Original Poster: DarkMax
Difficulty: 7 out of 10 (spring is very hard to load)
Time to install: 30 minutes
Disclaimer: The Ranger Station.com, The Ranger Station.com Staff, nor the original poster are responsible for you doing this modification to your vehicle. By doing this modification and following this how-to you, the installer, take full responsibility if anything is damaged or messed up. If you have questions, feel free to PM the original poster or ask in the appropriate section of The Ranger Station.com forums.
Brief Explanation: Removing or flipping the spring in the center console to stop it from opening automatically.
CAUTION: Pics were taken after this process was completed. The hinge by default has 3 springs in it. I recommend only placing one back in when reassembling.
Tools:
Small Hammer
Very small punch
Philips Screwdriver
Different sets of needle nose pliers, angle head NN pliers will work the best
Optional-C clamps or Vice Grips
1. Remove the center console from the ranger.
2. Either peel the felt off the top and bottom or just the 4 corners on both felt pads.
3. Remove all 8 screws (4 on top and 4 on bottom).
4. The top part and bottom piece should now easily come off, remove them
5. Take out the 8 screws holding the hinge in place.
6. Insert a small punch in the end of the hinge and hammer it out a little bit, the use pliers to pull the rod out of the hinge (one side of the rod is painted black and is hammered flat, use the punch in the opposite side)
7. With the springs out, you can put the rod back in by itself and reassemble the whole console and it wont force itself to open or close.
8. If you want the console to have pressure holding it closed, insert the rod till it is halfway poking through the first spring slot.
9. With the bracket in the CLOSED position, put the spring back in place with one tab of the spring on the TOP of the bracket towards the side you are inserting the rod.
10. Using needle nose pliers, bend the spring around so will pushing UP on the BOTTOM piece of the hinge.
11. Still holding the spring loaded, have a friend push the rod in with a hammer or pliers so it slides through the spring and into the next part of the hinge.
12. I recommend only putting one spring in, it has plenty of push to keep the lid down firmly. Push the rod through the hinge the rest of the way, and reassemble the console. C clamps or vice grips will help with reinstalling the hinge onto the cover, put the screws in the top of the console, then the bottom.
13. Press the felt back down or use glue to stop edges from curling.