Dash Relocation Problems – Different vehicle models vary greatly in their construction. Most of us will know that many vehicles have incorporated into their dash a strengthening cross member mainly of tubular steel connected from A pillar to A pillar 3 quarters of the way up from the sill. This will also have a vertical piece of steel in some cases, either bolted or welded to the transmission tunnel straight down the middle of the dash or just offset.
Here are some of the structures that we can expect to ?nd and their locations. Bear in mind that the exact location will vary depending on the vehicle’s year and model.
During a recent training session we wanted to carry out a quick dash lift, from past experience we know that the dash will move up fairly quickly with ease in most cases. During this particular evolution it was quite noticeable that there was a fare amount of resistance from the steering column area and also middle area of the dash. The front A post section raised with ease but the area we need to relocate to allow better extrication space was reduced compared to past practices.
It became evident that a vertical dash member was the root of the problem. We were trying to push against a tubular bar connected to the transmission tunnel which was holding the middle section of the dash securely in place.
You can see here the issue we faced.
Image: Dash Relocation Problems
You can see the bolts holding it in place in these pictures, one option would be to unbolt or cut the post, is this a realistic option? Time frames will have to play a big part in the decision making processes along with access to this area depending on vehicle and casualty location/orientation.
We did manage to create the space needed, however this additional dash construction could have a detrimental effect on this technique at times, if you ever wonder why a dash lift or roll is not quite working how you would expect, this is one of the problems that may be working against you.
I hope you have found this information useful. As always I welcome your comments.