One would think that the people of 90’s were on the verge of dehydration for the number of drink holders in these trucks. The one in the dash, that pulls out under the heater vent, just looks like a sticky soda disaster waiting to happen. For the amount of residue in the heater vent and on the carpet, I know the previous owner used this one.Over the years, it would seem that they get looser and looser only compounding the “launch” that occurs when you hit a bump.

I had the dash apart for another reason so I decided to tend to this floppy drink holder. The pull out tray rides in a track on each side. Since mine had lots of horizontal and vertical play, I knew that tightening the track up would help the situation.

Start by popping the vent out or by removing the dash bezel. If you’ve never done this, it is held in by simple spring clips. Start at the top and pull out slightly until the first two give, then work your way around. Tilt the steering wheel all the way down and rotate the top of the dash recess out. Next remove the (4) screws under the lower dash cover (by your legs) using a bit driver. Again, pop the spring clips out until you can lower it out of the way.

Next, remove the two screws in the black bracket under the drink tray (see picture). Pull the drink tray all the way out (until the side drink holder pops out) and look underneath. There is the black plastic stop that has to be turned (like a dashboard light bulb base) and pulled out before the whole tray slides out. In the picture, the tray has been removed for clarity to see what the stop looks like. Now you have access to one remaining screw in the rear of the bracket.

Once the bracket is out, check how much horizontal slack you have between it and the drink tray. Using a vice, squeeze the outer end (towards the passengers) of the bracket track until tight. Reinstall everything and enjoy your new (un)floppy drink holder.