I spent today replacing the broken blend-doors on my '02 Overland, following the excellent WJJeeps writeup. I found a few things that might clarify the directions on that site, though, and thought I would post them here for all those who are going to be doing this job soon (i.e. ALL WJ owners...):

First, I folded down the small half of the rear seat and stored all the parts I removed in the back to keep them in order.

Second, I used a multi-compartment storage case from Home Depot ($3.78), and numbered each compartment with a sharpie according to which step I removed that fastener. That made re-assembly go MUCH quicker, as it was basically working back through the fasteners in the box, and I could always reference the # on the compartment to see which step I removed them.

Third, I covered the seats with towels to protect them from getting dirty; it's not really a dirty job, but there will inevitably be some grime that WILL get on the seats.

Fourth, the WJJeeps writeup is superior even to the factory service manual, as it brings all the relevant instructions into one place. The factory instructions like to refer you to a procedure in another section, which itself refers to a procedure in another section, and so on and so on, so that using the shop-manual requires you to be flipping ALL over the place.

Finally, it is an 8-hour job, but at least two hours of that is figuring out which tool you need or what fastener size you are dealing with. That's where I'm hoping these notes help out, so I recorded the sizes of the nuts and bolts in each step, and took pictures of things that might be ambiguous in the directions.

So here are the WJJeep dash-removal instructions, with my notes in bold:

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Grand Cherokee instrument panel

Part 1 - Instrument panel assembly removal
NOTE: Before starting this procedure, be certain to turn the steering wheel until the front wheels are in the straight-ahead position.

1. Disconnect and isolate the battery negative cable (1/2" nut on the battery-post clamp) .

2. Remove the trim from the right and left A-pillars (Fig. 1). Use a small screwdriver to gently pry out the plugs over the bolts, and use a deep 6mm socket, as an ordinary short 6mm socket is too fat to fit in the opening)

3. Remove the instrument panel top cover. With a wide flat tool (3" plastic putty knife or similar (I used a plastic ice-scraper; not too hard at all) , gently pry the dash trim panel upwards starting at either end. You can then get your fingers under the lip and lift it up, working your way to the opposite end. The trim is held in place by four spring clips. There are no parts or wires attached to the trim cover. (Fig. 2 & 3).

4. Remove the four nuts (10mm deep socket required) that secure the instrument panel to the studs on the dash panel near the windshield fence line (Fig. 23).

5. Remove the scuff plates from the right and left front door sills. These are attached with spring clips and can be removed grasping them underneath a corner and carefully lifting them up. (One thing about these and all other spring-clips; while you can pull them out using force, most all of them have a release tab, so that if you stick a thin screwdriver in and depress the center of the clip, it pops out much easier) One other thing about these clips; sometimes you'll pull the part off and the clip comes off the part and remains in the slot; then you have to remove it and reinstall it on the part before you re-install it)

6. Remove the lower trim panels from the right and left inner cowl sides by removing the screws attaching cowl trim to floor. Remove plastic nut (this has a T30 torx head, but it can be just popped-off in a pinch) . Grasp cowl trim and pull outward to separate from clip.

7. Remove the console from the floor panel transmission tunnel (Fig. 4 & 5).


A. Set parking brake.
B. Turn the igntion-switch to "on", and then Place the transmission shift lever and transfer case shift lever in full rearward position (toward back of vehicle).

C. Remove mat from front bin and remove the two screws attaching the bin to the floor. Remove the bin by slightly prying up on it with a trim stick or small screwdriver.

D. Remove the rubber cupholder and remove the two screws underneath it.

E. Remove the two screws inside the bottom of the rear bin and remove the bin.

F. Pull the rear passenger cupholder outward to access and remove the two screws attaching the rear of the console to the floor, as shown in the photo above right. On my '02 there was actually a third screw under that bin, at the center toward the front under that bin; these screws go into sheetmetal, and are a little longer than the other attaching screws for the console)

G. Carefully lift the console upward and rearward to remove from vehicle.

8. Remove the plastic fuse cover from the junction block on the lower left side of the instrument panel. It is held on with plastic tabs and can easily be pulled off by pulling downward. (My cover was missing...)

9. Remove the cluster bezel. The cluster bezel lower trim piece is held in place by 4 spring clips, one at each corner. Pull straight out to remove. On the left side, you can reach your thumb behind the bezel at the tilt wheel lever indentation and pull forward. If so equipped, you'll need to unhook the Adjustable Pedals harness from the back of the bezel. (Fig. 6 & 7)

Remove the 4 phillips screws on the cluster assembly, two along the top and two on the bottom. At the two upper screw holes there are recessed tabs that must be slightly pried down to release the cluster, which you can then pull outward and away. There is plenty of slack allowed to disconnect the single 12-way connector.

10. Remove the steering column opening cover. The cover is held in place by three screws, two bolts and three spring clips. (Fig. 8).

A. Remove the two screws at the inside top of the lower trim bezel.
B. Remove the phillips screw on the left side and the two 10mm bolts underneath the bezel trim.

C. Pull the steering column opening cover rearward to disengage the three snap clips (one outboard and two inboard) that secure it to the receptacles in the instrument panel. The clips are very snug, requiring a fairly strong pull on each side. When replacing the cover, be certain to align the two plastic guide pins as well as the spring clips before pushing it back into place.


11. Remove the four screws (10mm head) that secure the steering column bracket to the instrument panel steering column support bracket (Fig. 22).

12. Remove the screw that secures the lower tilting steering column shroud to the steering column multi-function switch mounting housing (Fig. 24).

13. Unsnap the two halves of the tilting steering column shroud from each other and remove both halves from the steering column. (It helped to reach in from behind the shroud with a screwdriver to release the tabs in these two halves)

14. Disconnect the instrument panel wire harness connectors from the following steering column components (Fig. 25): (Most of these connectors release by depressing a tab on the plug itself, except as noted) b

The two lower clockspring connector receptacles
The left multi-function switch connector receptacle
The right multi-function switch connector receptacle
The two ignition switch connector receptacles (the small black two-wire connector is released by depressing a tab in an opening in the ignition-switch housing)
The shifter interlock solenoid connector receptacle
If equipped, the sentry key immobilizer module (SKIM) connector receptacle.


15. Turn the ignition switch to the On position, then release and remove the shifter interlock cable connector from the ignition lock housing receptacle. (depress a tab on the top of the black housing; I tried forever by depressing the yellow button before I realized how it released)

16. Turn the ignition switch back to the Lock position to prevent steering wheel rotation and the loss of clockspring centering following steering column removal.

17. Remove the bolt (13mm head) that secures the coupler to the lower steering column shaft (Fig. 26).

18. Remove the four nuts (10mm head, you need a deep socket to remove the nuts from the studs) that secure the steering column to the studs on the instrument panel steering column support bracket.

19. Remove the steering column from the instrument panel. Be certain that the steering wheel is locked and secured from rotation to prevent the loss of clockspring centering.

20. Disconnect the left and right body wire harness connectors, the ignition off draw (IOD) wire harness connector and the fused B(+) wire harness connector from the connector receptacles of the JB (Fig. 27).(the bolts have a 10mm head)

21. Disconnect the instrument panel wire harness connectors from the following floor panel transmission tunnel components (Fig. 28):

The airbag control module (ACM) connector receptacle (I had to remove the four 10mm-head bolts holding the ACM to the floor in order to get enough clearance to remove the connector; it has a red tab that you slide forward, which allows you to release the connector)
The park brake switch terminal (the release button is on the passenger-side of this connector)
The transmission shifter connector receptacle.

22. Remove the two nuts (both are 13mm nuts) that secure the instrument panel wire harness ground eyelets to the studs on the floor panel transmission tunnel in front of and behind the ACM.

23. Disengage the retainers that secure the instrument panel wire harness to the floor panel transmission tunnel. (these just pry out with a screwdriver)

24. Remove the instrument panel to center floor tunnel bracket from the instrument panel and the floor panel transmission tunnel (Fig. 21). (This is attached with two 13mm nuts on studs from the floor, and two 10mm-head screws into nuts in the dash; the captive nuts in the dash have a lot of play in them, so if you use an air-wrench to remove them, you may find it just rocks the bolt back-and-forth rather than removing the bolt)

25. Remove the one screw that secures the floor duct to the heater and air conditioner housing near the driver side of the floor panel transmission tunnel and remove the duct from the housing. (This requires a stubby philips screwdriver, as the screw is up behind the duct)

26. If the vehicle is equipped with the manual heating and air conditioning system, disconnect the vacuum harness connector located near the driver side of the floor panel transmission tunnel behind the driver side floor duct.

27. Remove the one screw (10mm head) that secures the instrument panel steering column support bracket to the driver side end of the heater and air conditioner housing (Fig. 29).

28. Remove the one screw (10mm head) that secures the instrument panel steering column support bracket to the intermediate bracket on the driver side dash panel (Fig. 30).

29. Remove the (13mm) nut using a deep socket that secures the instrument panel steering column support bracket to the stud on the driver side cowl plenum panel (Fig. 31).

30. Remove the (13mm) nut and disconnect the safety strap from the support bracket (Fig. 32).

31. Remove the two screws (10mm head) that secure the instrument panel to the driver side cowl side inner panel (Fig. 33).

32. Remove the end cap (Fig. 20).

A. Unlatch and open the glove box.
B. Remove the one screw that secures the outboard end of the end cap to the instrument panel top pad.
C. Remove the three screws that secure the end cap to the instrument panel glove box opening.
D. Pull the end cap straight back from the instrument panel to disengage the one snap clip that secures it to the receptacle in the instrument panel
E. Remove the end cap from the instrument panel.

33. Remove the lower right center bezel. (there are two philips-head screws that need to be removed to remove this bezel)

34. Remove the glove box. (the service manual mentions an hydraulic damper, which my glovebox didn't have; this required some pressure on the back of the glovebox itself to depress the stop-tabs down to clear the bumpers, and then pulling down on one end of the hinge while pushing up on the center hinge-tab to get it to come off)

35. Disconnect the instrument panel wire harness connector from the lower cavity of the inline connector on the passenger side cowl side inner panel (Fig. 34). (this is held on with a 10mm bolt)

36. Disconnect the two halves of the radio antenna coaxial cable connector near the right cowl side inner panel under the end of the instrument panel.

37. Disconnect the two instrument panel wire harness connectors from the two heater and air conditioner housing connectors located near the blower motor on the passenger side end of the housing (Fig. 35).

38. Remove the two (10mm head) screws that secure the passenger side instrument panel structural duct to the heater and air conditioner housing (Fig. 36).

39. Remove the two (10mm head) screws that secure the instrument panel to the passenger side cowl side inner panel (Fig. 37).

40. Depress the tab on the passenger side and with the aid of an assistant, lift the instrument panel assembly upward off of the studs on the dash panel near the windshield fence line and pull the instrument panel rearward from the dash panel and the cowl side inner panels and remove it through the driver side front door of the vehicle (Fig. 38). (this tab is a real pain to get at; I used a brake star-wheel adjusting tool to depress it while pulling the dash back; this tab is right above where the screws attach the dash to the cowl panel)

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Actually, the dash removal took less than two hours, including searching for tools. Once it is out (and yes, you will need help to fish it out through the driver's-side door, as it's heavy and awkward, but at least it remains one unit), you'll see the heater/AC box on the firewall. I found the hardest part to be removing the heater-hoses from the heater-core nipples; it's easiest to unbolt the ECU to get some clearance to get at those hose-clamps. I found that the hose-clamps were easiest to remove with some needle-nose vise-grips that would keep the clamp open so I could slide it up on the hose. In addition, there is only ONE bolt attaching the heater-box to the firewall from the engine-compartment side: a single 10mm-head bolt above the heater-core hose connections. I'll post more details about that job once I get the pics on the computer.

One other thing; my '02 had blend-doors that already HAD stop-tabs designed into it. Unfortunately, the tab on the shaft snapped-off, which caused the door hinge to break apart on the flap for the passenger-side. I don't know if they'd been replace already, or if there was a design-change in '02 that didn't solve the problem. My recirculation door also had stop-tabs, but one of them was starting to bend and distort; the replacement part had a more robust tab, perhaps to remedy the weak original design.

Anyway, it's a pain in the butt job, but it could be worse. If I did it a second-time, I could probably have the dash off in less than an hour, and get hose heater-hoses off much quicker as well, knowing what I know. But certainly do-able by anyone who is at all handy; just make sure to pick up a deep metric socket-set that goes from 6mm to 13mm. Air-tools and/or a power screwdriver make the removal of the parts a lot easier. And re-installation goes a LOT quicker.

The original thread can be found by clicking HERE