Guage cluster bezel install gone wrong. Help!?
#1
Guage cluster bezel install gone wrong. Help!?
I got a red anodized aluminum gauge cluster bezel. It is suppose to go between the clear lens and gauge cluster housing, over the factory black bezel. I (perhaps wrongly) assumed I should use heat to separate the lens from the housing. When I went to remove the clear lens, it cracked. Not so bad I couldn't get it back on so I can drive my car, but it doesn't look very nice with a big crack. Is there anywhere I can just get the clear lens, or am I going to have to get the whole unit? If so, what is the best way to get the clear lens off the new unit so I don't crack it again? My car is a 01 V6 base model.
#4
Thanks Dragul for the part #, I'll look it up. I didn't damage the cluster or the cluster housing, just the "mask", so I really wasn't wanting to buy a whole new unit. I think part of the issue getting it off may have been the cluster was the stock one, and has been baking in 100+ degree weather for 12 years so whatever adhesive had really fused on there. Before I replaced them, I had taken the lenses off the stock headlights to try and clean them with heat, which is why I assumed I could do it with the cluster housing.
#5
I looked that up. It's the whole unit, which I'm thinking is the only replacement I'm going to be able to get. This is the bezel I was trying to install- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Mustang-94-04-Red-Anodized-Brushed-Aluminum-Dash-Gauge-Bezel-Trim-/290697606841?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A2001%7CModel%3AMustang&hash=item43aeed76b9&vxp=mtr It has to go between the clear plastic and sits on top of the black plastic. Its not a guage overlay, the cluster housing separated from the gauges just fine. My husband says if it looks like it's going to be an issue again, he'll cut the clear plastic off with a dremel this time and re-glue it.
Sorry for any confusing language here, I'm not that up on proper terminology for all this stuff. I've kind of been learning along the way and trying to stick with cosmetic upgrades to my car and figured this wouldn't be *that* difficult of a project.
Sorry for any confusing language here, I'm not that up on proper terminology for all this stuff. I've kind of been learning along the way and trying to stick with cosmetic upgrades to my car and figured this wouldn't be *that* difficult of a project.
Last edited by Kiwicrazybird; 05-11-2013 at 08:29 PM.
#6
Is this what you are looking for?http://www.americanmuscle.com/guage-...ens-black.html This is the only way I have ever seen them come. I have never seen just the clear plastic front for sale, not to say somewhere out there someone may sell it. I assume the part you are trying to install goes inside this.
Last edited by DRAGUL; 05-11-2013 at 09:16 PM.
#7
It's really just the clear plastic that needs to be replaced, but I think that who unit is going to be my only option. They seem to only make just the clear part for 93 and prior models. What I really need to know is the proper way to remove the clear plastic from the black plastic part. I think my hubby may be right about cutting it off, since I can't find any videos or articles or anything about how to separate them otherwise. The company that sold the red bezel cover had another example vehicle (some kind of truck) in their install video where the plastic came off when the screws did. I spent A LOT of time precisely gluing chrome gauge bezels on the red bezel for a really custom look, and I'm really determined now to get that bezel in there. Once I got the clear part off, the bezel fit perfectly, so I know it's in the right spot in the housing.
#8
I really don't think the clear plstic is supposed to come off. I would not use a dremel on the replacement, I don' think that would end well. Check out the installation instructions at American Muscle for their reverse glow white face gauge overlay. The .PDF is down loadable from the installation tab of the product page. That shows how to remove the the dash component to get to the cluster. The white face gauges would look wicked awesome against the red bezel. Maybe I'm totally misunderstanding your situation, but good luck!
Last edited by Vertigo_GT; 05-12-2013 at 07:39 AM.
#9
I think I'm too new to add pics to my threads, so I posted a pic of it in my albums- https://mustangforums.com/forum/memb...ms-pics-1.html Mabey I'm not seeing it, but I can't figure out any other way to put it in besides removing the clear plastic. If it goes behind the whole "mask" unit, you can't see it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
tj@steeda
Steeda Autosports
0
09-10-2015 08:39 PM