N8N <njnagel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in news:288b7834-5070-4b43-99b8-
6231763d8a83@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I bet someone's already figured this out, but I figured I'd post in
> case a couple of you might not have... I've got a '93 F-150, actually
> pretty good shape overall although both bumpers need attention. But
> inside, those crappy vent assemblies made it look very ghetto, because
> of course like all Fords "of a certain age" all the vanes in any given
> assembly point every which way. Well I figured I'd see if I could fix
> them myself rather than pay the $25 apiece for new ones from LMC.
> turns out all of the vanes were busted in the same place - a little
> molded plastic pin that fits into a sliding piece to keep all the
> vanes pointed in the same direction. You can remove the vanes simply
> by bending them slightly in the middle. So I pulled 'em all out, used
> an unbusted one as a template, and inserted a piece of wire in the
> busted ones. I just drilled a hole in the end where the little
> plastic nib was broken off - I think I used a #52 or #51 drill bit, I
> forget, and a pin vise - and inserted a piece of 14AWG copper wire.
> Then I snipped the piece of copper off just a little longer than it
> needed to be and finished with a flat bastard file. Reassembled et
> voila, un-ghettofied vent assemblies, all for the cost of some scrap
> wire that I was going to throw out anyway.
>
> I'd keep them lubed up well with silicone or other non-greasy lube,
> because I can't remember the last time I saw a truck that didn't have
> at least one broken vane...
>
>
Last place I worked we used to do lots of stuff with Magna suppliers to
Ford. Most of our projects involved interior trim (made by Decoma Group).
We also did work with Collins & Aikman (Manchester Plastics), which also
made interior parts for Ford. I don't remember now which plant actually
made the vents for the F150.
From what I recall, those vent vanes you mention were made pretty much
exactly the same (cheap) way for everybody, including the vents Decoma
made
for Chrysler and others.
What usually happened when they fell apart was one vane of the set would
stick, immobilizing them all. People would then force the assembly to try
and get them moving again, and the tie-bar would break, setting all the
vanes adrift.
--
Tegger
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