DIY: Fix sloppy AC vents

[evilnickwong]

Most of us with E30s probably have faced the issue where the AC vents no longer hold their vertical position. Every time you drive over the tiniest of bumps, it just falls down and ends up freezing your legs.So here's a fix I read about online (can't remember where) which worked well for me.First, remove the vent unit from the dashboard. To do this:1) Turn the vent so it faces as far down as possible.2) Stick a flat head screwdriver between the top of the vent and the dashboard and pry the vent out. Be gentle, last thing you want it to go shopping at BavAuto for new vents. 3) With abit of effort, the vent should snap out of place on each side. Once that happens, ease it out of the dashboard.Now, get a brush and soap and clean the heck out of your (probably dirty) vents. Then, protect them with some good dashboard shine.

Next you need to add something so that there is greater friction between the side of the vents and the dashboard socket in which it resides. There are 2 things I used, one is velour (the green stuff you see in these pictures) and the other thing you can use is velcro (the soft side, not the pokey side). Use whichever is necessary as velour is not so thick. Stick it on the sides of the vents like so:

Once you're done, just insert them back in to the socket.You can see here that there are two tabs on which the vent "hooks" on to.

The technique to putting them back in is to angle the vents downward just like when it came out, then push in firmly until they snap into place. You'll get a better idea when you look at the shape of the hook on the side of the vents. Enjoy your now, snug and firm fitting vents:

And never ever have to hear your passengers complain about vents falling down again.

 

[anakin]

Good tips ...err Mr.Evil..pardon me, but ehat is velour & velcro and where to get them?

 

[Strider]

evil nick,

that's a good one. thanks.

here what i did sometime ago, you don't need to take out the aircond vent;

1. find your self 2 or 3 pieces A4 size hard plastic that they always use for binding a document. easily can get at any stationery or book shop.

2. cut it in circle with the same diameter as the side of the vent. (the width of the vent is the diameter of the vent).

3. cut a slot until to the centre of the circle (slightly larger than the side of the pivot that hold the vent.

4. Make a few pices of this and slot it in at the side of the vent (where evil nick paste the velour) if a single piece is not enough, push in a another piece. you can take it out or slot it in easily and any odd shape of the plastic that protruding out can be cut.

5. try to push the vent up and down until you satisfied with the friction.

the concept are the same as evil nick, to create some friction on side of the vent.

walla, your aircond vent are now hold firmly.

p.s. hope it is easily can understand

 

[kacyp]

Thank you for posting it here. At least I can read it.

 

[evilnickwong]

anakin: Velcro is that stuff which has 2 sides, one is erm, "pokey" the other is "furry", they both stick to each other real well. Kinda like what we have on our shoes that don't have laces wan.

Velour is the green stuff in the pictures. It feels like velvet, but is used to prevent things from sliding around.

Can get velcro from any hardware store. Velour, Home-Fix has it, not all places do.

Strider: I used that method last time also, I used a CD instead and sliced it up till it fit. But this time gatal to get a nicer look and clean my vents at the same time.

 

[ves]

kudos bro evilnickwong

 

[kgb]

Thanks for sharing! Will do that soon.

 

[astroboy]

I did something like this to my old 1992 Perdana. That one more work, need to open the entire mid console facial, coin box open, exposing the radio player. Forgot what I use. I normally grab whatever that's available around me.

The Velcro soft side is available in any of the hardware chain store like ACE Hardware or the like. Its actually equivalent to fabric + double sided tape.

 

[evilnickwong]

Wah 2 year old thread revival lol.

 

[kgb]

It might be TWO year old thread, but is a very useful one. I borrowed my vehicle to a friend of mine, and later found out that 3 out of 4 vents are screwed, not blaming anyone for this, i'v decided to do some DIY fix instead, did some googling and ended up at BMWClubMalaysia of all places.

Anyways, its all good an well in theory, but when you actually have to take your vents out, you might not be so brave after all, as things can break easily. Just to share with you all how i did mine:

Vehicle: e30 1991

push your vent down as far as it goes:

try to use plastic, avoid screw driver as it will leave marks on your plastic. For this exercise, i happen to find TWO peaces of used SIM card cartridges or whatever they called. Put two together to make it harder and insert at the top of the vent about 1-1.5 inches deep and push upwards as shown in the pic.

With some effort, vent will give way and "pop out" slightly, as show in the pic:

:top:


You will than need to pull it out, no strength is required, just pull it out with your fingers:

Thats what vent looks like from the side, so that you know how to pull them out in the future:

This is why i've decided to pull all FOUR out to give it a good clean at home:

Special thanks goes to HotLink:

 

[astroboy]

Yey! Hotlink does it again! lol! :top: