Heater / air control levers

EJP

EJP

Daily Driver
I have a '78 model. The center lever (heat) will not slide left or right. It is stuck in the middle. I can see where the cable attaches to it back in the dashboard. Where does the other end of this cable attach? At the heater control valve? If so, do these tend to stick or rust up in place? Can you spray the valve with PB Blaster or similar to free it up or is it replacement time? I think I found it. In front of the black blower / heater core box below the dash, center of the ar.
Also, is there some trick or method to removing the knobs from the levers and fan switch? My car has broken face plate and I have a new one to install. Do the knobs just pull straight out to remove them??? Tried that, but no go.
Thanks for the help.
Ed
 
I am puzzled. thought 78's had the controls down lower that went up and down. perhaps a picture will clear things up.?
 
Be very careful with the knobs. They break very easily and are hard to find. I just a heat gun on low to warm the plastic. This worked about half the time. Hopefully someone has a better method.
 
The knobs click onto a little bump stamped into the tip of the lever. You will need to use a pick or similar tool to gently pry the knobs tab off its bump. Warming it up as Todd mentions is not a bad idea.

The valves do get stuck. Lubing the valves rarely works. Is your X with or without AC?
 
EJP said:
Thanks for the tips on the knobs. My car does not have A/C.
Click to expand...

No A/C is a good thing when it comes to the heater valve. The non-AC valve is a pretty simple device and easy to find. Be sure to get new gaskets as well. The job is performed from the passenger floor area. Drain as much coolant as possible from the heater circuit and still be prepared to catch whatever coolant is waiting to ambush you when you pull the old valve. :) Access is tight, but doable. Some people remove the pass seat, some don't. Patience is the key.

Also, I agree with Rod, it sounds like a post 78 car. Here is a picture from my 78 when I was pulling the console. You can see that the levers travel vertically in the lower console rather than horizontally at the top of the dash in the 79+ model years.
IM003018.JPG
 
I guess this is kind of after the fact, but do not try to "free up" a stuck heat/vent lever by applying more pressure on it. That will break the plastic mechanism behind the levers...much more costly/involved repair. When a heater valve sticks it is usually rusted and cannot be freed. So do not try to force it.
Also, as has been mentioned the 'handle' portion of the levers are brittle. Chances are pretty good something will break when trying to remove them. So if you can replace the frozen heater valve (assuming that is the control that's stuck), then just leave the controls alone - don't try to disassemble them if not needed.
Lube the cables if you have them accessible. There is a neat little tool made to lube motorcycle control cables that you can use to lube them without complete disassembly. It clamps around the end of the cable and a spray lube is injected into it. Looks like this:
41Gq54rgkYL._SX466_.jpg

One other note. I've found the cables are often loose where they anchor to the valve (or other lower attachment end). Likely from prior owners attempting to 'fix' a frozen cable by forcing it. The little anchor that holds the cable has a screw that can come loose or strip, allowing the cable sheath to slide back and forth in it rather than move the valve (or flap). So look to see that those anchors are in good order and secure.
 
A related question - I would like to remove the faceplate of my a/c and blower control since it is half coming off, and only one of the fan speeds work. I need to remove the end of the fan switch to get the plate off but I don't want to break anything as you've all suggested above. Any suggestions?
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Michael Oxman said:
A related question - I would like to remove the faceplate of my a/c and blower control since it is half coming off, and only one of the fan speeds work. I need to remove the end of the fan switch to get the plate off but I don't want to break anything as you've all suggested above. Any suggestions?
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Click to expand...

The same suggestion as I noted above. The little knobs are clipped on to a little bump stamped into the lever. You need a pick to carefully lift the knobs tab clear of the bump. Look at the construction of the knob at Henk's website. You can see the base is split ta accept the lever. I guess the good news is that Henk has replacement knobs. :)
 
You might be able to remove the clock and reach in to loosen the whole control assembly with the faceplate still on. I remember one or two of the retaining screws can be accessed that way. But I don't recall exactly where all of them are, so this may not work. Besides, that really doesn't help if you need to remove the faceplate itself (for replacement) anyway. It appears the other lever (at the bottom) is already broken so you will be getting at least one new one anyway. So maybe try removing the other one, and if it breaks then just get two new ones. Look at the suggestions others made to help remove the lever, heat and a small pry tool to relieve the locking "bump".

New levers are available. I think some of our Fiat vendors in the US offer them. Or you can get them from some European vendors if you are not in a hurry. Jim just posted one source. Here is another source that has them for less than $1 USD each:
https://ladapower.com/catalog/lada-...0/lada-niva-heater-control-levers-knob-detail
Shipping is worth it if you also buy several other items in one order (there are many items that interchange with X's).
 
Thanks for all of the helpful hints. By the way, my car is a '79. My bad, Sorry for misleading.
Ed
 
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