For some time now I have known that, during previous ownership, my S8 had been subject to some "uninformed" (brutal) trim removal. The amount of wiring etc. found lying hidden related to a non-OEM mobile phone installation gives me a clue as to who.
As I go around working on things I'm slowly rectifying as best I can. Today's topic is the drivers knee panel.
As far as I can tell it has five (5) fixings in total:
- 2 * T25 bolts, one each side of the steering column
(behind ends of curved trim strip below column that just clips on/off)
- 2 * 8mm hex head bolts, bottom left and bottom right, upwards in shallow recesses.
(left into metal clip on plastic lug on transmission side panel trim, right into metal clip near bonnet release handle)
- top right upwards in deep recess into fixing below/behind air vent to right of steering column.
The bottom left fixing is pretty frail and was damaged and useless; I've actually removed the lug on the side panel for convenience of other jobs as it adds very little useful support being close to the top left one.
The top far right one however is important as it helps support the stowage tray.
Mine had been completely ripped out, no bolt/screw, no retaining clip/socket above and just a ragged hole in the bottom of the dashboard trim where the fixing should be secured.
I'm going to try and reinstate some sort of fixing, as close to OEM as is feasible.
So can someone tell me what is normally there please?
I presume there is some sort of screw or bolt going upwards and some sort of threaded bracket or clip fixed to the dashboard lower edge.
Is this a typical metal bolt and clip setup or a plastic post pushed and turned into a slot or something else?
I'm going to fix something rigid across the ragged hole to provide a basis for attaching, but what attachment is used will influence the material I use and how to fix it.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions and extended leather. Ski hatch retrofit. Aftermarket reversing camera. DVB-T and XCarlink now removed as redundant.
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation".
(Even rarer than a D2 S8!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. Agate Grey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, Tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course.
(internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon. Added Auto-dim mirror, Leather seats, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
