Securing Side Vent Levers on Their Pivots

[Pawel66]

I wanted to enquire: what kind of securing should be used to secure that the side vent levers (those in far corners of the dashboard, under the vents) sit in place on their pivots? I tried seger rings there - but after a couple of movements I hear a loud "ping" and the seger ring is gone (driver's side).

The part is not shown in the EPC. I can only guess from the part list what it is, but I am not sure. Should it be a seger ring and I just have to find a size that fits better, or it is an other type of securing?

Replacing this piece is a bit troublesome, so I wanted to do it once for good.

[mbzse]

.../...what kind of securing should be used to secure that the side vent levers (those in far corners of the dashboard, under the vents) sit in place on their pivots?.../...

This one?

[Pawel66]

Yes, thank you!

So you have a seger ring there. Then I would just need to find one that holds... I tried two already...

[Pawel66]

Hans, I do not want to bother you when it is not necessary, but you may just remember: perhaps it is easier to get to that lever and its pivot from under dash? Is there a relatively easy way of removing the black plastic duct from underneath, rather than getting there to the lever and pivot by removing the chrome plate?

I would look underneath anyway, but then I may not see something, e.g. a screw that you can undo by removing the chrome plate...

I saw a reference to removal of this duct from underneath to remove the chrome plate easier, but it talked about "knocking out" some screw, which to me smells like possibility of damaging something, knowing my skills... So I hoped for your voice.

[mbzse]

.../... easier to get to that lever and its pivot from under dash? Is there a relatively easy way of removing the black plastic duct from underneath.../...

Yes, you remove the plastic air duct from beneath in order to refurbish it. Change the foam rubber seals at this time, too. Duct is mounted with two screws as seen in the attached pic, plus a third screw top front (as pointed out by Matti).
Photo is view from passenger footwell looking upwards.

[Pawel66]

A big thank you! Very helpful!

[mercakungen]

Pawel,

There´s a 3rd screw on top of the dash. You can access it thru the vent grille.

BR,
Matti

[Pawel66]

Ok, thank you! There is always a catch...

So I need to remove the chrome plate or you mean i can get to the screw through the louvre?

[mercakungen]

You can get it through the louvre. No need to remove the chrome plate.

BR,
Matti

[Pawel66]

Hans, Matti - thank you for your kind attention and tips! Done it.

It is indeed relatively easy to remove the air duct (just my back hurts, I am too old for this). It gives quite good access to chrome plate to push it out from behind. Yo ucan also clean it - the inside is seen from the louvre side. The only tricky thing is to carry the screw with washer on a screwdriver through the louvre, as the slots are narrower than the washer diameter. And if you have the stainless steel screw, then you do not have the magnet in the screwdriver... I taped it to the screwdriver with the painters tape.

The issue for my seger rings not holding was that the groove on the pivot where the ring sits was worn, it was almost not there. I was trying to figure how to fix the lever on the pivot - maybe drill the pivot, thread it... But finally I just cut a deeper grove where I could reach the sides of the pivot and used a C-clip instead of a seger ring. Looks like working fine.

Then I sprayed the pivot black.

I bought the insulation from MB, the one between the air duct and chrome plate, but you do not get foam, you get a soft rubber profile.

Was also a good occasion to clean up wires routing under dash, fix the hand shake connectors bracket better, fix the flasher relay to it as I was replacing it on the road, etc.

Thank you again, with your tips it was a pleasure!