heater blower replacement HELP!!!!!

[Joshua Van Tol]

>
>So, what trick(s) am I missing (never mind steak knives)?  What's the best
>tool/way to pry up on the blower box. Using a Wonder Bar was suggested by a
>friend, (but mine's gone missing). Is my problem the fact that the interior
>duct connections must be pulled free _before_ the blower box is able to
>loosen at all?

I just did this the other day, including a heater core replacement. 
First off, it's way easier to do if you remove the hood first. Having 
the hood off gives you better accessability, and better lighting in 
there, and, if you're doing a heater core like I was, is necessary to 
get the heater assembly out of the car.

You can pry on the ears where the hold down strap goes around the 
housing at the top. It took a significant period of steady pressure 
to get mine to loosen up. Audi has a special tool to pry this box out 
of the car, but it's not necessary. Heat from a heat gun or hair 
dryer may soften up the adhesive, but it wasn't necessary in my case. 
You will need to remove the footwell ducts, and disconnect the 
defroster ducts (one of each on each side) in order to get the 
assembly up far enough. Also, I do beleive that you won't be able to 
get the box far enough out of the car without removing the heater 
core hoses. The interior ducts won't stop the box from coming loose 
from the firewall, but will prevent it from moving up far enough to 
get the fan out.
-- 
Joshua Van Tol -- josh at spiny.com