Valdez's Heat/Defrost Door Issue

[D2Beetle]

OK, I have good news and bad news... the good news is the blend door snap bushing is not broken! The bad news is I will not be doing the snap bushing DIY at this time, but I will be updating the Blend Door thread with all of the photos.

So my problem is the Vent/Floor/Defrost selector cable. Apparently there is a plastic retaining clip that holds the cable to the outside duct as it wraps around and underneath. The clip is broken; this allows the cable to flex and move, which does not allow the cable to move the Defrost/Heat selector lever. I will be posting a YouTube video of the Blend and Heat Door movement to show you what the problem is.

My cost (+tax) for the repair was...

Nylon Patches (x3): $1.87 = $5.61
Radio Removal Kit: $4.50

Tax .0975%: $0.99

Hours of labor taking the dash apart and putting it back together: $ Priceless $

Total: $11.10

[scarabY2k]

Friggin plastic Frank, i'm sure you'll find a better mousetrap (clip) to replace the plastic clips. I'll stay tuned to the adventure.

Go get em buddy!

[D2Beetle]

OK, here is the YouTube video; short and to the point...

[scarabY2k]

Awaiting for the sequel

You can do it mang!

[D2Beetle]

OK I have the pic of the problem and here it is ...

The blue rectangle is the snap bushing, not the problem.

In the first pic the green circle is the temperature select cable and if you noticed it is clamped/attached to the bottom of the ducting. Now the first and second pics have what appear to be/have missing/broken cable connections, i.e. the yellow circles; this is where I believe the clamp(s) for the Vent/Defrost/Heater cable should be.

[D2Beetle]

OK here is the fix pic and I only used three zip ties before I got it right. I originally tighten it all the way and found out that moved the defrost/heat door to the halfway position, which put a bind on the cable and you could not turn the selector switch; so the cable has to be able to flex a little. Does this remind you of Goldilocks; it had to be just right!

[D2Beetle]

OK, got the rotting foam clean from all three duct doors; technically it is only two, but the temp door is shaped in a "V" that pivots so I counted it as two. I did get yet another surprise, the foam is on both sides of the doors!

Picture 1 is the vacuum tool that I made.
Picture 2 is the right side temp door.
Picture 3 shows the Defrost/Heat door (in front) and the left side temp door (in back).
Picture 4 shows you the patch material that I choose to cover the door holes.
Picture 5 is the right side temp door repaired.
Picture 6 shows the Defrost/Heat door (in front) and the left side temp door (in back) repaired.

A vacuum cleaner works great to remove the old foam. Now you have to remove the old self-adhesive plastic from the doors. A wire tooth brush or plastic scrapper will work, but I just used my finger nails.

Now to get to the foam that was on other side of the doors, I made my own vacuum hose tool out of 1/2" water hose so I could get it through the door holes. Also it was flexible enough to reach behind the left temp door (picture 3).

[D2Beetle]

OMG! Now get to put all back together!

[elancee]

Wo-o-oah!!!

[D2Beetle]

All reassembled and she's up and running! The air now blows out the correct vents!

And I did have some left over screws and I'm not certain that there should be that wide of a gap between the steering wheel and the column cover.

[elancee]

An intrepid NB owner, you are! I don't know whether to be sorry that you have six screws left over or impressed.

[casrhino]

I did the same job a couple of weeks ago and had the same 6screws left over. I never did figure out where they came from

[Cadenza]

Typical German over-engineering where it's not needed! Just send them back to Wolfsburg!

Originally Posted by D2Beetle

And I did have some left over screws and I'm not certain that there should be that wide of a gap between the steering wheel and the column cover.

[jailor8]

The one scew most likely joins metal to metal, maybe the metal knee bolsters to the frame under the steering wheel. Might also be the screw from behind the speedo assembly. The other 5 are for plastic, and could be from any where really. Behind the radio, left and right dash fillers, almost anywhere.

GOOD JOB FRANK ON "BLENDING" MY ROUGH OUTLINE AND POOR PHOTOS WITH YOUR GREAT PHOTOS AND DESCIPTIONS. I DON'T THINK OF THINGS LIKE A MIRROR TO SHOW THE BACK OF THE STEERING WHEEL!!

I WISH I HAD LAID EVERYTHING OUT LIKE YOU DID BUT I DID NOT HAVE ROOM IN THE GARGAGE AND IT WAS ABOUT 15 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!

MY DAUGHTERS REPAIR HAS SURVIVED THE SUMMER AND NOW BACK INTO WINTER AGAIN.

I'M DOING THE HEADLINER AND SUNROOF SHADE RECOVER NOW. BUT I JUST REMOVED THEM AND I'M GOING TO LET THE SHOP RECOVER THEM.

ALSO WATCHING FOR INTERIOR PARTS THAT I NEED TO REPLACE.

JAILOR8
JAILOR8

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by jailor8

The one scew most likely joins metal to metal, maybe the metal knee bolsters to the frame under the steering wheel. Might also be the screw from behind the speedo assembly. The other 5 are for plastic, and could be from any where really. Behind the radio, left and right dash fillers, almost anywhere.

GOOD JOB FRANK ON "BLENDING" MY ROUGH OUTLINE AND POOR PHOTOS WITH YOUR GREAT PHOTOS AND DESCIPTIONS. I DON'T THINK OF THINGS LIKE A MIRROR TO SHOW THE BACK OF THE STEERING WHEEL!!

I WISH I HAD LAID EVERYTHING OUT LIKE YOU DID BUT I DID NOT HAVE ROOM IN THE GARGAGE AND IT WAS ABOUT 15 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!

MY DAUGHTERS REPAIR HAS SURVIVED THE SUMMER AND NOW BACK INTO WINTER AGAIN.

I'M DOING THE HEADLINER AND SUNROOF SHADE RECOVER NOW. BUT I JUST REMOVED THEM AND I'M GOING TO LET THE SHOP RECOVER THEM.

ALSO WATCHING FOR INTERIOR PARTS THAT I NEED TO REPLACE.

JAILOR8
JAILOR8

Thanks! Wow, 15 degrees! I have a standing rule; never work on a car below 50 degrees, unless you absolutely have to. I spent to many days during the Boston winter working on the wife's Volvo outside, because I did not have a garage. Hats off to you.

I did a Headliner DIY in case you did not know.

[D2Beetle]

OK, my simple heater/defrost cable fix has slipped and the air is now blowing out of all the vents; hopefully it will continue to work so I do not have to work in the cold to fix it.