Propping the center vent flap open W123
 

Anyone have a method for doing this they'd like to share?

I have seen dmorrison's excellent writeup on replacing that pod, and upon reading I decided that propping it was the way to go for me, at least for now, and use the open/close on the vents themselves to regulate airflow.

Many thanks,
dd

Mine are rigged open that way. Used a piece of thin aluminum flat stock, bent the end so it would hook over the housing, pulled off the rubber boot that runs from the housing to the vents, stuck the stock down in the vent to hold the flap open then put the rubber boot back on.
Did this about 4 yrs ago so memory is fading. Went in thru the glove compartment I think.

Take out the pod, plug the vacuum line and use a ziptie or wire tie to hold the flap open.

Pull the dash and replace the unit and all other vacuum hoses. It's an easy job, been written up many times. I did my evaporator core in less than a day, so the center pod would take no more than four hours. Alan

Do it right the first time, don't be a hack.

It's not a hack, it's for getting heat from the center vents.

Im sooooo not a hack. This is what Id like to but I wanted to wait until I have made sure when I do take the dash I know EVERYTHING that needs replacing back there before I piece it back together (I havent even attempted to turn my AC on yet). I also need a new dash cap since mine is cracked, although it doesn't bother me much. But if I pull mine, the cracked one aint going back in :-)

Is it really a single day to get a dash off and back on? Really? It looks fairly involved from dmorrison's write-up. In the writeup he says the evaporator took him 3 days...

dd

Take the glove compartment out and jimmy rig a folded up coat hanger to wedge open the vent. Didn't take that long and its pretty simple. Of course I live out in SO CA, so the minor leakage is well.....pretty minor.:cool:

25 yo cars have rather fragile dash boards. You are liable to crack the dash further by attempting to move it.

If the problem or problems get worse, then by all means you'll need to remove the dash.

But so far I haven't had to replace the evaporator!:eek:

After my center pod died, I wedged open the vent and found it to be a great modification, since I also got center vent heat out of the deal. It's an easy modification that I posted (#9 in the following thread) with pictures....

Here

Jeremy

I glued the hinge on mine. After I repaired the center pod, I just snapped the glue off the hinge. Find a way to open the flap. I used a piece of stick wedged against the arm rest. It stayed that way overnight.

Heat doesn't come out of the center vents. Heat comes out of the side vents, the lower legroom vents and the defroster vents (when you push defrost, otherwise a little bit of heat comes out of the defrost vents, "enough to keep the windshield clear")

A/C comes out of the center vents. (A/C also comes out of the side vents)
(According to the Service Manual, Heating, Air Conditioning, Automatic Climate Control W123)
(I was looking at the section on Climate Control III like in my 1985 300DT, haven't looked at the older systems yet.)

Now it does on mine - heat and cold air on the center, side and leg vents.

The pod that actuates the center vent has a spring inside, that keeps the center vent flap closed. Take the actuator out with the glovebox out to have a good sized access port. You'll need small hands.

That's not correct (you should not get heat from the center vents), someone probably hacked the system.

That's the whole point of jamming the center vent open (aside from working around a broken pod). Once you can get heat out of the center vents you'll never go back. You can always close the vents manually if you don't want the heat.

No thanks, I'm not interested in having hot air blowing in my face. I've had cars with heat there, you're much better of without it. I'm also not interested in having to manually play with the vents to shut off the heat, you're not going to improve on the original design if it's working correctly.

That's your opinion. If the others want heat there based on their past experiences, then they're much better off having it there. I don't see what's so hassling about turning a vent off, the 240D owners do it all the time.

Yup, that's my opinion; they should do what they want. I also have a 240D with a manual center vent control, and I prefer the auto system in the 300D without the center vent blowing hot. If my center pod broke, I would have it fixed.

I did, because I wanted heat and/or ice cold air for the rear passengers that only the center vents provide easily. The center rear passenger will also have difficulty with this if the center vents do not blow warm air when we want it, because the side vents are blocked by the front passengers.

It's just a matter of personal taste, and if I remember you were also the same person who did not want the convex side mirror lenses, which you hated a lot. And if you want to be technical, you should still be able to also get heat through the center vents - only intermittently. That's what it says in the manual. Problem is it looks like it's a pretty common problem and I don't like it that way. I want the heat when I want it, and I don't want the Chrysler ACC to choose whether I get heat or not.

Let's not turn this into another debate, shall we?

No debate, I don't like convex mirrors and I do like the auto climate system as it was designed. I also like the manual system in the 240D, but I really prefer the auto system. If you don't like it, you should change it or put in a manual system.

You are correct that I occasionally get some heated air from the center vents, it appears only to happen when the cabin is close to the desired temperature and the air is just slightly heated. It's usually during the transition from heat to AC or AC to heat on a day like today (about 50F). It's not a problem, the air is more warm than hot.

I had center vent heat in my 300TD and loved it. 240D with manual slider gets it's air before the heater core so there is no way to get heat out of it.

I actually prefer that to center heat. My old saab 900 had a mode that sent fresh air to the center vent and heat everywhere else.

You guys are missing the point. When the center vent pod is broken, you have zero air flow to the center vent bad bad bad thing.

Now normally you want the center vent open when using A/C or outside fresh air. And to get the center vent to flow (when the pod is broken), you wedge it OPEN.

A wedged open vent works fine, EXCEPT when in the heating mode.

Therefore in the heating mode, you manually turn the vent flaps to CLOSED.

(or tear apart your dash and fix it)

I understand that problem, but some folks also wedge the vent open because they prefer to have heat from the center vent.

Yes but when wedging or not wedging the center vent which oil should we use dino of synthetic?















:D

If you want it open, open it, if not then don't. It's your car. Replacing the pod is some work but doable.

Dave

Yes, and which brand of filter should we stuff into the vents? Remember, round filters in W123 vents, rectangular for the 124s.

Jeremy

Simplest least intrusive and completely reversible way to wedge the center vents open is to screw a tiny, #6x3/4"? brass screw into the side of the plenum area from the glove box side.

-Remove the glove box
-Open and close the flap through the front of the vents with a long screwdriver to identify the oval head of the flap rod where comes through the side of the plenum.
-using just a screwdriver, screw the brass screw in immediately next to the oval rod end with the flap fully open. The head of the screw prevents the flap from closing and if you change your mind you can't even see the hole left behind from the removed screw.

I prefer olive oil.......extra virgin

So, if I remove the glove box I can access the plenum and block the flap open that allows air to come through the center duct? Where is the access into the plenum? Will it be self explanatory if i just pull the glovebox?

There is a rubber duct that connects the plenum to the two center vents. You will need to partially remove the rubber duct.

Thanks for this idea.

My center vents weren’t working, they did before. I suspect acc or the vacuum switchover valves, but don’t have time to dig in. The screw approach was the easiest way to do an unobtrusive, fully reversible (if the vac pod is working) mod. A tiny bit of rtv will seal that forever.

https://i.imgur.com/LGAwoNul.jpg

I always prefer air flowing past my upper body so I might keep this permanent anyway.

Bodge / Make Do Repairs
 

How dare you make a decision on how to repair your own bought and paid for automobile ?! .

The nerve you show, the unmitigated GALL so on and so forth :rolleyes: .

That little screw idea looks good to me, I have medium sized hands so behind the dashboard works are not my favorite pastime plus, I too have the cracks and the last time I checked, the re covered dash's were $850.00 plus freight charges...... :eek: .

All here are Enthusiasts, many are not wealthy, they just enjoy driving a fine old car .

FWIW, that damn rubber boot is a bit tricky to get fully back on ~ I was doing some other under dash repair and noticed it wasn't fully over the lip of the dash vents, took the time to re jigger it properly and Lo ! SWMBO now complains about the AC being too cold :P .