Thread: Instrument binnacle repair tip

Just about every Discovery 1 and Series 2 owner has had the annoying, loose and rattling instrument binnacle cover syndrome. The flimsy plastic molding is thin and weak. It then also damages holes for the retaining screws above steering column. Mine was so bad it just sat on the dash by pure gravity so I fixed it today. Here's how.
Pic 1. Shows the retaining lug , it shows the broken off plastic at the front.


Pic 2. shows a product called Rapid Fix ( about $29, but does a lot of repair jobs) its a high performance "Super Glue" with a powder you use to "Weld" the broken part.
It's the only product I have found that actually bonds to various plastics, including the hard to glue stuff aka "car plastics"



Pic 3. Next I folded up some paper and made a scaffold to allow me to float some of the powder and glue over the span of the break.
Plasticine would be the idea thing to use, but I didn't have any. Plasticine can easily be scrapped out when completion of repair.
With the paper, I had to cut it out with a Stanley knife when finished, harder as the paper does absorb some glue.



Pic 4. Shows the application of the Rapid fix, a small amount of welding powder is poured onto the paper then it is followed by a drop or 2 of the Glue. It hardens immediately, so you just build up layer by layer until you have bridged the gap.




Next stage is the remove the paper, It took a bit of knife work and a pair of pliers to grip and get it out ( This is where the plasticine would have made like a lot easier, as is soft and oily, and the Rapid Fix wouldn't stick to it )

Pic 5 shows the bridged repair.


Now if you want to be real fussy you could sand the repair and tidy and neaten it's appearance up more, as it won't be seen I just left it and fitted the Binnacle cover back and it fits snug again.

The 2 bottom retaining screw holes were also broken , so I filled them with rapid set and re -drilled the screw holes.

Tightening these 2 screws is a real battle due to room and constraints, I lowered the steering position and removed the steering column covers, but still no room.
The solution came in using a small 90 deg bent Hex/Phillips head tool, I found at Bunnings in the screw driver section of the tool shop, only a couple of bucks.

Hope this is of use to some.
Cheers,
Mario

dunno about colour, but they are the same.

I have a crack or two on my D1, but more importantly the rear tabs(near the screen) are both broken. Pulled out many times to try to stabilise it, but my fibreglassing and epoxying skills would be considered 'preschool' level.

In the interim tho, I've added some snug fitting pinchweld along the edge that rests on the dash top, just to eliminate the squeaky, rattly noises which has been 100% successful.
Also painted mine matte black to remove the glare reflection on the inside of the windscreen when driving into the sun.
Thinking of doing same to dash top too now, as I have a 'black hole' reflection area on the inside of the screen.
The grey dash reflection on the screen is quite mild, and not overly obvious ..... until you see the 'black hole' that the matte black binnacle now produces.