RE: Blower motor continued..

["Janet Scruggs" <scruggs@mbay.net>]

Steve Buchholtz wrote:

"Perhaps the biggest frustration of the process is getting the HVAC flaps
lined up correctly to allow the halves of the box to go back together when
you are installing the new heater core.  It took me quite a while to find a
setting of the blend doors that kept them in a good position for reassembly.
Audi sells a fixture to hold the flaps in place ... if I could find one for
a couple $$ I'd probably get one!  It took me quite a high percentage of the
total job to simply get the case back together! "

True.  Just as you can see the end of the project there is this serious
slowdown... very frustrating.  I found a way to make it a bit easier.

As there is no way to guide the pins at the ends of the door flaps into the
holes in the other half of the heater box, I decided to lengthen the pins.
I took a very small drill bit, perhaps 1/4 of the pin diameter, and put it
into a 'pin vice'.  Pin vice is a hand held drill bit chuck for hand turning
very small bits... hobby shops will have them and think mine came from
Sears.  By hand, slowly drill a hole into the end of the plastic pin and
then put a 6-8" length of stiff wire into the hole.  Now lower the top half
of the heater box over the side that has the doors in place.  The wires will
protrude through the holes in the top half and help align the door flaps.
If there is some misalignment the wires will allow the pins to be adjusted
into place.

I fiddled with reassembling the box for an hour before trying the wires and
it worked the first time.  Oh, joy unbounded... let's have a beer!  Just
don't forget the string gasket between the halves of the box.

Those of you that have not done this will surely wonder just what the _hell_
he is talking about.  When you have to do this process and get to this
stage... you too, grasshopper, will understand.

Regards, Gross Scruggs