How do you take instrument panel out of 1987 s-10 pickup?

Answer 1

Depends on what you want to do. It's relatively straightforward, though: identify the panel you want to take off, find the screws holding it on, and take them out. Most of the screws in the interior of these vehicles are either 1/4" or 9/32", some with flat or Phillips screwheads as well, and there's a few slightly bigger ones here and there. As a general rule, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.

On the bottom passenger side, there's a kickpanel; to do anything over here, this must come off first. You can also take out the back panel of the glovebox to give you a bit of access to the area behind there. To take off the ductwork, you have to pull off the two hoses on top (through the glovebox) and find all the screws around it (there's one by the hoses, one at the top right way up in there, and a few on the bottom). You also have to take out the ECM, which is attached to the bottom of the dashboard with a screw near the passenger door. Make sure the ignition is off, and then carefully unplug the three sets of wires and pull it out. You might have to take off the molded plastic side panel near the door to wiggle it free.

The front center panel comes out really easy with three screws, and after that, the ash tray and radio come out. The radio has to be unscrewed on both sides, unplugged from four sets of wires plus the antenna in the back. You have to wiggle it a bit to get it out, but pay attention to the white posts on the side that hold it securely; it must come out of the driver's side brace before the passenger's side will come free. The cigarette lighter / accessory plug wire is just clipped on.

With that out, you have access to most of the passenger side guts of the interior. The heater core is a big copper grille behind the ductwork on the bottom and has pipes that stick into your engine compartment and hook onto a hose carrying coolant from your engine and one out to your radiator. You can also access the ductwork itself, as well as the hoses and routing mechanisms. This stuff is all physically controlled with cables connected to the HVAC control panel by the right of the steering column.

On the driver's side, you also have to start from the bottom. There's the fuse panel, closest to the driver's door, which comes out with a flathead screwdriver. Then, next to that, there's a panel around the bottom of the steering wheel. This comes out with a Phillips screwdriver and about six or seven screws. You also have to take out the parking break release to get this panel out. To do this, get on your back and look up under the fuse panel; you should see a cable with a spring on it with a ball holding it to a curved piece of metal. If you're not sure, pull the release and watch the parts move. You can just use your finger to pull the ball out, and then unscrew the release cable from the front and pull it down and out. The panel under the steering wheel should pull off.

That's as much as I've torn my cab apart. I know you might have been looking for the instrument panel above the steering wheel, but it should be pretty straightforward from here. There's a few screws to take out, they should mostly be visible, but if it's sticking in one spot, find out why and either take out the screw or wiggle it free. If you're still having problems, Google a bit or find a Haynes or Chiltons manual, they usually can tell you enough for you to be able to figure it out.