E30 Zone

There is a very slowly growing crack in my 1990 316i's dashboard It is in the right hand corner of the depression (coin tray?) in front of the passenger (corner nearest the driver).
I have found a similar post about this but it advocates a new dashboard.
I want to stop the crack from spreading & then fill it - I can cover it some way. I would have thought that a flexible sealant would cope with winter cold & summer sun - something like a boat hull sealant?
There must be other circumstances where a surface needs to be filled which is exposed to wide temperature variations & vibration.
Any ideas please?

Forgive the pessimism, but if there is a specialist product available the chances are it will cost more than a replacement un-cracked dash!

Never seen a good repair on an E30 dashboard yet.

They have all been more noticeable than the crack!

Vinyl repair kits in Halfrauds are £15!!!!!!!!

Minty s/hand dash no more than £20 on here.

If you fill it, you will have to paint the filler. If you paint the filler, you will have to paint the rest of the dash to get a match. If you are to paint the rest of the dash, you will have to remove it. If you are going to remove it, you may as well swap it for a good dash, should only cost you £30-40 for a good 2nd hand replacement.

iv got a dashboard if u need one its mint aswell

While you are wondering what to do you could drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading any further.

I filled a crack in mine with hard bumper fill, and then it spit again! Best swap the dash.

If you want to stop a crack spreading, then drill a small hole at the end of it.(where its spreading)

This spreads the force out from the small point at the end of a crack, to a round small circle, so it will no longer split. A bit of physics in action there!! I guarentee that will work!

HTH

I have a crack in the exact same spot. Have had the car for 4 years and it hasn't grown (I think) but have thought long and hard about how to fix it and come to the conclusion there's no way except a replacement dash.. Hence the reason it's still there..

what's a small crack between friends, hey?!?

I have 3 large cracks in my dash - was supposed to get one off a dude but he let me down!! I heard the same horror stories "it aint worth doing it"..... Its so annoying when people get in and go "what happend thereeeeeeee" Theyve got bigger in the last year... all of a sudden

I'll have a nice cracked dash which will be going free if anyone would like to experiment with filler as I've got a replacement one waiting to be fitted at the weekend

I keep wondering if black silicon would work...
Got a small crack in the same place as everyone else...

take a drill and put a shallow hole at the very end of the crack thus dissipating the force creating the crack over the maximum possible area, real life physics.

That will stop any crack growing!

march109 wrote:take a drill and put a shallow hole at the very end of the crack thus dissipating the force creating the crack over the maximum possible area, real life physics.

That will stop any crack growing!

^^^^^^^^^

Here's a step by step guide to changing the dash:

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ecdeegan9/das ... ard_1.html

I've done it - it took a day but wasn't too bad so long as you remember to label everything as you take it apart

I had to change mine as well it took two weekends (car was off the road anyway for the tin worm season and i wasn't in a rush) it was a time consuming pain in the ar5e but sooooo worth it! looks far better now and i don't have to explain why i've got a crack in my dash every time i have someone in the car!

I was advised 4 hours to swap the dash, is that a bit optimistic?

Will it be better starting it on the friday night to finish by sat lunch time you reckon?

Cheers

i recon it only took around 7 or 8 hours in total but i took my time to label everything, 4 hours seems a bit quick best to take your time and get everything back in the first time... nothin worse than thinkin your close to finishin somethin and realising you've left somethin out or somethin not "hooked" up!

if you have a non cracked dash use baby wipes on it to clean it and the wipe also containes a moistiorisor ? have done this for over a year since owning my car and the dash now has that press feel .and i have a replacemrnt dash easy removal and fit 2hr job start to finish

I used evostick and dark grey paint,you can still see the result.Just do not fancy swapping the dash due to one tiny crack.