propped the center vents' door open

[domchang]

Greetings,

on my 1987 560SL, which I picked up this past december, never had air coming out of the center vents...neither hot or cold air.

based on searching this forum and the archives, figured something had gone south with the vacuum activated lever that opened/closed the door that fed air to the center vents.

well I was digging around tonight trying to figure things out and it hit me to push on the lever that opens the door WHILE the car's climate system was running. As soon as the air started flowing out the side vents I pushed on the lever and it actually moved and opened the vent door!! Before, I had tried pushing the lever to open the door without the air running with no movement.

left the vent door open for now and put everything back together. Now I get air coming out of the center vents when either using heat or AC.

we'll see how things work out the next few days.

my question is this: what does my having to manually push the door open while the AC was on indicate as the original problem causing the door never to open in the first place?

thanks in advance

Hi Don,
I got the same problem on my '86 sl. I was thinking along the same lines and tried to use a wire hanger to pop open the center vents. It didn't work. What lever are you speaking about to move? Did you have to remove the glove box or anything to get to it?
Larry '86 560 sl

[domchang]

Larry

yeah you can't get at it through the vent hole unfortunately. I had to remove the glovebox to get at the rubber boot that links the vent door assembly to the two center vent outlets. Once the right side of the rubber boot is out of the way(just pull it off the right-side center vent assembly) then you can access the small lever that's attached to the left side or driver side of the vent door.

I've got skinny hands so was able to just push down on said lever (which is attached to the vent door and disappears downwards) while the AC was on and it moved for me at that point. I don't believe the door will move at all without the AC going...perhaps with the heater as well. I've really pushed on that vent door in the past with AC off and no movement.

It was nice driving to work this morning and feel heat coming out of the center vent outlets I gotta tell ya! No more right hand getting cold while the rest of me is warmed by the car's heater.

hth

dom

Mine has the same problem.

For a quick fix I stuck a 12" dowel in there, which holds the butterfly flap open from inside. If I want I can just take it out through the front of the outlet. Cost = 15 cents and 5 minutes time...

[4NDELIT]

this is a problem on my '78 SL too... I haven't gotten around to trying to fix it yet... I don't know how to take out the glove box. if there's a detailed how-to with pics, please link. much appreciated

Glovebox comes out by taking out 4 plastic pins and then the 4 nuts that the pins are in. Then before you slide the glovebox out, lower the light, twist slightly and push back up through the hole (or unplug it). Then the glove box slides right out. Peek in and to the left and you will see the rubber cowl that gets the air from the flapper to the vent. Unfortunately the little vacuum diaphram in on the other side, and is a bit tricky to get at. That's why I stuck a stick in there instead

I finally got to removing the glove box today to get to the center vents on the dash that do not work. I pulled on the lever and the vents stayed open as long as I was holding that lever. When I let go they would close. My question is what part is bad on my car that I need to replace to keep these vents open. Is it expensive? Can I do this myself? Thanks for all of you who answer this. I just had the a/c converted to the new freon and I would like the car to really cool down.
Larry'86 560 sl

[4NDELIT]

I just did the whole thing, and I jammed a plastic bottle cap to keep teh vent open. It still works, and is cheaper than fixing it

[len497111]

I have a 1987 560 SL the AC does not come out of the center vents. My question is does keeping the center vents open adversely effect the proper operation of other functions like defrost heating ect. also what is the proper way to do the job. Any advise appreciated. Len

[juribe2]

Hi,

Same problem here. I'm not interested in fixing those vacum actuators. I just want to "force" open the central vents and keep them open forever. How can that be done in a W124 with no glove box (aribag).

Thanks,

[Walrus]

For some of you with later models, navigate to:
http://users.adelphia.net/~rmsmithco and follow the links...

Good Luck!