Y10 GTie (LHD)

[Duncan23]

Hi Frank
You are right about the paint factor, but I wasn't organised and they weren't open!
Thanks for your kind offer on the alcantara parts - I'll start taking the dash apart properly and make a list.  The arms of the radio cover are broken in the same place as your picture (but are still stuck in the dash). Fibreglass behind the dash is probably the best idea to reinforce and stop any further cracking, but I don't like the idea of screws into small plastic (or fibreglass) tabs - it's all bound to break as soon as it gets just a little bit brittle. Hence the idea of using steel for the screws to attach into.
Cheers
Duncan

[Duncan23]

One other question - does anyone know if the clocks are interchangeable RHD and LHD?  If I've got the dash apart then maybe it's time to change to a mph speedo (assuming I can find one).

[m tulloch]

I've an instrument pack from a Y10 FIRE if that helps you.

[frankxhv773t]

The clocks probably are interchangeable between right and left hand drive but the ones from a Fire likely have a different selection of plugs on the back because there are about half the number of instruments. You can't even swap the speedometer face because it is a different size.

[Duncan23]

Unfortunately, Frank is right, my clocks look different to the FIRE ones with a rev counter on the right
2020-08-24_08-15-46 by duncancmartin, on Flickr
Thanks for the offer Matt.

[Kevinlincs]

Do you have a decent surround Frank for the dash? My FIRE one has broken at the top corner where it screws on, to the left of the dials. The long section that goes under the gauges and up each side....sure you know the part I mean! 

[frankxhv773t]

I'll send you a message Kevin.

[Duncan23]

I've been slowly (it's cold in the garage) working my way through dismantling the dash. Hopefully today I can make a little more progress and take some pictures of how far I have got. It's no wonder it was so creaky.  I've got as far as removing the clocks, and they are the only part where all the screws that the manual shows were present and working! I'm going to have to do quite a lot of reinforcing if it's going to stay together when I put it back in the car!

[Duncan23]

I've been doing little bits and pieces on this, but today I got on with it properly.
So far, this is what I've managed to remove:

2021-01-16_07-20-08 by duncancmartin, on Flickr

Obviously, various bits of flimsy plastic broke while I was removing things, the most annoying being the vent at the edge of the dash. The manual says "prise it out" and shows a picture of someone levering it out with a screwdriver, but it snapped in half (and a piece came off the front as well). Does anyone know if the RHD and LHD ones are the same unit just turned upside down?  Otherwise I'm guessing this might be quite tricky to replace (assuming any spares exist and they haven't all destroyed themselves on removal).

The only thing that is stopping me from removing the dashboard now obviously aside from the one screw I probably didn't know existed and so will rip out some more plastic) is the heater controls.  They are loose, but there are 3 cables that go through grommets in the dash and are going to need to be removed from the back of the control unit (the manual backs me up on this one). However, I can't work out how to disconnect them (on this the manual is less helpful).  Anyone got any ideas? This is what it looks like behind the heater:

2021-01-16_07-20-29 by duncancmartin, on Flickr

Once the dash is out, then I can look at how I'm going to hold it all together (need to order myself some fibreglass) and also how I recreate mounting points so it all goes back together again properly. Also, while the stereo turned on and changed radio channel, it wasn't making any noise in the car, having pulled it out of the dashboard, I discovered why. All the output leads weren't connected to anything! The install is a right shoddy job, the wires are just soldered up and individually taped, so when the dashboard is back together I'm going to have to restore some semblance of order and connect them all back through a sensible block, but that can wait for now.

[Kevinlincs]

For the heater control cable I found that undoing them at the heater box itself under the bonnet and pulling the cables all through was the answer.
For removing things like the air vent, or anything plastic come to that is to use plastic pry bars rather than screwdrivers as there is far less chance of damaging the surrounding plastic by bruising it.

[frankxhv773t]

Not having a LHD dash to compare it with I can't say if the side window de-misting vent at the edge of the dash is the same as a RHD one flipped over but you ought to be able to look at it carefully and see if it is symmetrical from top to bottom. If it is symmetrical I'm sure I have at least one spare. I also think I have the clocks you need in MPH form. They came from a Touring. Post lockdown you need to come and have a rummage for useful bits.

Radios connections get hacked about when a radio with a different connector is fitted. In the past I have added a universal connector from Halfords onto the loom and used an adapter lead to get the right plug for the new radio. The problem on the Y10 is that there is almost no room at all at the back of the radio so if you add extra wiring the radio no longer  slides back into its mounting. Access for fiddling about is also a problem. What I do is put a bunch of the smallest choc-block connectors I can find on the loom, one for power and stuff, one for front speakers and one for back speakers, and put about 25 cm of extension cable on them. That gives enough slack to put the connectors you want for your chosen radio on the other end of the extension and have room to connect it up. You still have to get the choc-blocks to lie out of the way of the back of the radio when you fit it but at least you have a bit of slack to play with.

Keep an eye out on e-bay and things because every once in a while a dead LHD Y10 comes up for sale. I stripped one near Hull some years ago which had been abandoned by a foreign student at the university. Unfortunately I didn't anticipate anyone in the UK needing LHD trim parts.

[Duncan23]

It's not symmetrical, so I'll need a LHD one. I can probably stick it back together if absolutely necessary, but I might see if I can find one from a breaker in Europe. During an earlier search for a dashboard I saw on Leboncoin a couple of places breaking Y10s.

Getting the heater cables off the heater is definitely going to be easier than trying to take them off the controls - thanks for that tip. Taking the battery and the other bits around there out might also help me work out what the extra wires I have kicking around do. The only downside is that the heat shielding around the heater is really tired - cracking plastic and flaking insulation. I assume that all these are kinda knackered - what's the recommended replacement?

Frank - I think having a look around your parts stash is a good idea when lockdown ends. And yeah, the universal connector kit from Halfords or similar is definitely on the cards for this radio.  I might even change it for one that does bluetooth (and check the speakers) while everything is in pieces. The advantage of the radio cover (if I can get the old arms out and find a matching one) is that it doesn't have to look period to fit in with the rest of the interior.

[frankxhv773t]

The arms of the radio cover are held in with hinge pins which you can get at when you have taken the radio out. Here are some pictures from behind the dash so you can see how it works. The pins go in the hole then are twisted round so they lock under a tab to stop them moving. The ones pictured aren't under the tab because all the plastic was too cold and hard when I took the picture and I didn't want to break anything.

[Duncan23]

I saw those pins and I was wondering how they worked.

Yesterday evening I got the heater cables off at the front. The good news is that it was easy - the bad news is that the white plastic clips basically just fell apart (and one wasn't even screwed in!). That's a problem for re-assembly, but I'm not going to worry about it now.
That little progress meant I could move and wiggle and move and wiggle the dashboard, but it's held by the wiring running behind it.  The main point seems to be below the steering wheel on the left.  there is a box with relays and stuff down there, which I have undone from the dash, but I definitely need to unclip some stuff.  Is there an easy way to find it, or is it just a matter of wiggling it around until you can get your hands in behind, and then blindly undoing electrical connectors until there's none left to undo? Are there any hints as to how best to do this - sitting in the drivers seat and working under the dash is giving me neck ache!

[frankxhv773t]

Given the amount of stripping you are doing you might consider taking the front seat out so you can get under the dash from a different position. The seats are only bolted down at the front but the sliders in the rails at the side have to come out towards the back of the car and I think there is a metal tab in the runner that acts as a stop to prevent the seat sliding backwards off the rail during normal adjustment. I used a small cold chisel and a large hammer to push the tab back for removing the seat.

The only guide I can offer on disconnecting things is the pictures I posted earlier of the back of the dashboard.

Kevin did a thing on those white clips on the heater cables a short time ago in his Y10 rebuild thread.