As topic: How does that centre air vent come out of the dash? The passenger side one just sorta... pops out, but the one in the middle won\'t budge. Is it screwed in from behind or anything, or am I just being a little over-cautious in the application of large, flat-headed screwdrivers? I\'ve spent most of the morning taking the dash apart to have bits painted, and that was the only thing I wanted painted that I couldn\'t get loose.
Not really a big deal either way, but it would be nice to know.
Thankee :)
Sorry I haven\'t actually looked but there might be something here
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/dash_removal.html
Heh, I actually had most of that page printed out and sitting next to me in the car whilst I took the dash apart. Some very useful stuff, but it doesn\'t mention the vents. Cheers anyway though :)
you checked the parts manual to see if the vents are a separate part?
Yeah, definately a separate bit. Found it Here (http://iluvmyrx7.com/3rdgen/manuals/parts%20fiche/RX7%2093%20BODY%20b.pdf) on about page 63. The passenger side one shown by it just popped out really easily. I expected the centre one to do the same, but no luck. Just in front of it, on the inside of the dash, there seemed to be a bracket or something with a screw in it, but that screw could be holding any number of things in place, and because it was a bit of a bugger to get to anyway, and the odds of losing the screw somwhere deep inside the dash were rather high, I didn\'t want to chance it unless I knew if it was that which was holding the vent in place.
Yes, there is a metal bracket with a screw. When I got my car, this vent was broken. Miguel supplied a new one, but getting the old one out was a bugger. Ended up just bending the bracket and breaking the vent even more to get the screw out, and replacing the new vent without the bracket - it is a push fit really - the bracket seems totally unnecessary.
Hope this helps. Although probably not :).
Andrew
Edit to correct myself - the screw we removed was in the centre of the bracket behind the vent. Can\'t remember more than that. Sorry.
Damn, behind the vent? As much as I want to get this thing out and painted, I\'m not sure it\'s worth the time, or the risk of something breaking, to dismantle any more of the dash just to get to that one vent. Ah well, I\'ll just have to ask my paint guy if he can paint it whilst it\'s still in the car...
Thanks guys. At least I know where I stand :)
In case anyone\'s interested, it does appear to be possible to reach the screw at the back via the hole in which the centre speaker sits. You would probably need a small mirror, and a fairly unusual screwdriver to get to it though. It sits about 2 inches forward of the speaker hole, and you really can\'t get much leverage on a normal screwdriver from that position because you\'re working entirely within the little hole. There is also another screw at the front. That\'s a little easier to get to, assuming you\'ve already taken out the central dash panel, but you\'ll need either a very short screwdriver, or one that has a 90 degree bend in it. I figured I might as well share that information in the hopes that someone might find it useful... at least that way I wouldn\'t have wasted the last two hours. :)
As for me, I\'m taking the cowards way out. I\'m just going to buy a new vent, have that painted, and that way it doesn\'t matter if I\'m a little less than subtle in the way I remove the old vent. (Hammer, chisel, dremel and blowtorch should do it :D )
Thanks again everyone. :)