Today I got under the dash and used the watch back remover tool to remove the switch bezel. Worked like a charm.





From that point I was able to rotate the headlight switch around and reattach the three hoses with freshly cut rubber ends. Tight fit. I reinstalled the switch and inserted the plunger - and it wouldn’t seat completely.





I tried the headlights - nothing. No change. At this point I’m assuming that the plunger has a physical attachment to the vacuum directional changer inside the switch. The problem is that the plunger can no longer be removed from the switch itself. Doesn’t matter how hard I push the button on the side, it is absolutely stuck. It won’t go in all the way, and won’t come out all the way. I’m open to any suggestions at all.

***EDIT*** I was able to get the center shaft out again. Before I try to reassemble, there seems to be something else that needs to happen to make this switch seat completely and work the diverter valve inside. I'm going to tear into the CSM and see if there are any tips or tricks to this, but real world experience from someone would be a bigger help.

 

I hate to say it, but I think you need to completely remove the switch to see what's going on and then correct whatever is problematic

 

I'm guessing the only method at this point is to take the switch apart. There isn't any reason I can think of that the shaft could insert and connect, work the headlights and parking lights, but not seat fully nor operate the vacuum ports. AND completely fight to be removed. Something must be broken broken internally or not lining up correctly to accept the center shaft completely...? I don't know these switches at all.

And that switch is a BOOGER to mess with where it sits.

 

Fine. You want to find out what's inside your stuff? You gotta open it up. I removed my headlight switch since 1) it didn't work and 2) there's a minuscule chance I can fix it. The issue is that the slide which transfers the vacuum from one port to the other doesn't do its job.

First step - use a small flat screwdriver to pull up the side metal tab and gently work the metal cover off the plastic body. Be careful of the front plastic piece which is connected to a spring and the offset copper connector that dims your interior lights. A little finagling and it comes off smoothly.






Inside is the slider into which the push/pull shaft fits into. Again, spring loaded, so be careful. The shiny metal rectangle is where the outer button pushes to release the shaft when you remove it. This is how they fit together:



The little bump on the top....



runs in these little dips to give you parking and full on lights

 

And this is my problem. This little slider is stuck hard and fast, and it should slide like blades on ice.



That little tab sticking out fits into this slot on the side of the slider that makes the lights go on and off



THAT is the physical connection that I've been looking for that moves the vacuum connection from one port to the next.

I am going to take some time to clean and degrease and regrease and whatever else to get that slider moving again. Once that is done, I'll clean all the other contacts inside. This isn't that much different than the contacts we see inside the transmission kickdown switch under the hood.

And with that tab sticking down in the back of the switch, it's no wonder my headlight **** wouldn't seat properly. Wish me luck.

 

Next step, since spraying and soaking didn't do anything - and since force broke off the little tab sticking up... Why not take it apart further?

Carefully bending back three tabs on the diverter, I eased up the three port top piece. This revealed a leaf spring loaded piece of metal, but what I didn't see right off the bat was there was a piece of rubber stuck to the back of the diverter. THIS is the piece that slides and makes the vacuum change direction. It was basically glued to the diverter, and it took a bit of soaking and spraying with electronics cleaner to get it loose.





I soldered the little tab back on where I had carelessly snapped it off. I may take this to a jeweler tomorrow and see if I can get a professional to apply a better attachment. It's pretty good, but I don't trust myself... Anyway, I polished the back of the diverter cap where the rubber seal slides using 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper, and I used a little synthetic grease on the rubber slide where it contacted the diverter. Then the pieces went together like a sandwich.




Removing them from the diverter top and setting them in the bottom of the metal assembly, I could then slide the diverter top back into place easily. Bending the tabs down on the edge will seal up the unit back to the way it was new.

I'm questioning my use of the synthetic grease, as it's kind of sticky and thick, but these pieces only have to move about a 1/2". It's not sealed up tight yet, so if there are other suggestions, please give them to me. I would love to see this move a bit more easily. Again, I'm taking that little tab piece to a jeweler to make sure the little solder joint is fast and tight before buttoning this thing up.

***EDIT*** I went back and cleaned the slider areas off and used dielectric grease on the rubber surface against the metal, and it works perfectly. Super smooth and slick, as I expected the piece to move.



This is as far as I can go tonight - I'm hoping to post up the reassembly pics tomorrow at some point.

 

Bob, you need to talk with Dan (jaunty75) too, to get this stuff in the TOA's Front Wheel Driver. Technical stuff like this is invaluable.

Ain't like you can find anyone who understands it and will work on it now anyway.

I know I had to disassemble and clean the headlight remote valve underhood on my 69. I also know I've had the headlight switch out years ago but can't remember if I did any service on it.

 

I'll reach out to him with this. I'm a member of TOA but they haven't gotten my online name and password figured out yet, so I can't post anything.

 

Amazing work! Gosh, there have been some seriously interesting threads on here of late with some phenomenal work being done. Well documented too! Feels like the golden age of Toronado repair!

With regards to the proper grease to use, I'd say a silicone type lube would be the one to go with. Something like Superlube, or maybe even a dielectric grease. If you end up cracking it open again, they would be great choices. I'm sure the synthetic grease you used would be just fine though if you don't open it up again.

 

I have found the Achilles heel of this switch, and that is the little stamped aluminum tab that I broke off... I'm no metal expert, but I thought aluminum bits could be soldered like copper wire, and I'm wrong. That tab snapped off immediately upon having any pressure applied to it. So I'm going to spend a little time reading about aluminum fixes this morning, and anyone who has suggestions on repairing this piece can please chime in. Maybe it's best to fabricate a piece like this using a different metal. Maybe I can source a broken '67 headlight switch. Let's see where this leads. For now, I'm on hold.

 

Unless I didn't know what I was looking for, I didn't see any pictures of the broken-off piece and what it broke from - if you have any external room, maybe try one of the JB Weld epoxy metal glues.

 

I should have pointed the piece out as I made the error. It’s easily bent and broken, as this is an aluminum piece. I broke the single tab off this part, which is critical for the operation of the switch. I soldered it back on incorrectly, so while it looks stable in this pic, it’s only hanging on by a thread.

And while it may look fixable, this whole part is only an inch long. That little tab is tiny.

 

You might be able to take advantage of the open slot under the tab to apply a generous amount of epoxy as well as the underside/bottom of the tab, and then be more judicious around the base of the tab. Probably a good idea would be to roughen up the surfaces to enhance adhesion. Much to my surprise during my first use of JB Weld earlier this year, I found the cured product is really tough. Good luck.

 

I'm going to have to try something different. I stopped at a couple jewelers and a radiator repair shop and none were willing to give my challenge a try. Soldering aluminum really seems to be for a much larger piece. The slot itself gives 1 mm of depth and there should be at least that much extra space below that for more. There are so many versions of JB Weld and I've bought at least 5 of the wrong ones. I think the KwikWeld may be the one to try on this. I have some ideas on fabbing up a new piece if this fails.

EDIT - I removed all the solder from yesterday's repair, sanded the little pieces, and used Gorilla Weld Heavy Duty Epoxy to reattach the small tab where it broke. I filled the opening and ramped the epoxy slightly to get as much bond as possible. 6-8 hour cure, so overnight it should be as hard as it will get. If that doesn't work, I'm going to cut a small piece of aluminum and install a small sheet metal screw from the back, gluing in place and filing the threads flat to match the tab I broke. I may try and do that anyway to have the backup piece I need in case the epoxy idea doesn't work. In all honesty, if the tab is set into the epoxied opening and it breaks, there still should be enough material to keep it in place to function in the switch. Everything is pretty tight when assembled.

 

Does moving the headlight **** out/in apply force to that tab?

 

Yes - the tab fits into this slot, so the act of pushing and pulling the headlight plunger physically changes the direction of the vacuum diverter.

 

Hopefully I'll get a chance to try and assemble this switch tomorrow morning. It's going to take a bit of skill and balance and a lot of luck for everything that is spring loaded to all squeeze and pop together in one fell swoop. I'm not sure I'll be able to document it all, but I'll try. I believe I'll need to use strapping tape around the front to back, and I'll need to fabricate a clip of some kind that can be pulled out when the top is popped in place...

 

I’m late to the party, but have played with a few big car vacuum parts.

First up, that mild “U” shaped spring metal is designed to hold the rubber gasket seal fast, firm & vacuum sealed against its opposing metal. But as you noted, it’s also supposed to slide easily.

Sanding the metal side flat with mild 600-1000 grit is the right move from what I know. You might also want to try to flatten the rubber side, but that’s a high risk manuver since you can’t get a replacement.

What I wanted to report is that you can get high vacuum grease to re-establish the seal between the (probably) compromised rubber and flat-sanded metal:


I also wanted to let you know that a piece of 20-24lb bond paper _behind_ the “U” shaped spring can be used as a shim to help restore a vacuum seal between the old rubber and newly-flattened metal it slides on.

With respect the any easily broken metal tabs, see if you can cut the slots down a little lower to create a new tab. Might not work, but have a look

Hope this helps
Chris

 

Thanks, Chris - I had no idea that such a grease existed. I used dielectric silicone fairly liberally in the slider area. I was able to use the 600 grit paper on the rubber to smooth the roughed area where it had stuck to the metal previously. My only concern is that while it is slicker that the Super Lube, it still has a pretty good resistance to it when the slide is moved after sitting for a while. As I stated before, that may not be an issue, since the plastic block that it fits into is spring-pressed up against the previously broken tab, and the force on the repaired spot will be evenly distributed. There isn't a lot of space for a broken part to move, up or down. I tried to use enough epoxy to create some extra strength, but there's only so much area to use without limiting the travel of the slide itself. We will see tomorrow if this can be reassembled and installed as a functioning unit, or if I have to put out an APB for another switch.

 

It looks like this part could be made from scratch out of a fresh piece of steel. That's the route I'd go, since that tab looks weak to begin with, and the part itself is just a thing to move the vacuum selector. It's pretty much one-dimensional in terms of making it. I'd hate to put it back together and have that repair fail, and have to take everything apart yet again. I've had my headlight switch out once and that was enough.

 

I've been really close to doing that. It's 1 mm thick aluminum, and I can source that thickness steel or aluminum pieces. I had a couple concerns with making my own. One, the piece has 4 little bumps on top that keep it from sticking to the top plate. It's a great engineering design, and I couldn't figure out how to get around that. Second, it's a perfect fit in the box, and anything less I fear would have a chance at turning slightly off center and not working smoothly. I'm sure I'm WAY overthinking things - but the engineers designed what they designed. Even though I'm not impressed at their strength of metal selections lol

My last thought was that the Gorilla Bond has a much higher strength than the bent edge of that aluminum piece, and if that stupid thing lasted as long as it did, I should be ok, unless the repair disintegrates into pieces.

 

I'd definitely use steel. Your aluminum part was so fragile (and still is) due to fatigue. Aluminum just isn't suitable where it'll be flexed even microscopically over and over.

With steel, you could make the 4 bumps by striking it from the other side with a punch. First place the part over another piece of steel with a hole in it where you want the bump. While it's still flat, carefully make the cuts for your tab, then make the bends and you're all set with a part much stronger than the original.

You can make the fit perfect with repeated sanding, testing the fit and action, repeat till you're satisfied. Smooth all the edges so it all moves smoothly. The original parts surely were stamped so the mechanism was surely designed with tolerance. Your part will be better, done from the comfort of your workbench, and knowing that you wont have to take this thing apart again once done.
.

 

A set of jeweler's or diemaker's dapping tools is handy for making stuff like your dimpled cover.

 

My repaired slider piece looked like this. I filled the entire opening with epoxy and left a layer on the back side. The top slide area needs to remain clear, as does the front and back side of the little tab, as it moves completely from end to end in the slot into which it fits.




Insert the slide piece, then add the bent spring in this direction.




Add the metal spacer that fits to the back of the rubber diverter.




Add the rubber piece. I lubed the edges with silicone grease, but I think Boeshield T9 might work very well. There are also vacuum greases available you could consider.




Carefully place the port section back in place.




Fit the top to its proper location and move the slide to ensure there's no binding or sticking.




Bend the tabs back into place - notice they are NOT completely tight, just snug.




Clean the interior if you haven't already. Dielectric grease the contact points. I used duct tape to assemble and hold the front contact assembly in place. The plastic piece, the spring, and the copper contact only fit together one way, so no worries here. This will help you set the top in place.




Install the slide - this has the two copper, spring-loaded contacts on the bottom. It's a balancing act, flipped upside down, to set it in the front position like this. Once in place, and continually from this point forward, keep testing to make sure this piece springs easily up and down.




install the spring and the metal contact on top.




Again, once everything is in place and in position up front, make sure the springs are not bound and the assembly bounces when pushed.




Position the top with the tab aligned with the slot in the black plastic slide below. Make sure you have good lighting and go slowly.




From the other side, you can see the slide tab directly over the slot where it needs to land. I did not have any success installing the top from this direction.




Closer view of the slider tab and the slot where it needs to go.




Flipping the switch around, I gently hooked the back side and started to close the assembly like a suitcase. Slightly bending out the side clips was necessary, but be super careful with this. I slid the spring loaded front piece under the metal, monitored the tab as it approached the slot, and used a small, flat screwdriver to make sure the slide assembly stayed springy and in place.




Then push and snap the top in place. Now you can remove the tape carefully, and push the side tabs back in place under the retaining edges.




I hooked up a hose to the center port and installed the plunger from the front. Blowing into the center and moving the plunger in and out showed that the ports were working, and it's ready for installation.

 

A follow-up to my comments rather than the edits I was doing:

Because the steel is stronger, you can afford to fiddle with the tab to get the positioning right. You can also cut it a bit long then bend it and then trim the height. Because the steel is much stronger and durable than the original, it's not a problem to have "cut out more for the tab then you needed". The whole thing will be forgiving, unlike the aluminum which would have tolerated exactly one bend before being done for.

So my process would be 1) cut piece of steel a bit over length for now, since it's hard to estimate whats needed after the ends are bent. Get the width just right on the belt sander, can be perfected later. 2) Make the bumps, leaving even amounts at each end of the currently flat strip. 3) Bend the ends. get the space between them right for holding the slider. You can trim for the right the height on the belt sander again. 4) make the cuts for the tab, give it more than enough material since you dont have to conserve so much of the steel for rigidity at the sides being much stronger than aluminum. bend it up, getting the location right, relative to the ends, and sand away at it so the tab is appropriately sized.

 

Looks pretty solid. Hopefully you don't have to mess with this bit again! If you do, we'll just meet you back here in this thread 😊

 

I think the last thing I will do is keep an eye out for spare/old/broken switches. Now that I have some familiarity with these, I like the idea of improving them as Mike and Rocket noted above - and my thoughts of making a replacement piece using flat stock and a flat-sanded screw as a slider tab could certainly work.


EDIT - honestly, if this breaks again, I think the proper thing to do is find a vacuum distribution block of some kind, and place it somewhere under the dash as a separate piece from the headlight switch. Combining these two things just isn't the best way to remedy this for the long term. This is a horrible switch lol

 

Our great Toronado man in Vegas, John Dorcey, can definitely hook you up with a replacement switch if you want.

 

Instead of the screw, I wonder if a properly placed and manicured (filed) rivet underside might work?

 

I'm sure that it could. I was trying to think of a way to make that tab without having to buy a jewelers saw and hand cut a tiny little flap per original. That's when I thought a well placed hole and a twisted and epoxied screw would make a stable and easy attaching point for the slide. But all the other doubts crept in soon after, and I just used my repaired part. Hindsight is 20/20, and I'm the most impatient person ever. That's a bad combo hahaha

 

Who knows, maybe your epoxied repair will hold up. If not, you've gotten lots of ideas on how to do next attempt at repair, and maybe you'll acquire a spare to use in the interim/

 

For the first time in maybe a dozen years, the headlights come up when the switch is pulled. Still has the T3 bright bulbs installed. And as a bonus, the vacuum trunk release works 👍🏻😊

 

Ralph is smiling.😁

 

Outstanding effort and work to get that going, congrats!