Hi,

A while back I posted my experience with fixing the dash in my S70.

I was totally bummed, after parking the car in the sun during the day at work, to find that the AC's cold air flowing through the ducts caused very loud cracking & popping noises until the plastic's temperature stabilized.

Since I only tightened the bolts to 5-6 lb.ft. (as spec'd) I was reluctant to tighten them more-especially since I had repaired the mounts.

So, I wondered if maybe the dash was actually supposed to move slightly to accommodate temperature changes. Anyway, I installed one common rubber faucet washer between the metal washer under the bolt head and the firewall at each of the four mounting locations.

I tightened the bolts to 5-6 lb.ft. and the cracking/popping noises are virtually eliminated.

YMMV. But, for $1.00USD and the time to remove the cowl cover & wiper assembly and replace, it may be something to try. This won't work if the mounts are broken however.

My guess is that the dash plastic is warped over time and the 1/32 rubber washer allows just enough flex for the assembly to move slightly as the temperature changes.

Bryan