So I have a rusted cowl , leaking into the cab and need to remove the dashboard to seal it up. How is this accomplished?

 

You only have to remove the heater assembly to work on the passengers side, not much to remove on the drivers side. By removing the dash, all you will be doing is exposing the heater, and control brackets (clutch peddle, brake peddle, ect...) on the drivers side. The top of the dash is spot welded to the body, so that doesn't come off without A LOT of work.

If you do want to remove the dash, remove the guage trim, the gauges, the heater controls, the radio, and the cardboard insert in the glove compartment. Then, remove the screws right in front of the dash pad, on the top of the dash. Then remove the dash pad. Now you can start to unbolt the dash. It's been a couple years since I've done this, so I might be a little off. I'm sure you could search the archives for more info. There is a bracket in the middle, one bolt going into the kick panel on either side, and bolts or screws along the top. I think it's bolted around the steering column too. take it easy as you remove it, and you will find all the hardware. Good luck.

 

I removed the dash in my 75 F250 4x4 by simply unbolting it, it was not welded anywhere.

Pre'80 must be thinking of those poor chebbie guys with welded-in dashes that are impossible to remove

 

The top of the dash is welded to the body. The part where the speaker mounts, and the defrost vents are.

 

The ones I have pulled were not welded. I can only speak from my experiences. Not every truck is the same. Just unbolt your dash until you it is free or you find some welds.

 

Yes, you are correct the dash is welded to the cab at the point you are talking about. Just behind the dash pad there is 5 special shoulder screws remove those and the rest of the dash can be removed by unbolting it. Check out this item on e-bay 8009458077, in the 3rd pic you can see a cab with dash removed. I have a better pic of my truck with dash removed at home, if you need it just let me know. I'll post it in my gallery. -Ed