My dad had a car in 1971 that also had chrome rings around the instruments. It pulled off and snapped on. I'd like to remove the one in the Matrix for painting, but I can't seem to pull it off and I don't see any tabs to press or anything. It's not glued on, is it?
By the way, what's up with the chrome trim anyway? Chrome trim is so out of style it's not even "retro" anymore. I thought it was anachronic on the dad's car, but I just figured the Germans had different ideas of what looked good.
No, it's not blued. It *should* just snap off with a good pull, like my Scion...but I'm not guranteeing it!
This tells you how to remove the dash on a Pontiac Vibe, which is the same as a Matrix ...
There is lots of other good info there too about Vibes/Matrix I like the chrome rings by the way !
John
Holy Crap! This guy went to town!
Hope he gets it back together without squeaks/rattles!
Thanks! By the way, is that the A/C condenser in photo
(Behind and above the glove box)
The AC condenser is in the engine compartment. The item pointed out in the photo could be a damper flap, AC evaporator, or heater core.
Evaporator is what I meant. You're two for two today, Ray. :-)
I need to clean out the one in the Corolla. It stinks. I'll take a look at the Haynes, I'm sure they have it in there. I've heard it's a huge job, but to me it sounds like a fun weekend project. :-)
I didn't see the chrome rings removed there but I saw what I really needed--how to take off the, uh, tubes that the chrome rings cap off. Once you get that piece off, flip it around and a simple flat screwdriver can be used to pop off the chrome ring tabs. Pretty nice. Thanks!
Before you go through the trouble to take apart the dashboard to access the evaporator, try 3 things first:
1) Make sure there are no leaves or debris built up on the screen on the cowl where the fresh air intake is. 2) Make sure the evaporator drain hose is routed through the hole in the floor board and free of obstructions by poking a stiff wire up from underneath. 3) Find a dealer that uses B-G Frigi-Fresh automotive air conditioner freshener. The stuff is supposedly "professional use only," but it is basically an aerosol air freshener. Frigi-Fresh works very well at eliminating stale odors from automotive HVAC systems. Put the HVAC system in recirculate mode with the fan on high speed, and spray the Frigi-Fresh through the interior air intake under the passenger side of the dashboard. Be sure to protect your eyes in case you spray into the wrong duct or it comes out through the vents. If you cannot find Frigi-Fresh, you can try a moisture of bleach and water in a spray bottle or a disinfectant like Lysol or Febreeze.You may be able to find a product that cleans or freshens evaporators at an automotive parts store as well.
Good luck!
Thanks again! I'll try #2. I tried Frigi-fresh already, used according to the instructions it worked great for about half a day then the smell came back. Next I emptied most of the can into it, and that worked for a whole day before the smell came back. Lysol gave the same result.
If I can poke a wire up through there, can I squirt low-pressure water up there? I'm thinking it's probably mold/mildew on the evaporator. It's not a strong smell, and not rotten or really bad, just sort of mildewy and it annoys me. I heard of a kit which would let one pump solvent up through the drain hole and when it drained out it would take all the gunk with it, but I never found one for sale anywhere.
If you can poke a wire up through the drain hose, you should be able to squirt low-pressure water up there. I would not saturate the evaporator housing because the heater fan and resistors are up there. I have also heard of kits that are supposed to clean the evaporator but I do not have any experience with them.
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