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OK be careful who you have work on your car. We all know impatient people that just wanna get it done, not necessarily done right. Well today that person was me, has it ever been you?
Couldn’t get the fan speed **** off, I’ve been working on it for a week - figured it electrochemically/ electromagnetically fused itself to the lever. The hex nut wasn’t going anywhere. 1/16 Allen wrench, small flat head screwdriver for eyeglass repair anything I could to get a good grip on that teeny weeny nut. I bathed it in WD-40 and CRC all kinds of solvents and lubricants to try to loosen that darn thing. Nothing. Nada.
So I figured what the heck it’s been a week it’s gotta be loose by now maybe I could just pry off with pliers.
Yup. Came right off.
so instead of this pic below I had that ^
The good news is I have a back up AC heater control unit. The bad news is I have no plans to disassemble my dash anytime soon. More good news - I was able to get the new face plate on - and many people may not even notice. More bad news - I notice. And you would too.
I’m scheming on how to somehow reconnect the **** that so easily came off with what’s left of the fan speed lever. Please tell me I’m not the only one that’s ever done this!
Ideas?
Happy New Year!!
Last edited by vCode442; Dec 31, 2019 at 12:30 PM.
Wedge yourself under the dash and unplug the harness from the back of the fan control switch.
Remove the two screws that attach the fan control switch to the AC/Heater assembly.
Replace with your backup up switch.
It took you a week before you finally broke it off. You are a more patient man than I. I would probably lasted about 30 minutes (if that long) before I would have had to walk away.
In the meantime, there's always superglue. But if your anything like me, just knowing that it is super glued and still needs to be replaced, will drive you nuts until you take apart the dash anyway to replace a part that no one else will see. You will feel better afterward though.
Great ideas guys thanks for the input. I had it out today its beautiful and sunny here - it’s still drives wonderfully and one day I will tackle the repair. Wishing everyone has a fabulous new year
After considering a few options I went with a metal dowel. I delicately drilled (1/16” bit) approximately 3/8 inch into the remnants of the ac control fan switch, and then approx 3/8 inch into the broken fan switch - the part which was embedded into the **** itself.
I trial fit utilizing a half inch brass nail as my dowel. I was hoping for functionality as well as an original look. Everything lined up perfectly.
A few drops of gorilla glue, set the dowel into the **** first, and then into the dash fan switch remnant. Really turned out much better than I had hoped for
So I still have my backup AC control unit - and again a functional and cosmetically original looking primary unit. On to my next project!
Crawling under the dash and removing that switch is a major PIA. Luckily my **** came off pretty easily. You made the right move. That pin should hold for quite some time if your gentle with it.
Thank you again for your help, what I did was pretty much a modification of your idea in post #3, and applying it to what I had to work with.
When I was 17 with my first 442 in 1979, getting under my dash was actually really fun, I looked forward to it. Not so much now.
I’m quite surprised how robust and durable the fix is. The **** is on there for good and going nowhere, until I tear this thing apart and rebuild it entirely. Maybe in 2040 😆
Thank you again for your help, what I did was pretty much a modification of your idea in post #3, and applying it to what I had to work with.
When I was 17 with my first 442 in 1979, getting under my dash was actually really fun, I looked forward to it. Not so much now.
I’m quite surprised how robust and durable the fix is. The **** is on there for good and going nowhere, until I tear this thing apart and rebuild it entirely. Maybe in 2040 😆
When I was 17 a lot of things were fun and I agree today not so much. Seems I've become a hemophiliac with small cuts and when I get done working, my arms have bruises all over the place,they look like someone went at them with a bat.
Thank you again for your help, what I did was pretty much a modification of your idea in post #3, and applying it to what I had to work with.
When I was 17 with my first 442 in 1979, getting under my dash was actually really fun, I looked forward to it. Not so much now.
I’m quite surprised how robust and durable the fix is. The **** is on there for good and going nowhere, until I tear this thing apart and rebuild it entirely. Maybe in 2040 😆
The "Brittle White Metal" story takes me back.... Dad had a 67 Vista Cruiser before our 70 I always saw him put the car in gear with the column shift lever.... me being speed racer instead of the shift lever, used the turn signal lever as my shifter while sitting in the garage pretending I was driving... threw her in drive and "snap" I got a 12v shock from the break (maybe maybe not but sure felt like it) Dad was pissed when he found out what happened. He found a new replacement part and I remember it taking him hours to fix it ,he had to pull the steering wheel from what I rememberer .... man he was pissed
