So I ripped out my old defroster vents at the bottom of the windshield and now I'm trying to put new ones in. The only problem is that the new ones won't go. Is there something I'm missing here? I don't want to break the new ones trying to smash them down in there.

 

are they backwards?

Our defroster vents are very very brittle, I wouldn't try suggest anything down...

 

Seems like mine just popped in. Make sure you have all the old vents out of there - might have some broken plastic pieces down in there.

BTW, that's a quick and simple thing that makes a HUGE difference. One of the best fixes I've done on my car.

Dale

 

yup mine just popped in too, you may have some pieces from the old one left...

 

I had to really push mine in. It felt like they were going break but they finally popped in.

 

The problem is that over time the dash covering/support foam warps, especially if parked in direct sun for long periods of time. The defroster vents become warped and brittle and eventually break. You may not see it, but the originals warp along with the dash before they give way. When you try to insert new straight vents they will not go in peacefully due to the dash foam bulging upward in places.

What I would suggest is to warm up the car using the heater/defroster. Warm up the new vent plastics also. Apply a little grease to the new plastic clips so they slide in without any resistance. Align the new vents and apply pressure downward in the area of each snap. Hopefully they will compress the dash foam and "catch" on their respective bosses.

I renewed all three of my FDs and one of them would not take new vent plastics - no matter what. I ended up having to screw them down. You cannot tell by looking at them after I was done


Later

 

I didn't even notice that they had clips attached. My old vents broke all to hell when I tried to take them out, I bet there are pieces still down in there.

 

I only work on interior stuff like this on a very warm day. I sweat like nuts, but the parts don't break on me. Cool or cold weather is risky or impossible.

Just yesterday I was removing a brake duct to drain the oil and it cracked on me. I can still use it, but still I broke a $50 part

Dave

 

Forget about the broken clips - when they break they fall down in behind the dash....deeply and forever lost, until you pull the dash and carpet someday.

Later