little help regarding dashboard

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gsu95

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I have a Lincoln 2000 LS --- and I have an issue. My wedding ring slipped off my hand while I was tapping the dash, slid down and is now stuck between the windshield and dash where the two meet. Not enough room there for me to get a tool in to get the ring, and I've tried a couple things.
Wife is going to kill me --- anybody know how if there's a dash removal guide for dummies out there?

Thanks in advance. This is my first post. I enjoy the forum.

Jeff
 
Have u tried attaching sticky tape to a skinny enough stick that will fit in between there ?
 
Pulling the dash is not going to be easy. I suppose there's no way to use a stiff wire to get under the ring, then use your fingers to wedge in between the glass and dash to get a little wiggle room to slide it back?

This also may be an opportune time to fix a problem that happens to all old cars eventually. Glass does wear over time due to sand and other debris impacting it, which can cause it to develop a rough, unpolished surface. This can cause glare when driving into the sun. The only fix is to replace the windshield, and when they pull the old glass out the glass shop can retrieve your ring without removing the dash. Best of all, you can tell the wife that a rock off a dump truck broke the old glass so you replaced it, and she'd not need to know about the ring at all.
 
Thanks. Might go that route if the tape trick doesn't work, since it seems preferable to taking the entire car apart.

I came close to fishing it out with a long screwdriver after I posted here, so there's hope I won't have to replace windshield or hire a squirrel to climb up through the cabin air filter hole or something.
 
Just saw that this is how you can reply to a thread without replying to each individual post. My thanks to all for the suggestions.

Jeff
 
can you see the ring?

here are the things I have done in similar circumstances.

buy a set of super cheap needle nose pliers, hit them a little with a blow torch and bend them inward so that they can grab the ring around its circumference and pull it out.

take a large fish hook and straighten it out, then sick it between the dash and the ring, as soon as the barb gets past the ring, rotate the hook just a little bit so that the barb grabs the edge of the ring and putt it out.

use a pick took (probably 90*) and do pretty much the same thing as above

straighten out a cloths hanger, then put a 90* bend at the end with about 1" after the bend. stick the hanger down past the ring next to it, then slide it over hooking the ring and pull it out.







depending on where the ring it, you may be able to pull the piece of plastic out closest to the windshield (you'll have to remove the A pillars first) to give you a little more room. WARNING: this may cause the ring to fall into an even harder place to get it out of.
 
1LoudLS said:
can you see the ring?

here are the things I have done in similar circumstances.

buy a set of super cheap needle nose pliers, hit them a little with a blow torch and bend them inward so that they can grab the ring around its circumference and pull it out.

take a large fish hook and straighten it out, then sick it between the dash and the ring, as soon as the barb gets past the ring, rotate the hook just a little bit so that the barb grabs the edge of the ring and putt it out.

use a pick took (probably 90*) and do pretty much the same thing as above

straighten out a cloths hanger, then put a 90* bend at the end with about 1" after the bend. stick the hanger down past the ring next to it, then slide it over hooking the ring and pull it out.







depending on where the ring it, you may be able to pull the piece of plastic out closest to the windshield (you'll have to remove the A pillars first) to give you a little more room. WARNING: this may cause the ring to fall into an even harder place to get it out of.
Click to expand...

Just saw this. I appreciate the ideas. Unfortunately, I can only feel the ring with the tip of my fingers and so far nothing I've tried has worked. I've already bought backup ring and wife understands my first ring may now be a part of the car until either the windshield is replaced or it's parted out ...
But I'll still keep trying.

This is a great site.
 
gsu95 said:
Just saw this. I appreciate the ideas. Unfortunately, I can only feel the ring with the tip of my fingers and so far nothing I've tried has worked. I've already bought backup ring and wife understands my first ring may now be a part of the car until either the windshield is replaced or it's parted out ...
But I'll still keep trying.

This is a great site.
Click to expand...

Here's how to prevent this ever happening again:

Drink sufficient beer to gain and then maintain 5-10 pounds. Then your finger will be big enough the ring will never come off. That's what I do, anyway.
 
Let's see a pic of this lost ring Frodo!

Can you see it from the outside throught the glass?
 
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