty self explanatory. A control cable for the foot vents runs through the panel.
Pic 2 displays the old crappy panel next to the new stainless one sourced from Rovers Down South. I just transferred the hole markings and drilled them out.
Pic 3, all installed and looking pretty. I attached it with #6 1/2" stainless screws and silly-cone. Too bad its gonna get covered back up with a dull grey plastic panel.