Northern Paul Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) Hello, I'm on a mission to sort out my heater, first up is sorting the non functioning lower vents. Its an ex-military 90 and the lower vents appear jammed or stuck - they've been like this for years. I cannot adjust the lever on the dash to direct the heat to the windscreen vents & don't want to force it. I get reasonably good heat and airflow but I want to be able to direct it. I have found the diagram showing the arrangement but my questions are: do I need to remove the lower dash to get to them - presumably so - & if so does the dash top need to come out too? Once the lower dash is out are the heater flaps contained within it? Has anyone got any photos of this? What might be causing the lower flaps to jam? If I reach in with my fingers I can't move the flaps either. Where do I start with this?!? I'm not going to be with the car for another week but I want to get on with it once I'm home. Cheers, Paul Edited September 12, 2022 by Northern Paul spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 The top panel of the lower section unscrews. Can't remember how much of the dash above it needs to come off to get to it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 Thanks, that's interesting and useful. I'd rather not strip the whole dash if I can help it but if needs must then I guess I'll have to. Anyone have any more info, diagrams or photos? Thanks, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 From memory the lower dash is the last bit to come off the bulkhead when I stripped mine. So I’d start digging from above. Can you move the lower flaps with your fingers? So are they seized or has the cable come off the flaps inside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpelly Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 (edited) It might be interesting to know if you can move the flaps by hand if the controls on the RHS of the dash are removed/disconnected, i.e. is the the controls jammed, cable or the vents themselves? As others have stated, to get proper access, it's a top down removal. Removing top down might also allow some view from the top, e.g. is something lodged in there? Simon... Edited September 13, 2022 by simonpelly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 I can move the flaps slightly with my fingers but certainly not much. Simon - good thinking to remove the cable from the right hand side controls and see if I can move the flaps then. I'll have a fiddle when I get home and go from there. If anyone has any photos as they have stripped a dash out that would be brilliant! Cheers, Paul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 31 minutes ago, Northern Paul said: I can move the flaps slightly with my fingers but certainly not much. Simon - good thinking to remove the cable from the right hand side controls and see if I can move the flaps then. I'll have a fiddle when I get home and go from there. If anyone has any photos as they have stripped a dash out that would be brilliant! Cheers, Paul There's a good chance there are pictures in my thread in my signature. Afraid I've not got an index, but have a scroll through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpelly Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Some images with may or may not help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 I've had mine apart too - I'll see if I've got any useful pictures, otherwise you'll have to trawl through my 109 thread in the members vehicles section. You can remove the lower dash and leave the upper stuff alone, which is probably best if you can avoid disturbing it. Here's a few photos - I blanked off the top panel to remove the windscreen vents: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwards Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Aha! I replied to this on the other side. Glad to see solid advice and pics here too. But.. Fridge - why remove the dash vents? Relying on a heated windscreen to keep things clear? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 Photos are really appreciated & useful but most of all, I'm intrigued and heartened by Fridges reply that it can be removed without disturbing the upper dash; if this is right (and I have no reason to doubt) then it would make life far easier! Hopefully work won't be too busy tomorrow and I can trawl some members threads. Fridge, can you recall if theres anything particular about just removing the lower dash? I'll be starting with disconnecting the cable at the dash end and giving the flap a finger wiggle and go from there. Once again, thanks for the input so far. Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 I’m not sure getting the whole lower dash off will benefit you much. I think far easier is stripping the LH end enough to get to that top panel that’s going to be less work and easier than removing the lower I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 @Northwards - correct, my truck has no heater matrix, I am using an eberspacher inside and a heated screen for demisting. I also made the driver's end a separate removable section to house the fusebox + ECU; @landroversforever - I'd say 50/50 as trying to get to the top panel screws and tinker about with the flaps with the lower section in place / upper dash in the way could be a lot more fiddly than just dropping it down / being able to tilt it forwards to get a good look in. @Northern Paul - I can't be 100% certain as my truck is a long way from standard but I'm fairly sure the central lower dash is one lump that can be un-screwed without having to dismantle everything above it, although the heater control cables will probably put up a fight; https://www.lrworkshop.com/diagrams/land-rover-defender-interior-trim/trim/parcel-tray-heater-duct_53604 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 Your diagram @FridgeFreezer reminds me (As mine was a post 02 TD5 type)... you'd need to take #14 out to get to the middle screws. Once that's out you'd be able to get to all of the screws holding #21 in. Obviously if those screws are an arse, you can take it further and remove the lower dash completely. I do remember the wiring loom being an arse behind there where it comes through the bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 More useful information, thank you. In light of everything so far, I'll start by disconnecting the control cable on the righthand side of the dash and try to ascertain if I can waggle the flaps with my fingers. If so, it seems likely the cable will be seized / jammed & it'll get a liberal dosing of penetrating fluid over a few days with some judicious wiggling and jiggling. However, if the flaps are still retricient once the cable is removed, I'll get in there with a WiFi endoscope camera on my phone to see if there is anything obvious blocking things. If that doesn't yeild anything conclusive then on to... ... stripping the lower dash while attempting to leave the upper dash in place. If it comes to this I'll likely remove the whole lower dash to get some Silent Coat in the heater duct enclosure along with some closed cell foam to try and prevent some of the drumming but more to insulate the enclosure so toasty hot air from the heater isn't coming staight into contact with cold metal. @FridgeFreezer in the attached diagram, where are bolts #6 hidden? Presumably the captive nuts #9 are in the bulkhead. Any idea of bolt size? Once again, thanks for the help / advice so far... Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 To remove the lower dash, you will have to remove two bolts through the top lip into bulkhead captive nuts. They are concealed by the plastic tray insert, which in turn is constrained by the plastic trim that forms the grille over the vent flaps, grey on earlier models and black with the centre console on later TD5s.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 30 minutes ago, Northern Paul said: in the attached diagram, where are bolts #6 hidden? Presumably the captive nuts #9 are in the bulkhead. Any idea of bolt size? I think they're the top lip bolts snagger mentioned, mine are M6 / 10mm socket (and a right fiddle as there's very little gap around the heads and the angle sucks) but I've no idea if that's standard or something I did last time round Looking at my photos I suspect I put the M6 rivnuts in those holes myself; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 That photo is useful as it gives me an indication of the bolt position relative to the vents. Being ex-military, the light switch and metalwork its attached to will need to come out first then! Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 4 hours ago, Northern Paul said: Being ex-military, the light switch and metalwork its attached to will need to come out first then! Depends - IIRC the centre binnacle bit is screwed to the upper not the lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 7 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Depends - IIRC the centre binnacle bit is screwed to the upper not the lower. Yes - it’s like the SIII auxiliary switch panel but with a flat face for the light switch rather than the vertical apex. The trouble is, that panel assembly will trap the plastic tray in place beneath, hiding access to the two bulkhead bolts. The simple bodgy way around it would be to cut the tray around the base of the switch panel assembly to remove the side sections of the tray. I suspect, though am not certain, that the bolts will be outboard of the switch panel assembly and should be revealed this way. Still better to remove the panel and tray properly, in my view, unless there is a mayor problem in getting the panel out and time is very limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 Ah, I forget about unnecessary bits of trim like that as I binned them all long ago 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Paul Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 Its not a particularly big deal to remove, its been out before as I've been in there to access / add wiring runs. Just another thing to thing about. Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.