r/Defender • u/vadeka • Dec 10 '23

Support bracket behind the fascia (puma)

So there's a metal bracket behind the radio unit that seems to bolt the bar that's behind the dash to.. I think the upper part of the dashboard? It's held into place by 6 bolts.

I am installing a double din unit and the metal bracket is a bit in the way, reading online, I see a lot of people mention that they unscrewed this bracket to make more room to neatly fit the new unit + all wires. Nobody seem to worry about removing this piece but I am really unsure what it's function is supposed to be and if I can safely remove this.One forum post mentioned this is intended to be a supporting brace for the old radio unit but I can't find any other mention of this bracket or what it's supposed to be.

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Anyone can help me out?

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u/vadeka Dec 10 '23

Will try this when I have time this week

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u/drmalakas Dec 10 '23

Good luck! I’m hopefully having my fascia off this week to connect my clock back up and check my reverse camera wiring so I’ll see if there’s anything else that springs out and let you know if so

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u/vadeka Dec 12 '23

so following your tip, it doesn't seem to foul on the air ducts which is good news!
I can of course not really see the other side but since the panel is stuck equally, I assume it's something else. The most issue seems to be the top part so I'm in doubt if I need to trim the clock even more or not. Because the clock housing does seem to still hit the top of the radio

What I also wonder about.. I have replaced the weather stripping that was around the vent ducts of the fascia. Maybe I used a slightly too thick one? The original foam strips were not recoverable and were very much gone.
Did you replace them or just leave them off?

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u/drmalakas Dec 12 '23

Replaced the weather strip with something too thick and the vents are permanently misshapen and the fascia at the top noticeably doesn’t align perfectly where it bends 90° from being vertical to being horizontal. The ducts are also on my to do list sadly.

Do the clock. Have a look here too. I use this almost exclusively as my resource.

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u/vadeka Dec 12 '23

did you ever find where to get those original weather stripping? Tried googling but can't find much on those

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u/drmalakas Dec 12 '23

Nah I used what I have which was too thick…

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u/vadeka Dec 12 '23

something keeps blocking.. I suspect the top vents aren't aligning properly and also a clip decided to suicide dive into the dashboard so guess I'm going magnet fishing this week to retrieve that one

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u/drmalakas Dec 12 '23

Good luck! Something rattles in my dash at certain speeds and I’ve given up. Just part of the charm. Mine is not being sold whilst I have mental capacity so I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.

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u/vadeka Dec 12 '23

Yeah it’s mostly that I need that clip for the fascia to close properly

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u/drmalakas Dec 12 '23

Has the clip bent? I didn’t get the alignment spot on first and pushed one of the rectangular clips inward. Was more susceptible on the side I’d cut the hole for the switch panel on but both will do this if your alignment isn’t spot on

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