Center Console Removal,Gear Indicator Light Replacement Finally!

Ok now for the second time... This post will tell anyone how to remove the center console, and get to all of the shifter components. At the bottom there will be pictures of what is located inside the center console so you can decide if your problem exists there.

***And now for the legal stuff... All of these procedures were done on a 1990 Reatta, while other years may be similar I cannot guarantee it, I cannot be reponsible for any damages that may occure during this procedure, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK***(I fully trust every member on this forum but this is also viewable on public domain and I don't know every person in the world <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

Just a quick note: the first few pictures were taken of the console not in the car

Please read this whole page first before starting as it will cause less fustration.

Materials Needed: #15 Torx screwdriver, Socket Set(or at least a adjustable wrench),flat-head screwdriver, needle nose pliers(optional), #2 phillips screwdriver, and about 30-60 minutes of your time.

Before staring this project it is recomended that you put the car in Nuetral with the parking brake on and/or a wheel block, you will find out why later.

Ok ready? here it goes..

Step 1-Removale of the Glove box interior:

Using your screwdriver pry up the interior of the glove box as shown, it is held in by four clips in each corner so be carefull not to break anything, its best to pry each corner up first.

here is the what the clips look like:

after you have it removed, set aside.

Step 2-Removal of the plastic black dress cover:

Now remove the two torx screws that are located in the front of the glove box

Now remove the ash tray insert and remove the srew on the bottom

Now close the ashtray lid and remove the back of the plastic dress cover either with your hands or the screwdriver (this also uses those same clips)

Now the front must be lifted up, I found it easier using the screwdriver and lifting from the side

after removed, set aside.

Step 3-Removal of the silver plastic cover:

All you need to do here is remove the two front screws and lift out then set aside

***If all you require is a light bulb replacement, you can stop here if your hands are small enough. the bulb and retainer are located on the drivers side of the gear indicator, if you cannot feel it with your hands, you will see two wires, one is white one is black follow those up twords the gear indicator and then you should feel the bulb reatainer, just twist and pull and it should come out, If your hands are not small enough keep reading***

Step 4-Removal of the Center Console:

Using your Socket Set or wrench remove the two nuts that are located right as you look down from where the glove box would be.

Ok, now in about the center of the console you will see a "L" bracket, you want to remove the screw on the underside of that bracket

Now remove the two screws on the front bracket of the console

alright, now remove the two screws located in the fuse and relay compartments, there are two screws in each compartment

After that, remove the wire clips from the console I believe there are two, this is best done by needle nose pliers:

Ok, now here comes the fun part!. I will try my best to explain this.

Your goal right now is have the two pieces of plastic that stick out (the pieces that hold the dress cover screws) we will call these "tabs" to be sitting on top of the gear indicator.. see picture.

You have to think about your moves because each situation will be different, now first wedge the screwdriver between the front console bracket and the dash so that you will clear past any other dash components.

now you want to lift up on the front of the console so that you can lift up the console freely without the tabs getting caught on the indicator. but be carefull of the very front of the console because the drivers side molding can break during this, once you have the consol high enough that the tabs can move above the gear indicator move the consol backwards to rest the tabs on the gear indicator cover, now you will need to jiggle and wiggle the console around until it is free from the front(the car is in nuetral here because with the car in park the consol gets caught on the shift knob)

once it is free you can move it out of the car.

You should be left with this now:

The bulb is located in approx. the canter of the consol while looking from that angle. just turn the reatainer and pull and there you go:

Now for replacing/ repairing the anoying black vinyle coating that is on the shifter covering:

where it is silver in my car it is suposed to be black.

Ok to make repairs it would be easier to remove the whole indidcator panel, do this by the following steps:

Step 1-removing shifter knob:

remove the reatiainer pin from the shifter knob

lift up on the knob and set aside.

now your left with this:

Step 2-removing the gear indicaotr:

on the bottom of the indicator you will notice 4 screw bolts on each corner, remove all 4 with a socket or wrench,

Once all the bolts are removed lift up on the indicator and move to whereever you want to work on it.

Step 3-Repairing the black vinyl:

This is uncharted territory (from what I'm told) as you can see, on the bottom of the indicator there are plastic rivits that hold the top of the indicator cover on

If these were not on there from what it looks like you could simply remove the metal shield on the shifter and re-coat with black, but those plastic rivits break when trying to remove the top indicator cover, because I am perfectly happy with mine being silver I did not continue with the removal, because the only way of replacing the cover would be glue, the only other way is to try to run the shield completly off by pulling on one end, but the sleve for the shifter is in the way for that (unless you can get it to pop off) plus then you would need to work hard to put the shield back on.

If you have any questions feel free to ask or post a new reply, or if you have any suggestions or mistakes just post them, and I can add them into my post.

Here are the pictures:

Ok, last one:

Good Luck with your repairs!! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Also just want to say I could not have done this without other information provided by other forum users Thank You All

P.S. I made this a long title so it would be easier to search for in the future

Updated to include a phillips screwdriver, (I belive there were also phillips screws involved?)

Excellent writeup

Fantastic!! I think I can help on the black tape on the selector. See my post. Again, this is why this forum is the greatest.

Mark

Terrific ! Can't get any better! Thanks Brian....

I will definitely benefit what I replace my console chrome (had it rechromed) next week....

Or may wait until there is a selector tape resolution posted...

What a great presentation!!!! Thanks for all the hard work. Everyone with a 90-91 model need to save this. Outstanding.

This is a great presentation and I'm sure we all appreciate your time and effort! I replaced the shifter tape in a 90 about a year ago and found that I could remove the 4 bolts in the bottom without all the dissassembly you did. It was easy to get to the 2 in the rear out after removal of the console cover by reaching underneath and using a 1/4 inch drive rachet. The 2 in the front were more difficult but I was able to access them by removing the fuse panel on passenger's side and loosening the side panel to where I could slide my arm inside. Not easy but not impossible. It helps to have small hands! To replace the tape, one must dissassemble the shifter/gear indicator assembly. I did so by heating each melted rivet with a small soldering iron and prying the two pieces at the same time. When enough melting occurs, they pop apart and leave the rivet intact. With a little cleaning, the rivets can be reinserted and reheated so they again bond the 2 pieces. As for the tape, I used flat black adhesive signage tape. I made a hole punch to cut the hole for the shifter rod escutheon and heated the tape slightly with a hot air gun to make it more pliable. I have a lot of the tape left and can provide anyone who needs a section with the hole cut in it. I am also willing to do this work if anyone wants to send me the shifter assembly. Attached is a picture of my finished work.

Martel Gibson

All very well done info.

Martel, what is signage tape, please?

It is a heavy duty outdoor type tape that sign companies use the make signs. In my area they are often political posters, real estate signs, yard sale signs.

Attached is a picture of one. The tape is the black letters and is cut from a sheet almost the width of the sign.

Martel Gibson

Darn Martel....I'll take you up on that please....can you hold some tape for me ? I will send you an assy....actually just bought one from Jim Finn (I hope he is sending one....JIM? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

Thanks for the comments everyone, I just hope I remember'ed to include everything, I will re-check in a few as I put the console back.

Super presentation.

This is good to know if you ever want to put a factory CD player in a '90-'91

getting to the site is the hardest part and having the console out helps installation and doing the wire splice.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ok now for the second time... This post will tell anyone how to remove the center console, and get to all of the shifter components. At the bottom there will be pictures of what is located inside the center console so you can decide if your problem exists there.

***And now for the legal stuff... All of these procedures were done on a 1990 Reatta, while other years may be similar I cannot guarantee it, I cannot be reponsible for any damages that may occure during this procedure, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK***(I fully trust every member on this forum but this is also viewable on public domain and I don't know every person in the world <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

Just a quick note: the first few pictures were taken of the console not in the car

Please read this whole page first before starting as it will cause less fustration.

Materials Needed: #15 Torx screwdriver, Socket Set(or at least a adjustable wrench),flat-head screwdriver, needle nose pliers(optional), #2 phillips screwdriver, and about 30-60 minutes of your time.

Before staring this project it is recomended that you put the car in Nuetral with the parking brake on and/or a wheel block, you will find out why later.

Ok ready? here it goes..

Step 1-Removale of the Glove box interior:

Using your screwdriver pry up the interior of the glove box as shown, it is held in by four clips in each corner so be carefull not to break anything, its best to pry each corner up first.

here is the what the clips look like:

after you have it removed, set aside.

Step 2-Removal of the plastic black dress cover:

Now remove the two torx screws that are located in the front of the glove box

Now remove the ash tray insert and remove the srew on the bottom

Now close the ashtray lid and remove the back of the plastic dress cover either with your hands or the screwdriver (this also uses those same clips)

Now the front must be lifted up, I found it easier using the screwdriver and lifting from the side

after removed, set aside.

Step 3-Removal of the silver plastic cover:

All you need to do here is remove the two front screws and lift out then set aside

***If all you require is a light bulb replacement, you can stop here if your hands are small enough. the bulb and retainer are located on the drivers side of the gear indicator, if you cannot feel it with your hands, you will see two wires, one is white one is black follow those up twords the gear indicator and then you should feel the bulb reatainer, just twist and pull and it should come out, If your hands are not small enough keep reading***

Step 4-Removal of the Center Console:

Using your Socket Set or wrench remove the two nuts that are located right as you look down from where the glove box would be.

Ok, now in about the center of the console you will see a "L" bracket, you want to remove the screw on the underside of that bracket

Now remove the two screws on the front bracket of the console

alright, now remove the two screws located in the fuse and relay compartments, there are two screws in each compartment

After that, remove the wire clips from the console I believe there are two, this is best done by needle nose pliers:

Ok, now here comes the fun part!. I will try my best to explain this.

Your goal right now is have the two pieces of plastic that stick out (the pieces that hold the dress cover screws) we will call these "tabs" to be sitting on top of the gear indicator.. see picture.

You have to think about your moves because each situation will be different, now first wedge the screwdriver between the front console bracket and the dash so that you will clear past any other dash components.

now you want to lift up on the front of the console so that you can lift up the console freely without the tabs getting caught on the indicator. but be carefull of the very front of the console because the drivers side molding can break during this, once you have the consol high enough that the tabs can move above the gear indicator move the consol backwards to rest the tabs on the gear indicator cover, now you will need to jiggle and wiggle the console around until it is free from the front(the car is in nuetral here because with the car in park the consol gets caught on the shift knob)

once it is free you can move it out of the car.

You should be left with this now:

The bulb is located in approx. the canter of the consol while looking from that angle. just turn the reatainer and pull and there you go:

Now for replacing/ repairing the anoying black vinyle coating that is on the shifter covering:

where it is silver in my car it is suposed to be black.

Ok to make repairs it would be easier to remove the whole indidcator panel, do this by the following steps:

Step 1-removing shifter knob:

remove the reatiainer pin from the shifter knob

lift up on the knob and set aside.

now your left with this:

Step 2-removing the gear indicaotr:

on the bottom of the indicator you will notice 4 screw bolts on each corner, remove all 4 with a socket or wrench,

Once all the bolts are removed lift up on the indicator and move to whereever you want to work on it.

Step 3-Repairing the black vinyl:

This is uncharted territory (from what I'm told) as you can see, on the bottom of the indicator there are plastic rivits that hold the top of the indicator cover on

If these were not on there from what it looks like you could simply remove the metal shield on the shifter and re-coat with black, but those plastic rivits break when trying to remove the top indicator cover, because I am perfectly happy with mine being silver I did not continue with the removal, because the only way of replacing the cover would be glue, the only other way is to try to run the shield completly off by pulling on one end, but the sleve for the shifter is in the way for that (unless you can get it to pop off) plus then you would need to work hard to put the shield back on.

If you have any questions feel free to ask or post a new reply, or if you have any suggestions or mistakes just post them, and I can add them into my post.

Here are the pictures:

Ok, last one:

Good Luck with your repairs!! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Also just want to say I could not have done this without other information provided by other forum users Thank You All

P.S. I made this a long title so it would be easier to search for in the future

Updated to include a phillips screwdriver, (I belive there were also phillips screws involved?) </div></div>

Great tutorial. My issue is to get to the gear selector indicator. Someone spilled coffee and it got to the underside of the plastic panel showing the gear indicator. Are removing those pesky rivets the only way to get under the plastic gear indicator? Aram Z.

THANK YOU!!! I was reading this in the middle of a pick a part earlier on my phone trying to pull one of these. Your write up here is great.