StormTrooper

I just purchased new guages and alluminum bezel but I am having difficulties accessing the instrument panel to replace them. I took out the two visible screws from the top but nothing became of that. I don't want to mess anything up. If anyone has suggestions or tips I would appreciate it.

StormTrooper

RedMax95

ive done it, ya take out the screws first that are in the back area above the gauges, then there are 2 more screws i found that are hiding behind the switches, one is behnd the black piece next to the light dimmer, one is on the other side, same location, not easy to take out though, then most people say there are metal clips that hold something on though i never saw any or delt with any when i installed my bezel, then drop the steering wheel to the bottom, removing the black piece is tricky and can easily be broken becuase there is a lot of tension in the corners, slowly pull it off, take your time, and then you will have accessto the gauges, then take the clear plastic off, be careful, it will crack easily, and then the bezel can go right in, as far as gauges i avent changed mine, but u can probablydoit while there, maximadriver.com probably has good instructions for this

SYCEFIRO

iTrader: (10)

Would this help??? do a search on the forum where ppl change the Gauge light bulbs..
or indiglo gauges.. there are photos and step by step instruction on them
Good luck~!

How-To Install Chrome Gauge bezels on Nissan Maxima (Courtesy of Psing23)
You will need a phillips screw driver for this.

1- Unscrew 2 screws at the top of the dashboard inside where the instrument cluster is.
2- Unscrew the 4 outside under the steering wheel... that will detach the top part of the plastic cover over the steering column. take that off.
3- Pull out the plastic that is around the instrument cluster that is holding in the gauge cluster into the car... when pulling this out you will have to disconect the wires from behind it. pull out the traction control wire (if you have it) and the other 2 wires on the left side ( i dont remember what they are... i think the dim switch and the mirror adjustment)
4- This will expose 3 screws to remove the actual cluster from the car. 1 on top in the middle, 1 on the bottom left corner, 1 on the bottom right corner. Unscrew these 3 screws
5- pull out the cluster. there are also 2 wires to disconect from the back of this. just pull them out the same way you did with the other ones. once they are disconected just pull the whole cluster out.
6- the clear plastic cover is attached to the cluster with maybe 10 little snaps all around the whole thing... they work on pressure... when you see them you will right away know how to un snap them... just go all the way around and unsnap each of them.
7- once everything is unsnapped just pull the clear plastic off and now your instrument cluster is exposed. stick the guage bezels on each of the gauges. press down firmly and make sure that they stick good... push down all the way around so there are no little cracks that light can pass through between... just run your finger all around a bunch of times applying pressure. also you dont want these things to fly off while you are driving.
8- put the plastic back on and work in reverse order by attaching all the wires and putting the screws back and everything and thats it.
9- sit and admire it and say cool that looks pretty good

StormTrooper

Thanks for all your help and insight! As soon as I complete this installation task I will post images.

StormTrooper

Gary95

No one has mentioned this, so I figured I'd add it to this thread, for anyone seeking to do this job.

I couldn't get the clear plastic cover off, at first. All, but TWO tabs flex nicely and slide out. The problem is that the upper left and right corner tabs have NO ROOM to flex, unlike the others. They are flush against the white plastic housing. I discovered that if I undo the two BLACK tabs for the black gauge face cover that are next to them, I can move the tabs far enough forward to finally flex them. Then they slide out. I had to use two pry tools, one to hold the black cover out, the other to get the tabs down. It worked!

This wasn't very easy to do. I'm surprised no one mentioned it in the process. "Just release the tabs and the plastic cover comes off" is what I've seen in all the postings about it. Oh yeah, right. Nope, it isn't that easy. At least the method I came up with worked like a charm and nothing broke. Maybe this is only particular to the 95-96 models?

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

www.maximadriver.com has a writeup on installing indiglo gauges... it tells you how to get into where you need...

Gary95

Hmmm.... well, some good details in there. It mentions undoing all the black tabs, in order to remove the black facing for access to the gauge faces. When doing just the chrome rings or needles, you wouldn't think to remove that part... but anyway, it works. Some good details for doing gauge faces too. Thanks for pointing me to it!