ReefBlueCoupe
10-12-2010, 12:37 PM
Here's my experience. Hopefully someone finds it useful!
This job was not nearly as bad as I had made it in my mind after reading many threads, and seeing pictures of Marauders torn apart. It took me a couple hours, but most of that time was spent a) getting the screws out of the actuator, mainly the back screw, and b) getting the passenger side vent ducting back in.
Here's a quick rundown of the steps I took:
-Moved passenger seat all the way back (attempt this before disconnecting battery, hehe)
-Disconnected battery
-Removed glove box. Two screws
-Removed dashboard trim. Comes up from the side of the dash in between where the door and dash meet. Just unsnaps all the way across. I unplugged the clock and set it aside. You can also unplug the rear defrost control if you want to get it competely out of the way.
-Remove the passenger side vent which now has its one screw exposed.
-Remove airbag. Four screws total: Two under the dash, two on the front of the dash. It comes out easily after you pop out the white trim christmas trees that are holding the wiring harness in place. Unplug and set aside.
-Remove the two screws from the back side of the a/c ducting. You may have to lay in a really awkward position to get to the screws (this is where moving the seat back comes in handy). Now pull that ducting away from the vent opening.
-Take note of the white harness christmas tree plugged into the vent. There are several of these throughout this procedure. Just pull them out. I found it easier to use a door trim tool to remove the two that were holding the airbag harness in place. Yank hard on the ducting closest to the center of the dash. You will have to really jank on it to make it come away. Remove this piece and set aside.
-I also unplugged the ECU harness because they were getting in my way later in this procedure, so you can do this now. Just move them aside so you have more room to work
-Pull the weatherstripping up from the passenger side door sill, and just peel it up enough to remove the kick panel, and windshield pillar trim. All Also pop the door sill piece out.
-Pop up the piece of dashboard trim that runs along the front of the dash just under the windshield. It's held in with clips and can be popped out with your fingers. Start from the passenger side edge of it. There is one harness connected to this piece that you will have to unplug in order to completely remove the trim piece from the car.
-Remove the three screws that the previous step has revealed: One center, one left, one right. These help secure the dashboard to the body.
-Remove the larger bolt that removing the kick panel has removed. It is on a stud with a tab that's connected to the dashboard, part of what holds the dashboard in.
-I placed the shifter down in first (so chalk your wheels when you do this)
-Pull gauge cluster away from dash, no need to disconnect
-Pull on the dash from the bottom, just enough to move it back away from the windshield a an inch or two. The way I did it was to pull it out enough that the tab that was bolted onto the stud is now sitting on top of said stud, so in effect the stud is holding the dash out a bit. Just enough room to allow you to access the rearmost actuator screw.
Ok.. you're ready to remove the actuator.
-Remove the harness that is plugged into it. Do not bother using a ratchet for the screws. It will only fit on the frontmost screw. Use a ratcheting wrench that is reversable, and has an angled head on it.
-I should note that my actuator was only held in with three screws. Maybe I'm lucky, but I've read on other forums that theirs were also held in with only three screws.
-The screw closest to the windshield is the biggest pain. I had to cut away some of the insulation to make it easier to access. I used a razor blade to do this. YMMV, but this allowed me access. It took forever to get this one out. The ratchet was able to be moved enough to just click once, so it took a lot of turns.
-The other screw that is closest to the dash was the other one that mine had installed. The one missing a screw was the one deepest and hardest to reach, so I am really glad it wasnt included.
-Your screws are out, now remove the actuator. Check your blend door movement with the small rod to ensure it is moving freely, and that you are dealing with an actuator problem and not a heater box/blend door itself problem.
-I replaced my actuator with only two screws: The one that is the most exposed, and the one closest to the rear of the dash (directly behind the radio) - I dont think it would have been worth it to get that third screw installed closest to the windshield, and honestly it takes so little effort to turn the blend door that only having two screws provides sufficient leverage for the unit to operate. YMMV. If you are not comfortable reinstalling only two screws, then attempt reinstall your third screw.
-You can probably power on the car right now to test everything, but I put mine back together before testing.
The re-assembly is just a reverse of the above. The only tip I have to offer is that when you are reconnecting the ducting, you may have to use your foot to push the ducting back onto the center airbox piece that it connects to. This step is where I did the most cussing. It will take some finaggling to make it go, but I got it and there are no problems.
Sorry for the lack of pics. I wanted to get in and out and get this done, so I didn't take any, except for one during the middle of the procedure.
Hope this helps someone! Don't let this job intimidate you. It's really not THAT bad. Again, a ratcheting wrench is a must unless you just enjoy punching yourself in the balls.
:)
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6853/2fcd4032.jpg
This job was not nearly as bad as I had made it in my mind after reading many threads, and seeing pictures of Marauders torn apart. It took me a couple hours, but most of that time was spent a) getting the screws out of the actuator, mainly the back screw, and b) getting the passenger side vent ducting back in.
Here's a quick rundown of the steps I took:
-Moved passenger seat all the way back (attempt this before disconnecting battery, hehe)
-Disconnected battery
-Removed glove box. Two screws
-Removed dashboard trim. Comes up from the side of the dash in between where the door and dash meet. Just unsnaps all the way across. I unplugged the clock and set it aside. You can also unplug the rear defrost control if you want to get it competely out of the way.
-Remove the passenger side vent which now has its one screw exposed.
-Remove airbag. Four screws total: Two under the dash, two on the front of the dash. It comes out easily after you pop out the white trim christmas trees that are holding the wiring harness in place. Unplug and set aside.
-Remove the two screws from the back side of the a/c ducting. You may have to lay in a really awkward position to get to the screws (this is where moving the seat back comes in handy). Now pull that ducting away from the vent opening.
-Take note of the white harness christmas tree plugged into the vent. There are several of these throughout this procedure. Just pull them out. I found it easier to use a door trim tool to remove the two that were holding the airbag harness in place. Yank hard on the ducting closest to the center of the dash. You will have to really jank on it to make it come away. Remove this piece and set aside.
-I also unplugged the ECU harness because they were getting in my way later in this procedure, so you can do this now. Just move them aside so you have more room to work
-Pull the weatherstripping up from the passenger side door sill, and just peel it up enough to remove the kick panel, and windshield pillar trim. All Also pop the door sill piece out.
-Pop up the piece of dashboard trim that runs along the front of the dash just under the windshield. It's held in with clips and can be popped out with your fingers. Start from the passenger side edge of it. There is one harness connected to this piece that you will have to unplug in order to completely remove the trim piece from the car.
-Remove the three screws that the previous step has revealed: One center, one left, one right. These help secure the dashboard to the body.
-Remove the larger bolt that removing the kick panel has removed. It is on a stud with a tab that's connected to the dashboard, part of what holds the dashboard in.
-I placed the shifter down in first (so chalk your wheels when you do this)
-Pull gauge cluster away from dash, no need to disconnect
-Pull on the dash from the bottom, just enough to move it back away from the windshield a an inch or two. The way I did it was to pull it out enough that the tab that was bolted onto the stud is now sitting on top of said stud, so in effect the stud is holding the dash out a bit. Just enough room to allow you to access the rearmost actuator screw.
Ok.. you're ready to remove the actuator.
-Remove the harness that is plugged into it. Do not bother using a ratchet for the screws. It will only fit on the frontmost screw. Use a ratcheting wrench that is reversable, and has an angled head on it.
-I should note that my actuator was only held in with three screws. Maybe I'm lucky, but I've read on other forums that theirs were also held in with only three screws.
-The screw closest to the windshield is the biggest pain. I had to cut away some of the insulation to make it easier to access. I used a razor blade to do this. YMMV, but this allowed me access. It took forever to get this one out. The ratchet was able to be moved enough to just click once, so it took a lot of turns.
-The other screw that is closest to the dash was the other one that mine had installed. The one missing a screw was the one deepest and hardest to reach, so I am really glad it wasnt included.
-Your screws are out, now remove the actuator. Check your blend door movement with the small rod to ensure it is moving freely, and that you are dealing with an actuator problem and not a heater box/blend door itself problem.
-I replaced my actuator with only two screws: The one that is the most exposed, and the one closest to the rear of the dash (directly behind the radio) - I dont think it would have been worth it to get that third screw installed closest to the windshield, and honestly it takes so little effort to turn the blend door that only having two screws provides sufficient leverage for the unit to operate. YMMV. If you are not comfortable reinstalling only two screws, then attempt reinstall your third screw.
-You can probably power on the car right now to test everything, but I put mine back together before testing.
The re-assembly is just a reverse of the above. The only tip I have to offer is that when you are reconnecting the ducting, you may have to use your foot to push the ducting back onto the center airbox piece that it connects to. This step is where I did the most cussing. It will take some finaggling to make it go, but I got it and there are no problems.
Sorry for the lack of pics. I wanted to get in and out and get this done, so I didn't take any, except for one during the middle of the procedure.
Hope this helps someone! Don't let this job intimidate you. It's really not THAT bad. Again, a ratcheting wrench is a must unless you just enjoy punching yourself in the balls.
:)
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6853/2fcd4032.jpg