Center console wood installation
 

I pulled the center console wood out of where it's supposed to go while removing the radio (I actually don't remember why), and I can't get it properly re-installed. I can get it into the place it's supposed to be, but I can't get it to stay there. It's currently sitting there loose. I've got the part in front into the right spot, and have tried pushing down on the back end to no avail. THe back end's still loose. What am I doing wrong?

Also, the carpeting in the rear part of the center console...can that be run through a washing machine? I can remove the small piece of carpet from the car, and would like to get it cleaned up...

Thanks in advance!

Also, just wondering, is there a burlwood console available anywhere with just the holes for the window switches, the passenger's side mirror power control, and the 4-ways (also, obviously, the gearbox shifter)? I'm eventually gonna eliminate the fader control from the radio system, and dont' want it sitting there just to fill the hole, but I don't want a hole there either. Or is there any suggestion for something to take its place? :) Thanks!

If our center consoles are the same,( my 300cd), there is a bracket under the ash tray with a spacer under it. Place the spacer so when you just start to get the bracket snug ( so to not put too much pressure on the front end as to cause a bend it in the middle which might cause cracking) while pushing forward on the back of the center console to engage the keeper pin.

As for the carpet wash it in the washer but let it air dry unless you have a wool setting on your dryer.

There's supposed to be a plastic peg on the back of the console wood. Pretty easy to break it off if you're not careful. The peg slides into a hole in near the front of the carpet thingy that you're trying to clean up.

I saw what appears to be the remains of that peg...there's still a bit of a lip, but not much. Can the peg be replaced by itself? Actually, also, can the rubber trim piece that goes around the shifter box be replaced by itself? Mine's cracked at all 4 corners. :(

Thanks! BTW, I still have the ashtray, along with the metal piece that it goes onto, removed...I'll probably leave that out 'till I get the new radio installed...

Re: Center console wood installation
 

i've actually been thinking about this one for a while:

1) button for airhorn
2) button for oil slick :D
3) input jack for MP3 player, or other portable electronics
4) power output for portable electronics

not sure what kind of clearance is underneath, but one day i'll rip it apart and find out...

I am sure there is enough room for these items, except the power output. These things could also be located where the ash tray is.

Letting it dry's no problem. However, which setting should I use on the washing machine? If it won't hurt the fabric, I'd like to wash it on the HOT cycle (the carpet's extremely dirty; I just doused it in SHOUT and have it soaking in cold water for a bit).

Thanks!

Yeah, that's great but what about the static cling?

Been there etc....
 

I pulled the console carpet out and scrubbed it down with Simple Green and a stiff brush before hosing off and letting it air dry on a sunny day. Lots 'o nastiness came out with the water, but it dried nicely and looks much better. I'd still like to eventually replace it because the PO used some glue trying to get the center console wood to stay down (instead of floating up). Which brings me to...

Normally, a 1-2" plastic rod extending from underneath the center (wood) shifter surround goes into a hole in the plastic part of the console when sliding the center shift surround piece forward to the point where the ashtray bracket holds it in place. My plastic rod was also broken off. I fixed it by cannibalizing a 240D plastic console. I used a hacksaw to cut the intact rod off the 240D console and glued it to the wood console with JB Weld. It's held up fine for the last 8 or 9 months, so I think it's a permanent fix. You could probably also use a wood dowel of the same diameter.

Using the 240D console had two added bonuses:

1) I used a utility knife to cut out one of the pieces stamped into the plastic as a placeholder for an auxiliary switch of some kind. It was just a matter of cutting enough plastic to release the switch cover. It snapped into the hole previously occupied by my fader wheel in the wood console shifter surround and looks much better. Not as nice as wood, but better...

2) Second bonus was a slightly better rubber shifter surround. It came off very easily and went on with no problem to replace the slightly less cracked one already there.

Joel

You purest will probably wheeze at what I did with my loose console. I drilled a 1/8" hole through the back of it on through to the metal underneath and then secured it with a chrome trim screw (one of those that has the washer attached). It looks nice and it holds it in place much better than the plastic pin. ;)