SaabCentral Forums banner

Cheap fix for Climate Control Knob?

7K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  coreyeroc 
#1 ·
So i broke the plastic on the back of one of my CC knobs, not the plastic piece it hooks to, just the back of the knob.

About 3/4 of the plastic is still there, just enough to carefully turn from Defrost/face/feet but it's a pain.

Anyone know a quick/cheap fix or a DIY solution?

Any help is appreciated, Thanks. :)
 
#2 ·
Epoxy, this repair, either epoxy or a new part is only a cover up.

There is too much resistance from the HVAC plenum, the controls become so hard to turn that they break....am I right ?? ..no..
The control in the Honda Accord broke(cracked), I repaired it using a $0.19 part - a nylon sleeve..and it was very easy to turn...
 
#3 ·
Exactly the same thing has just broken on mine. I'm planning on fixing it with a bit of epoxy putty, I can't remember the marketting name for it but it comes as two sticks in a hard round plastic tube, you rip off a bit of each stick, squish them together, then mould it onto whatever you want to fix.
So I'll mold it around the stick in the control to get the right shape, and then mash it onto the back of the control. Should work well....

Failing that can mold a bit of styrene into a new back for it, ie you melt down some polystyrene with acetone and get a gooey ball of plastic that you can mold any way you want until the acetone dries out of it, leaving solid styrene in it's place. It should work well as long as the acetone doesn't destroy the control stick.

Andrew
 
#5 ·
milliea7 said:
Howdy from the tropics :D Earthworm..... I NEED air/con to my face etc, but the knob is so stiff, I don't want to force it. It only turns from 9 o'clock to 7 o'clock. Any ideas please. Thanks.
as stated above, epoxy putty is great and can be molded to any shape you need. I rebuilt the lower half of my boost controller with the stuff after it snapped off.

However, if it's hard to turn, you'll just break something else. You need to chase the cable down to the plenum and locate the obstruction. Something may be stuck in it or it may have a broked tab or shaft. It could just be dirty or sticky.
 
#6 ·
Frank_Drebin said:
as stated above, epoxy putty is great and can be molded to any shape you need. I rebuilt the lower half of my boost controller with the stuff after it snapped off.

However, if it's hard to turn, you'll just break something else. You need to chase the cable down to the plenum and locate the obstruction. Something may be stuck in it or it may have a broked tab or shaft. It could just be dirty or sticky.


I repaired the knob today with epoxy putty and guess what? Good as new! :D Thanks to all who gave advice
 
#7 ·
I took the plunge this week(at customers behest) and changed a sticking heater box. Not bad for the first one really...you just have to remove what seems like a hundred screws, T25s mostly, some 10mm, finagle in a new #5530501(~$200). (Its great to see the look on boss's face when ya tell em, "I quit" at this point)

Tried the TSB again, just seems to work less and less(ie waste of time)...let it sit overnight in a 50F garage(ie not even cold) and it almost seemed worse that first try in the morning. It looks like the same part, just that damn grease dries up, then sticks...then your knobs or TP roller break. Ill see after cleaning and regreasing the old one, if the torque is OK after a freeze.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top