Dash Cracking Solution

[SWERYD]

As a first time (happy) 944 owner, the one I recently bought has the typical dash cracks I understand most of us suffer from. I've owned many cars over the years and never had this problem and,as much as I've read about the problem, I still have unanswered questions.

First, does anyone know what causes the 944 dash to crack as consistently as it does? Since replacing the dash with a reconditioned one seems to be the most expensive alternative, I'm hesitant to do it after reading reports that the same thing will happen to the new one in a year or so.

Covering it up with a custom cut "rug" really doesn't appeal to me (but, then, I also refuse to get a toupee).

I've seen a couple of the ABS covers on cars and they don't look that bad but I understand, over time, there are problems with those as well although I'm not really clear what the problems are.

Which all leaves me with a cracked dash in an otherwise pretty good looking interior. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Dave Colangelo]

Not sure of the exact reason but I will say this.

If I had to guess the dash cracking is a mix of a few things. I had some bad dash cracking on my 88 924S. In part the sun degrades the material they use to cover the dash and causes it to become very brittle. I think it simply drys out. On top of that what ever material is under it most likely gets some moisture in it and expands a bit. This in my opinion is what causes the cracks to become so present. I noticed quite a bit of warping and swelling like behavior in my 924S. I now always use a sun shield in my 944 to keep any direct light off the dash when its parked. You must also remember that many people dont keep average cars as long as they do there Porsche's. Im sure this happens on other cars but no one has bothered to care enough to keep the car until it happens. If it does not bother you that much I say use the money on mechanical fixes that are more important. You may want to consider looking for a parts car with a good dash, getting it for the dash then selling off the rest.

Many people here have recovered there dashes in a variety of ways and I dont think there is one solution that works best but many that work well. I would say that storing the car out of direct sunlight and in a relatively dry garage will do more for you than any thing else.

Regards
Dave

[Arthropraxis]

The dash cover material they used was basically a vacuum formed heat shrink plastic. It can only go through so many UV heat cycles before it cracks. I took mine out and recovered it with a kit from classic 9's. It is not hard to do and looks great.

[stogie25]

I found a cracked dash cheap a few years ago. I had it recovered professionally. I spent a long day swapping dashes. It still looks perfect. The cost was only about $250.00
Before

During


After

[Cocacolakidd]

Two things cause our dashes to crack - both from exposure to the Sun. The first is that the ultraviolet rays dry the polymers out of the plastic covering on the dash. Thus the plastic becomes brittle and cracks easily. The second cause is the heat through the windshield expanding the dry/brittle plastic, then comes the night time when the plastic cools and shrinks, thus causing cracking because the material can no longer expand and contract.

So the best way is to recover the dash with a cover made by "Classic 9" (Made by Porsche owners for Porsche owners) - very reasonable prices for the quality.

There was a kit out a few years back that guaranteed good results with about 8 different small bottles of vinyl repair liquid - So you just filled and smoothed all of the cracks on the dash. The only problem with the kit was once the material cured the repair looked worse than before....

Once the dash is recovered always cover with a dash cover or a windshield sun screen when its sitting in the sun and not driven.

[SWERYD]

Thanks all for the input so far. Stogie25....that's a nice looking dash and I like the rest of the interior. Different and tasteful...I like it. Why does the picture of the dash pulled out make me want to just throw a rug over mine? I think I'd rather get under and put in a new clutch.

Anyone out there had any experience (good or bad) with the ABS covers?

[Cocacolakidd]

A dash pull is not all that difficult - every thing can only go back as it came out...ie, all electrical plugs are different and can only go back to where they came from - very difficult to cross any wiring - fasteners may be placed differently or lost easily - pay attention to where they go.

Go to: Clark's Garage Home Page
Left hand column choose garage shop manual.
Go down to Body - 24
BODY-24, Dash Replacement choose Late Model or Early Model

do not get in a hurry and you will have it out in about three hours - recover time - back in in three hours...

[honerboys]

i put an abs cover on the dash in my toyota truck about 12 years ago - still looks great - based on that experience i bought one to put in my sons 944 - glued it down per instructions and within 2 months it had warped so badly that we took it out - now we have a dash with silicone strips all over it - i think the quality of the abs covers has worsened over the years - the 944 one felt thinner (cheesier) than the one in the toyota - so i would not recommend one unless you never park in the sun

[89-944NA]

I installed a Classic 9 recovered dash for a friend a few months ago (March 2012), WORST job I have ever seen. They cut the material to short on the airbag cover you can see the cut edge, dash center trim (the black piece that goes from the door to the climate control) would not fit correctly, HUGE gap at the top of the airbag cover, glove box door will not fit properly because of the HUGE welts on either side of the door. See photo of the installed Classic 9 dash.

You can see the huge sewn welts that keep the glove box door from closing properly, no matter how much it was adjusted. Just above the lighter, that white line is the edge of the material where it was cut to short. Look at the top of the airbag cover, you can see the VALLEY that was left during the recover process. Look on either side of the glove box door on the dash proper, huge sewn welts kept the trim from fitting properly, stitching was crooked and the sewn welts made it darn near impossible to get the gauge surround back in place. And for this he paid $900....not counting the install labor

Stogie, who did the recover on your dash, I need mine done and I don't want the seam nor the same quality job found in my picture.