Title:Overhead Console Install - 98+ specific

• 7mm ¼ drive socket
  
• Ratchet or socket/nut driver (looks like a screwdriver handle)
  
• Philips-head screwdriver
  
• T-15 Torx screwdriver
  
• Pliers, preferably needle-nose
  
• Long, skinny slot-head screwdriver
  
• Duct tape
  
• A knife to cut the headliner. I used a Leatherman PST multi-tool. A VERY sharp box-cutter should also work.

• Overhead console, seen on the left in the picture. Price on this varies, depends on where you get it from Bracket, seen here on the right You should ask for this if you get the console from a junkyard, I did and they sent it along. The item is also available from GM and includes the compass sensor. The bracket is part number 15106819 and can be had for under $100 from a couple of online GM parts dealers.

• 2 Screws, GM part number 11515401 (they’re special screws)

   

• This harness was specially made for this job, PM me on the site to ask me for contact info for the gentleman (Neal Whitaker) making these. He also sells the GM clip (GM part number 01638575) for above the windshield and the temperature sensor (GM part number 15971127) needed to make that function work. It’s just as easy to get them from him, keeps all the bits in one box. You can also wire this yourself following directions in a PDF found on other sites.

• I used 3-M wire-taps from Digikey to tap wires for the lights.

Getting started:

Before starting, un-do the negative battery cable. Don’t worry about your pre-sets if you have a factory radio, somehow it holds them, but the time goes bye bye.

OK now, on to the actual work, like getting all the parts and tools together wasn’t ENOUGH work.

Remove the dash faceplate, there’s some work involved here:

Take out the hush panel above the driver’s feet. I think there’s 4 screws (all 7mm) to remove. While you’re there, take out the screw on the next black panel over, it’s got to come out anyway in order to take out the next panel up. In all, there are 5 to remove at this step. Disconnect the remote entry brain at this point also, it’s actually attached to this panel. Also, take out the 2 screws holding the OBD connector to this panel, it allows you to slip the connector through and take the panel right out of the truck. I used the bed to store all the stuff I took out.

Next up is the knee bolster trim panel. Picture is with the panel removed. 4 screws and some spring clips and it pops right out. One screw is a little difficult to remove if you have the remote tape deck like I have, I just used a ratchet instead of the nut driver. Make sure the e-brake is set, then release the release cable from the pedal assembly, it should slip out through its hole in the dash, it’ll become clear once you look at it, this area is VERY hard to take a picture of with a simple film camera. This allows you to totally remove this panel for more room. The extra screw removed above allows this panel to come out; this is all clear once you look at the dash.

NOW we get to the surround (tedious, isn’t it?). Taking off the knee bolster trim panel reveals 2 screws, seen in the picture in the previous step. Take those out, take out the lonely screw that’s vertical in the center of the dash pod. Make sure the e-brake is still set, put the key in the “unlock” position, place a foot firmly on the brake, tilt the wheel all the way down and drop the gearshift into “1” (only applies on automatics with column shift). CAREFULLY pull the surround away from the dashboard, be VERY observant of the hazard switch, it WILL break if you’re not careful, the bezel does have a section below the instrument panel, it curves over the column. You’ll meet some resistance along the way, the headlight switch needs to be unplugged (I think there’s 2 plugs here), the 4x4 switch needs the same treatment (I think there’s 2 plugs here) so does the passenger side airbag disable switch. Oh yeah, there’s a harness under the headlight harness that’s plugged into a dummy outlet, that’s for the fog light switch.

left: Drivers foot well removed right: Dash all apart

Take out the 2 screws holding the radio in and pull it out. There will be a big plug under the fan, the antenna plug and possibly another plug near the antenna one, disconnect all of them.
Remove the trim on the driver’s side of the windshield; you’ll need it off to get the harness through the side of the dash. I also had to move the fuse panel (just one 7mm screw) to get the room for my hands back there. I hope you’re a contortionist, or know one; you practically need to be one to get this harness routed.

Once I got the dash apart, before routing the harness, I plugged in the radio plug parts and plugged the harness into the trip computer part of the console, to make sure it would power up, before going to the trouble of routing the harness. You’ll need to reconnect and then disconnect the battery to do this.

Here's a pic of the wiring tucked behind the radio opening once it was all hooked up. If you have an aftermarket radio, I can see this being a bit of a bottleneck.

I took this opportunity to do a wipe-down of some of the A/C ducting and the insides of the vents. Neal does a terrific job in his PDF (WE NEED THIS HOSTED)

To route the temp. sensor wire through the firewall; I took a long, thin, flat-head screwdriver, taped the terminal on the green wire to it, making sure to totally cover the terminal with the piece of tape so it won’t catch. Push the screwdriver through the big rubber grommet that seals the main harness going through the firewall between the brake pedal and the e-brake pedal. I pushed through above the harness, to make sure I didn’t hit anything I wasn’t supposed to. Un-wrap the tape and route the wire up to the hood latch support where the sensor gets mounted. You can see where the wire comes through in this picture. The ABS module is the silver thing at the bottom, brake booster is to the left.

Here's where the temp. sensor mounts. You have to find your own ground for it. I just crimped a ring terminal onto the wire and drilled a hole to put a screw through. You could also splice a ground wire from the harness.

Once I had the harness routed, I re-assembled the dash. The brake release cable can be a little tricky to reinstall but if you paid VERY close attention to the removal, you should have very little trouble with it, it goes right by some wiring so it may catch on that as you try to get it through. Also make sure that plastic grommet with the groove in it gets hooked back onto its bracket.

Now, to the headliner. Some say to totally remove it. I just pulled down the front half. Take off the passenger side a-pillar molding, it just pulls off like the driver’s side did. Remove the 3 T-15 screws from each of the sun visor hinges. Remove the T-15 screw from each of the inboard sun visor clips and CAREFULLY remove them. These clips look like a one-time use item but can only be bought with the entire visor, at ~$75 each. I used the pliers to get them re-shaped to go back in the hole. It’s like one of those collapsing wall mollies, that pulls in and the sides squeeze out as you tighten the screw. Make sure you re-form the plastic on all 4 sides.

Remove the “Uh oh” handle over the pass. side door, 10mm socket might be the one to do the trick there, there’s some press-fit plugs over the bolts, then just find the socket size that works. Last but not least, pull off the 3rd door latch cover, just simple spring clips, so it pops right off.

I didn’t get a good picture of this, but there’s a square hole just left of center in the rib above the windshield, then an oblong hole just to the right of that, should be centered. The clip goes up into the bigger hole, then slides right, the screw hole in the clip should be inside the oblong hole in the rib and only 2 “fingers” of the clip should be on the bottom of the rib, the rest should be hidden inside.

Use one of the 2 screws you got from GM through the hole in the plastic part of the bracket, not the front hole, but the one farther back. Do your best to center the bracket and find some way to temporarily affix it to the roof. I couldn’t permanently hook it to the roof, but the headliner does a fine job of holding it up. Here's my bracket taped to the roof. You can see my light wiring to the left of it.

Push the headliner up to the bracket, find where the front of the bracket, where the console screws in, hits the headliner and cut that out. For the rest of the cut-out, I cut around the 2 points on the bracket where the clips from the console itself push into the bracket. I used those 3 points as reference and cut out the middle, being careful not to cut where the console wouldn’t cover the hole.

Once the bracket is up and the hole is cut, push the headliner back to the roof and put the sun visors on, but don’t install the inner clips yet. Now, the moment of truth, plug the harness into the console, push the wires into the hole and install it. The second screw you got from GM holds the front of the console up, the rear pushes up into the bracket. It can be hard to push up there once you line it up, but it WILL go. Here mine is, all mounted up.

Hook up your neg. battery cable and turn the key to Run, it should run through its test and you’re good to go. At this point, finish re-installing the headliner parts, put all your tools away and pop open a cold one, unless you want to go for a test ride.
 

Here's a picture of the finished install. Yeah, it was a little warm that day.