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Thread: Fans work, AC works, air still not blows

  1. #1
    Senior Member Sidaries's Avatar
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    Fans work, AC works, air still not blows

    I have an issue with my car's air management, which may be not the best word here, but I don't know better.
    So the problem is that, if I turn on the fans, I almost cannot feel the air coming in, just a slight breeze, which is nothing, if the temperature is high. The fans work, I can hear it, and as I turn it to level 2,3,4 , the humming is louder and louder. AC works too, because if I turn in, the breeze is cooler, and I can hear the AC to turn on, so the problem is not with the quality, but the quantity.

    My thought is that the air ducting is filled with leaves and all kind of 40 years old garbage. Yesterday I removed the windshield vipers and that plastic bar before the windshield, and could clean the upper parts of the air ducting and lots of dirt and leaves came out, but it was impossible to reach the lower parts.
    So the question is that how difficult is to dismantle the air ducting part of the car to clean it? Or is it a better way to do this?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Rhye's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidaries View Post
    So the question is that how difficult is to dismantle the air ducting part of the car to clean it? Or is it a better way to do this?
    AFAIR, it should be possible to just remove the blower motor (above the passenger's footwell) so you can reach the evaporator protective mesh and clean it out.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    You could remove the blower motor and see if anything is obstructing its flow. It’s located in the passenger footwell and is held in place by a few small bolts. Once it is out you can stick your hand in there (or a vacuum hose). If the car spent a lot of time outside there’s a good chance you’ll find some “stuff” in there.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Bitsyncmaster's Avatar
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    Remember the center vents have an air flow adjustment knob on each.
    Dave M vin 03572
    http://dm-eng.weebly.com/

  5. #5
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    There are a lot of things that can go wrong. Here is a list of some of the things you can check;
    Make sure the blower motor spins in the correct direction
    Remove the blower motor and clean out what you can
    If the mode switch is hard to turn or is hissing it needs to be rebuilt
    Make sure the actuators move correctly when you turn the mode switch
    Check that the boot is installed correctly connecting the heater box to the center vents
    Make sure the ducting inside the doors is not leaking and all the cold air gets wasted inside the doors
    David Teitelbaum

  6. #6
    Senior Member Sidaries's Avatar
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    Thanks for the replies, I will try to remove the blower motor and then report back.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Sidaries's Avatar
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    Today I had the time to remove the blower motor, and to the left side I had found lots of garbage again. After I put the motor back, now it can send much more air inside, so the fixing was a success.
    Of course now I want to make it even better and I think, that maybe if I remove the center vents (by the way my first try was to turn the knob.) I can clean behind it.
    What do you think, does it make any sense? Is it possible to remove the center vents easily?

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    The short answer, NO.
    David Teitelbaum

  9. #9
    Senior Member Rich's Avatar
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    The long answers:

    A. Does it make sense to try to clean the duct behind the center vents? No, agreeing with David on that. You are unlikely to find blockage up/in there.
    B. Is it easy to remove the center vent? Yes and no. You can pull the vent grill straight out by lifting the 6 retainer tabs. Look just inside the outer frame on the top and bottom edges. Use a suitable pry tool to carefully bend each one without breaking it off. It is NOT easy to put the vent back in correctly because the soft rubber boot/connector doesn't always slip over the back of the vent correctly as one inserts it. It can be done if you are patient. Some owners find that cooling/freezing the boot just before reassembly makes it stiff enough to retain its shape when pushing the vent into the dash.

    I would skip it as David suggests.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sidaries View Post
    ....
    Of course now I want to make it even better and I think, that maybe if I remove the center vents (by the way my first try was to turn the knob.) I can clean behind it.
    What do you think, does it make any sense? Is it possible to remove the center vents easily?
    March '81, 5-speed, black interior

  10. #10
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by David T View Post
    The short answer, NO.
    I agree. The center vents are fragile and can break if you’re not careful. The biggest problem though, as mentioned by others, is the rubber boots that connect the vents with the ac box are very tough to get back on correctly. Usually they end up deforming and partially blocking the air from reaching the center vents.

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