Club 80-90 Forums

Hi. I need to replace the Heater Fan on my 1990 T25. Haynes says I need to remove the Instrument panel, Steering Column, Fascia. I'm OK with everything but the Steering Column.That involves Shear Bolts and Safety Couplings. Is it really necessary to remove the Column.
Cheers. Mick.

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Hi Mick,
I have just performed the very same operation on my Westy. Yes dash out job I'm afraid.
If you want to save yourself a lot of time, get yourself a second hand blower motor casing and prepare this beforehand.
It took about 3 hours to split the case and replace all foam and rewire for a PDM conversion.
Its so warm now though, lovely

Regards
Steve L

Hi Rob and Steve.
Thanks for the replies. I think if I can get the Tamperproof bolts out of the Steering column bracket then I can follow the "Wiki" instructions and work my way through the rest. Will try Chisel/Molegrips and if neither work perhaps drill and use an Easi-out. I will start on that first because if I can't remove them there is no sense going any further.
Cheers. Mick.

I don't think I removed the steering column when I did mine, but it was not a problem if I did. The old memory is not what it was but I think I would have remembered if it was. Everything was pretty straightforward as I recall

Steering column doesn't need to be removed - just bolts loosened to allow it to drop slightly.
Dash out took us about 45 mins if that, sheer bolts are not that tight and should remove easily with mole grips.
Had a little fight removing heater box as two bolts sheared, surprisingly not the two fitted from outside. Also removing water pipes was a fissly and led to the destruction of one clip.
Splitting heater box doesn't take too long - just be methodical and work your way around with a wall paper scraper and small hammer.
Putting it back together we used a combination of a bead of polyurethane sealant (had open tube to hand) and a few self tappers.

Can't comment on putting dash back in yet as its still out as we are doing a few other jobs while on.

ash1293 wrote:Steering column doesn't need to be removed - just bolts loosened to allow it to drop slightly.
Dash out took us about 45 mins if that, sheer bolts are not that tight and should remove easily with mole grips.
Had a little fight removing heater box as two bolts sheared, surprisingly not the two fitted from outside. Also removing water pipes was a fissly and led to the destruction of one clip.
Splitting heater box doesn't take too long - just be methodical and work your way around with a wall paper scraper and small hammer.
Putting it back together we used a combination of a bead of polyurethane sealant (had open tube to hand) and a few self tappers.

Can't comment on putting dash back in yet as its still out as we are doing a few other jobs while on.

As ash says the column or steering wheel doesn't need to be removed.
Remove the shear bolts and slacken the lower column bolts to allow the column to drop towards the seat, the dash can the be twisted around and removed from the passenger side.
If you are planning on having the dash removed for some time loosely refit the column to stop strain on the flexible coupling.

Early dash.


Late Dash.

There are a number of videos on tube that I found helpful.
The real "pigs" of the job where the bolts at the back holding the heater to the body. It took the whole of an evening to gradually work one bolt out. If you can get to the outside of the bolts behind the grill you might be able to clean off some of the rust that stops them coming out easily. You need a tight socket and a long extension bar. Other than that the job is just fiddly.

ash 1293 has mentioned "2 bolts fitted from outside". Explanation please.
Thanks. Mick.

mickpond wrote:ash 1293 has mentioned "2 bolts fitted from outside". Explanation please.
Thanks. Mick.

He is referring to these two bolts.
Early vans the bolts were fitted from the inside and the threads exposed which can corrode, the exposed threads need to be cleaned off or they jam in the captive nut.
Later vans the bolts are fitted from the outside but the heads can corrode.

Thanks bigherb. All is clear now.