October 23, 2009 07:17PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 636 |
Title pretty much says it all.
I'm a firm believe in Artificial Summer*, so the consistent direction of my air vents is important to me. It also serves as a good training tool for making sure my hands are correctly positioned on the steering wheel, as if they aren't, they get cold ;-) So does anyone have any tips or tricks to stiffening these things back up? I'm tempted to dump some epoxy and then after it starts to set up break it loose. I'm open to more suave techniques *Artificial Summer - The act of driving, especially in sub freezing temperatures, with the windows down and the heat blasting, thus creating the illusion of a summertime drive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2009 07:17PM by Earendil. |
October 23, 2009 08:03PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Sand is the only solution! Ship your car to the Sahara, then drive it around for a few hours, then ship it home. Your vents should be nice and 'stiff' |
October 24, 2009 07:56AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 609 : SoCal |
October 24, 2009 01:12PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 670 |
Never really had issues with this, though I usually roll down the window below 90 kph. I hardly ever use the heater, even around freezing temperatures - I just like the cold. Actually the dash vents are almost exclusively used in the summertime, to put outside air into the car. When I need heating, I direct it toward the feet (as hot air raises by itself), or to the windscreen, to defog.
@ Alan Do you mean using the shims at the side of the vents? I don't know how the vents are assembled, might sound strange, but thick grease could help as well. |
October 24, 2009 09:48PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 944 : Lake Havasu City, Arizona |
October 25, 2009 12:48AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 110 : portland |
on an old Fiat 124 a folded McD straw snippet did the job.
anyone have any idea how much these vents cost to replace? '93 190E 2.6 » days '92 318ic » weekends '85 280TE » resto |
October 25, 2009 04:44AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 183 |
October 25, 2009 07:24AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 670 |
October 25, 2009 03:00PM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 110 : portland |
ugh. $80. I think the CD spacer sounds like a winner.
[www.realoem.com] '93 190E 2.6 » days '92 318ic » weekends '85 280TE » resto |
October 25, 2009 07:49PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
October 26, 2009 03:52PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
October 26, 2009 04:15PM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 110 : portland |
last deck of CDs i bought had a cd-sized spacer. that'd look kinda funny.
'93 190E 2.6 » days '92 318ic » weekends '85 280TE » resto |
October 26, 2009 04:17PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 636 |
Thanks for all the tips guys :-)
I knew there would be a bunch of things that wouldn't come to mind. I have sandpaper readily available, so I'll give that a try first.
Same. But I went to college in a northern dessert (Spokane, WA). There are plenty of worse places on earth, but it was not uncommon to have beautifully clear, sunny, dry, 20° F (-6.7C) days. Even more regular are 10-20F nights, when I do most of my driving. Without driving gloves, my hands start to impede my ability to keep the car going smoothly around corners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles |
October 26, 2009 08:24PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
I used a longer one for the middle two registers, made it a U shaped (folded sandpaper shim) thing that fit into both; one end in one and the other end into its neighbor. The outer two registers get their own shims. Ove used to say these registers come right out if you push on one side, but I never had any luck with that.
Rick |
October 26, 2009 09:56PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
October 27, 2009 07:51AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 609 : SoCal |
October 27, 2009 08:56AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 110 : portland |
what? now I'm lost. how the hell would you stick a full-size CD into that vent?
can someone take a pic or whip up a mspaint to 'splain? thanks. i have FVS myself. '93 190E 2.6 » days '92 318ic » weekends '85 280TE » resto |
October 27, 2009 12:40PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
Wetordry isn't like regular sandpaper, and the 320 grit is just enough to make things tight without having them too tight. But to each his own |
October 28, 2009 09:44AM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
no no, you break the cd into pieces so they fit into the spaces on the sides of the vents. when i did it i broke it into 4 pieces (with scissors) and then had to cut them down a bit, but once i did you couldn't tell i had jammed them into the vents. |
October 28, 2009 12:28PM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 110 : portland |
i guess you'll have to do this to the cabrio next time ur at my place we can do a writeup lol '93 190E 2.6 » days '92 318ic » weekends '85 280TE » resto Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2009 12:29PM by ducatipaso. |
October 28, 2009 01:02PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
November 14, 2009 01:36PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 183 |
Cheapest mod ever! Thanks heaps, not my vents stay put. |
November 14, 2009 01:52PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 636 |
So very true. I have at least 15 more hp, maybe 20. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles |
March 23, 2010 08:40AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 43 |
October 14, 2010 03:43PM
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Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 34 : Stuttgart, Germany (desperately missing CA) |
I read somewhere a while back that you can take the vents out and go to the local hardware store and get rubber O Rings and put them on the posts on each end. I too need to do this. The last time I was at a local yard here in Germany I mean to grab a center one, but forgot. The cars in yards here are in very pristine condition.
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October 14, 2010 04:18PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
Ove used to say they pop right out, hasn't been my experience but maybe I'm missing the trick to unhooking them. I'm using a folded over match book cover but the cd case material sounds better, until I learn how to pull them out that is B) then the Oring will be adopted... Wear glass' when you're cutting plastic though- safety first! |
October 15, 2010 01:05AM
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Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 34 : Stuttgart, Germany (desperately missing CA) |
You shouldn't need to cut any plastic at all. To make it easier, you need to pull the entire vent assembly and after some research, it is pretty straightforward with a screwdriver and pulling it out. From there, you can find out how the individual vents kind of come up and out. You simply slide the O Rings over the posts on the ends and pop the vent back into the assembly and re-install. I tried to find some pics but failed. I'll take some if I do this myself.
Now after doing a touch of research, it looks like Tischer sells the center vent for $45. That is almost worth it I think to me and not quite as much hassle. If anyone is interested, the PN is 64221381147 |