Guest LogCabinAuto Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Hello all. The heater control assembly needs replacement in this 62 Starfire. It has A/C. I can barely get my hand in the back of the dash to feel one of the two nuts that holds the control assembly into the dash. How do I remove it without breaking my hand? The service manual has about 4 steps to remove it and it's not helpful at all. Getting the vacuum hoses back on the ports on the control assembly will be interesting to say the least working blind. Any help will be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Yaros Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Will a 1/4" drive ratchet with extension work? Best mark all vacuum hoses prior to removal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LogCabinAuto Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 The 1/4 drive with extension will probably work. I have universal sockets as well to get in there if need be. The thing being I can't get my head into sight of all the lines because of the brake pedal. The lines are hard and brittle so I know I'll have to replacement them once I get into the thick of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldsfan Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 My trick to working under the dash of one of these is to remove the driver's seat. You've got to get your head up in there as far as you can, right between the brake pedal and the parking brake, and you can't do that with the seat in the car. Plus, you need room for hands. Oh, and a trouble light. It's not an easy job. My other trick is - replace everything while you're there. Run new vacuum lines - preferably one at a time. The controls are marked and match to what shows in the shop manual. Replace the control bulbs. Electrical switches are available on eBay and should be replaced while they are accessible. Then, you're done for a while. If you only fix what's broke, you can bet something else will go soon. Been there. Done that. My NOS blower switch doesn't work right, but I'm leaving it until something catastrophic happens. Unfortunately the guys who designed these cars did design them to be repaired... An alternative would be to remove the console, drop the column, unbolt the dash side bolts and the screws along the top at the dash pad, and drop the hole dash. Again, I'd replace everything you can get your hands on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LogCabinAuto Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the info and advice. I wound up pulling the dash. The customer stated he was having issues with other items as well so pulling the dash made the most sense. I'm glad I did too because the "wiring" job that was previously done is terrible. Now I'll have a chance to change all the vacuum hoses, bulbs and fix the wiring. Edited October 14, 2015 by LogCabinAuto (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry W Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 It may seem a little odd, but see if you can find a Car Crazy kid to accomplish the task "at hand". When I was much younger I would have jumped at the chance to wrench on a car, especially during a boring summer vacation, and especially if there was a couples of dollars in it for me. Just supervise closely. Let us know if you try this and if it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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