Under the dashboard - Blower box refurb
Whilst the dash was out, I got to work removing the fan blower box as I wanted to restore it.
Notice how brown and greasy the foaming is? I dont know why, but everytime I use the fan, my girlfriend would always comment that my face smelt like grease/oil/petrol. I thought it was the fuel odour leaking from the fuel system, but I replaced everything already (as per previous post in this thread). I have a feeling its grease/oil/fuel vapour thats lingering in the foam/filter inside the blower box. Anyway, the brown foam pretty much disintegrated as soon as I touched it. If you've ever seen fine dust/sand like particles on your dashboard, or small chunks of foam blowing out of your vents, it's because the foam in your blower box has deteriorated.
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Got to work removing a few screws and unassembled the entire unit. Cylindrical fan was cleaned, brown diverter flap foam was removed and re-foamed with new grey foam.
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And all put back together
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I managed to reinstall everything, put the dash back in and made sure everything worked. I was mainly worried about the HVAC selector knobs not being configured properly for each setting, but it all worked out well. No more odours from the ventilation/cooling system! I threw the floormats on as well to finish off the flooring. *excuse the hanging horn button lol
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I didn't refit the stereo in, because the tombstone and some other interior bits and pieces are about to come out again. I just needed to piece the car back together so I had a car to drive to work.
I'll be sure to upload more pics when I finish off the interior, most likely on Monday. Nothing major, just minor touches that would put a smile on my face
Thanks for reading everyone, if I ramble on too much, let me know :D
Dashboard work - completed
Hello all, me again. Had a bit of time the other day to get my hands dirty again.
After driving the car for a few days, no new rattles or issues came about from pulling the dash out and reinstalling it. All HVAC components that were removed and reinstalled are operating as per normal. The air coming out of the vents is vastly different and fresh compared to before. Safe to say, a successful job done :D
I finished off the dashboard side of things by changing all the major components I didnt want to scratch with repeat removal/installations, so I saved them until I knew the dashboard reinstall was problem free.
New OEM HVAC panel, 96/97 radio din pocket, 96/97 tombstone, 96/97 hazard/headlight button, and a new cigarette lighter (which was probably the hardest item to install, took me a good 15 minutes to work out how to fit it LOL)
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On the driver side of things, a new 96/97 cluster cover and 96/97 meter hood (matte finish). I''m not a fan of the silver rings around the tacho/speedo. I also replaced the steering column cover as the previous owner installed a flashing LED on top for the alarm.
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Finished off the driver side with a new black MOMO Prototipo, replacing my old Silver Prototipo. I also got a new Works Bell hub to replace the MOMO hub, as the shrouding on it was slightly warped.
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Lastly, some new ventilation louvres, I installed them all, and then had to remove the tombstone again, so ended up damaging two of the louvres as they were soooo tight (new locking tabs on the tombstone hadn't settled/softened yet). Re-ordered another 2 vents this morning :fp: LOL
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The last piece is the centre console. I don't know if any of you guys have this issue as well, but my shifting arm (left in Australia, right for you guys) is in an awkward shrugging position because the OEM centre console sits too high. I've had some shoulder/neck pain and I thought it was related, so I got my hands on a new JetStream centre console. I also picked up a new shiftboot and 96/97 AUTO window switch.
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Practically, its awesome. It allows my elbow to sit at a lower height, my entire left side of my body is relaxed more than the OEM console, but it just doesn't look right. Texturally, it doesnt flow with the OEM panels which bothers me. It's been approximately 2 months now since using the shorty console and I did go and see a physiotherapist a few times as well, he suggested it may be related to how I sit at work, so I have been more mindful and readjusted my posture at work. After treatment, my neck issues have subsided. I am not sure if it was work related or centre console related, so I might throw on the OEM console again to see if the issue reoccurs. I sold off the Jet Stream centre console today.
Here are some photos of the brand new OEM centre console I ordered over a year ago, sitting in storage at the moment.
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The interior refresh is almost complete. I need to pull my door trims off to replace the window rollers, and change the door lock springs. While the door is pulled apart, I was looking to install my new external door handles (since the current ones have some dried up wax/polish around the black rubber seals), but I don't want pull the door handles off again (along with the plastic protector and the messy glue that comes with it) when I get the paintwork corrected/coated. It really grinds my gears when I see dried up polish/wax on rubber seals and mouldings, so I want to remove all the lights, mouldings, and door handles first, the paintwork corrected, then install all new replacements for them.
I really wanted to get all the interior sorted at the same time, but looks like the doors will have to wait until I'm ready to do paint correction.
I've got 60 hours of work lined up this week, so probably wont have time to do much to the car. Until next time..