Center console is stuck!

[Daryl]

Ok, did everything right: removed shifter knob; removed shifter bezel; removed the 2 7mm screws from the dash; removed all 4 screws from the armrest/storage compartment; unplugged fogs, cigarette lighter and all electrical connections underneath the console.
And I still can’t get the console out. I’ve tried every which way and angles.

1. Still feels like there’s something holding it in… maybe around the area adjacent the inboard passenger seat seat belt (female end, not the buckle)

And
3. Do I need to to remove the brake lever? If so, is it just that one dinky-ass screw?

I can angle the whole piece up and get to within about 3” to the end (or top) of the brake lever, but no further without risking snapping the whole piece in two!

Any help, pointers or tricks?

 

[ttocs]

you need to yank the brake lever as hard as you can to get it up as far as possible and then you can wiggle it on/off. It is no fun.

 

[Daryl]

I’ll try cranking on it again, but I gave it a good shot earlier. Maybe if I get in the back seat, position myself with one foot on the back of each seat, then reach out with both hands and pull like a MoFo ?? ROFLMFAO

 

[07GtS197]

Be careful not to pull the e brake up too hard. I did that in my blue 00 gt and ripped it off the floor pan. It is a pain in the ass to get out but you have to angle the rear up as high as it goes to clear. At least that’s what worked for me in the past.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Stand on the brake pedal pretty hard when you pull the e brake. It makes it go up easier.

 

[Daryl]

Any downside or risks involved in removing the nuts fore and aft to get the brake lever out of the way?

 

[Daryl]

Stand on the brake pedal pretty hard when you pull the e brake. It makes it go up easier.

Cool, thx. Got a couple more clicks out of it!

 

[Daryl]

GOT IT!!! But it actually came out pretty easily after those last few clicks (thx again, lwarrior) by bringing the front up and away from the dash/shift lever instead of raising the back up.

Hey, whatever works, right?!

 

[Daryl]

Successfully removed retaining piece, in tact, by using a solder and plastic wrench to break the plastic-welds

 

[Daryl]

At this point, do I line up the new rubber and retainer piece and just go tab by tab and plastic-weld staples back into it to hold in place? Or use remaining tabs, heat them back up and “mush” them back into place? I’m guessing Plan A.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Use as much original stuff as you can, makes it easier/quicker. But have plastic weld sticks on hand in case what's remaining isn't enough to hold it down.

 

[Daryl]

Use as much original stuff as you can, makes it easier/quicker. But have plastic weld sticks on hand in case what's remaining isn't enough to hold it down.

A little preemptive surgery! Some light dabs of contact cement to hold the rubber in place. Then stitch retainer over it with plastic-weld staples

 

[shovel]

If you just spend 30 seconds with the biggest pliers you have you can disconnect the ebrake cables from the rear calipers and then not risk bending or tearing the cable stops under the console.

 

[ttocs]

if ya thought getting if off was fun(that's what she said) wait till you try to get it back on now with the new boot on that brake

 

[Daryl]

Maybe I lucked out, but it went back into place very readily. Thankfully; you had me a bit apprehensive there, Scott! Needed an extra set of hands so used a “two-buh” to pro up the back end while I reattached all connections.

 

[Daryl]

After plasti-welding in the stitches and clipping the ends off, I went back with the soldering Gun and melted plastic over the stitches to help anchor them.

 

[GTamas]

Nicely done! I think this is going to be one of my winter projects.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Very nice. Good work Daryl

 

[Daryl]

GTamas,
Next advice is what I got here from lwarrior: crank that brake lever back real good (without snapping something of course). That made all the difference in getting the console off.

Other than that, it wasn’t as bad a project as I thought it was going to be. Message me if you need pointers when you get around to doing it.

Cheers!

 

[Daryl]

Very nice. Good work Daryl

Thanks, warrior! Feels good to finally do something myself… minuscule as it was, but still…..