anyone know how to clean out the vents in our trucks? how do the vent louvers come off? (do they come off?) also, though i know the location of the fan and have been back there under the dash a number of times, i'm not sure if removing and cleaning the fan would help. i'm trying to be rid of the dusty smell i always have, especially on recirc. if someone does think a fan-cleaning would help, how do you unscrew it and not mess stuff up?

i've searched and found other posts that cover some aspects of this, and know there are more aspects to interior smells than just what's in the vents... i can vacuum and steam-clean, etc. but the vents have visible dust in 'em, and i know that is a big contributor.

thanks...

 

The vents come out as an "assembly" that is held in by clips that you cannot see in the dash...you just kinda have to "find" them with a flat blade and pry the suckers out carefully. It is hard to explain, but the FSM shows what I'm talking about. Might just be easier to take the dash apart, yet one of the dash bolts is hidden behind a vent...at least on my 85 it was.

 

lovely... not good news, but thanks.

 

leif,

look in the tech section and i have a writeup on how to clean the blower fan. i am not sure where yours is on your truck, but i am pretty certain that the procedure is the same.

air ducts: on 3rd gens, there are no screw fittings holding them together. they just simply fit into each other. you can remove them by just pulling them out. there might be one or two that are held together by a screw, but that is just to support it and NOT actually holding them together.

bob

 

aha, thanks bob. i'll see if i've got those torx screws in there. nice to know it just falls out, as you say. i'm sure it's caked with dust.

edit: i wonder if i aimed some forced air in the front of the vent, that it would blow some dust out the fan area when i have the fan out. hmmmmm....

 

I read somewhere...Once you have the fan out. Adapt a small hose to your shop vac and run it up through the vents. Just a thought.

 

when i detail we just take a mild cleaning agent comparible to a light pinesol almost, spray it into your vents via the dash, and blow them out with an air gun...works everytime, and you get a nice fresh smell as well...

 

Put fan on full and use canned air, watch your eyes, the trash comes flying back out at you.

 

tooth brush for the tight spots

 

Qtip for really tight spots.

 

They are very easy to remove...As a matter of fact, I took all of mine out and cleaned them up last weekend. I used a small flat blade screwdriver as mentioned earlier and removed each one. After removing them, take a good scrub brush and go to town on 'em.

 

thanks everyone for your suggestions. oddly enough the fan itself was clean. huh??! just a small amount of dust. i may try the canned air idea next.

zambo, when i tried putting the small screwdriver on the sides of the louvers and gently pressing in, they seemed attached still at that swivel. do you just push 'em in a bit further to release?

thanks all

 

The vent and the louvers are a one piece assembly...you want to place the screwdriver between the center of the vent and the dash bezel. Try the left center vent first. Place the screwdriver on the right side of the vent between the vent and the dash bezel(on center) then gently pry it out. The vent will almost feel like it's spring loaded(it's not).

 

I know that you want to get the crap from the olden days out of your vents, because we all do, but after you do that:



This can be your best friend for keeping it pretty well clean. A small can of air like this can help you out big time for...just about anything really. I use it for my computers, cars, cabinets, air ducts here in the house, all kinds of stuff. I get the three pack at Costco when my mom and I go, and it usually lasts me about 4 months.