sloppy dash vents

[Mike]

I have had enough, and cant stand having sloppy vents in my dashboard. Does anybody have a fix for them? I am thinking of removing them, and run a bead of epoxy on the sides, and ALLOW TO HARDEN, then reinstall them into the dashboard. I could probably just cram a little piece of folded up paper into the sides of them too, but that just seems too easy....

[jduffett]

I don't know how E30 vents work, but it is a common problem with miatas. The miata has 'eyeball' style vents, and they use strips of tape with a sort of velvety texture to provide friction between the housing and the 'eyeball'. This wears down or thins over time, and the vents get sloppy. Common solution is to remove the tape, and put a couple of layers of electrical tape under it as a shim, and reinstall the tape. Maybe that is helpful, maybe not...

[Dirtbleed]

I think the fix is to use 1/2 of a compact disc place holder (maybe 1" diameter). Slide it in the side. Keeps them tight and still able to direct them.
That's how I fixed mine.

[noke325]

I would try some felt discs. The kind you can get at pretty much any auto parts store. They use them to insulate battery posts. Or if color is important, go to a piece goods shop and get black. Probably cheaper there anyway.

[rede30]

pop the vent out and put a small washer where the vent is held on by a round tab.

[Eric Giles]

A search on this would have given you the answer as it has been discussed before. Rotate the vent all the way up and continue to push up until the vent pops out. Get a pack of small rubber o-rings (o-rings you can buy at Autozone for resealing a/c lines work fine) and place one that fits on the 'peg' on the of the vent and reinstall. Problem fixed.

[thepoloplaya]

I did something different with my vents.

pretty easy to do...1. Cut a whole in the vent 2. Put your gauge in that vent 3. Its my gauge in a vent!
off

on

(It says Basscreator on the deck, not asscreator...)

[dashboardmonkey]

looks like asscreator to me

[evilnickwong]

My quick pics + writeup from awhile ago on my local bimmer forum:

Most of us with E30s probably have faced the issue where the AC vents no longer hold their vertical position. Every time you drive over the tiniest of bumps, it just falls down and ends up freezing your legs.

So here's a fix I read about online (can't remember where) which worked well for me.

First, remove the vent unit from the dashboard. To do this:
1) Turn the vent so it faces as far down as possible.
2) Stick a flat head screwdriver between the top of the vent and the dashboard and pry the vent out. Be gentle, last thing you want it to go shopping at BavAuto for new vents. :D
3) With abit of effort, the vent should snap out of place on each side. Once that happens, ease it out of the dashboard.

Now, get a brush and soap and clean the heck out of your (probably dirty) vents. Then, protect them with some good dashboard shine.



Next you need to add something so that there is greater friction between the side of the vents and the dashboard socket in which it resides. There are 2 things I used, one is velour (the green stuff you see in these pictures) and the other thing you can use is velcro (the soft side, not the pokey side). Use whichever is necessary as velour is not so thick. Stick it on the sides of the vents like so:



Once you're done, just insert them back in to the socket.
You can see here that there are two tabs on which the vent "hooks" on to.


The technique to putting them back in is to angle the vents downward just like when it came out, then push in firmly until they snap into place. You'll get a better idea when you look at the shape of the hook on the side of the vents.

Enjoy your now, snug and firm fitting vents:


And never ever have to hear your passengers complain about vents falling down again. :D

[netcsk]

Ive been meaning to do this for a long time. Thanks for the suggestions.

[iwantspeed]

put a penny in to take the slop

[Mike]

I must have lost this thread by accident. Thank you for those pics, I will probably try some A/C o rings first.