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I'm a little sad I ordered one of these because it's seeming like a lot more trouble than it's worth lol. I'll be curious to see if Autoextrude sends you any decent instructions on how to get this done in a somewhat efficient manner.
If you look at the generic reference pictures in my first post you’ll see the same arrangement of tabs for the other side.
Ah yes. I had scrolled up before my last post and they were all just half-loading blurs (stupid dynamic forum upgrade, can't search threads across multiple "pages" because they don't load until you scroll through them; difficult to jump to the end of threads, etc.), so I couldn't spot the side tabs on your early pic. I was expecting top/bottom tabs, but that would interfere with the left vent's mounting ears, so that makes sense.
I was about to order one of these too but this thread is giving me second thoughts. I think I'll stick to the ash tray gauges and steering column unless its something really simple that you are missing.
Doesn't it just replace the inside part that has the plastic blades on it? You can probably leave the whole thing in place and pop that whole blade assembly out of the housing with a flat screw driver on the left side of it.
The tab on the fan blade assembly could break, but that is the part you are replacing anyways. I think if you start moving it slowly side to side, it'll loosen up and might have enough free play to pop out.
I bet if you are patient enough you could squeeze it out without breaking it, unless it uses a different way to hold it in than I am remembering (like sandwiched in there).
But if you have to pop it out at the end of the day I dont see why removing the housing would help that much unless it is sandwiched. If it just goes into 2 holes on the side then try and work it out the front.
Either that or it looks like a lot of the dash needs to come off to not risk break anything, those 4 side tabs are super delicate even if you do get that far.
Ali and Billy— I do think we are just missing some very fundamental trick about how to install this part. I haven’t yet tried to pry at any tabs on my car. I’ve just been doing a lot of inspecting and theorizing so far as to *how* one best removes the little OEM vent.
I was also waiting for some new 52mm gauges to come in the mail and I also have to get to work building the electrical harness for the vent gauge so I’ve been holding off on trying anything until now.
I will check back with Autoextrude and see if they heard back from the original designer who originally founded the company and made all of its core part designs.
It has to be that we’re just missing something about how this thing gets installed more easily than removing the entire dashboard.
Ali, yes the vent gauge part has two little plastic “ear” tabs that are held in by the 52mm gauge that gets put into the assembly. Then it replaces the OEM vent which has similar swivel pivot stubs on each side. I think for this design the vent gauge part has square “ear” tabs because it’s not supposed to swivel up and down like the OEM A/C vent.
The side dial should remain operable so long as the arm is reconnected (see the very first example pics in this thread) because the air intensity flap exists much deeper into the full OEM vent assembly than this aftermarket part affects. So air output intensity through the little slits in the vent gauge assembly can still be adjusted.
I'll add that the last person on Clublexus whom I am aware of who installed this part in his SC300 is Jim (jimmymac30). I could be wrong but I don't *think* he removed his dashboard despite having restored the whole SC including by Dynamatting under all the carpets and seats.
But somehow he did it. It's right there in his build thread. We just didn't ask him about it much at the time other than to say "Wow, that's cool!". Unfortunately Jim hasn't been active on the CL forums for about a year at this point and the other day when I spoke to Gerrb on the phone he informed me that Jim sold his SC a while back (which has the AutoExtrude vent gauge part installed in it).
I was going to ask him if he could recall the trick to install this part but if he's not on here any longer I don't think he'd be checking his PMs.
Anyway I've only tried to research this install since having started this thread in hopes of a "Eureka!" moment before actually doing it but it's probably time to give the removal of that front face a try since that's what the instructions by the designer mention. In my last exchange with the Autoextrude staff they also wanted to get better instructions and understanding nailed down once and for all.
Truly I think it's just time to get my hands into it and figure it out. Jonathan (the original designer) made a very good quality part like all his other designs. He just didn't describe the intended install process for this one very well even though he did leave a clear hint... which still leads me to believe that there is a trick to it that is obvious once you know how. So... that has to be discovered.
I've had plenty tying me up this week and so I just haven't had time to get my hands dirty yet.
Also, after looking back through his build thread just now I am 99% sure he did not take his entire dash out to get this vent gauge installed. Why? Because here's a picture he posted just after initially getting his car together and running *before* he installed the A/C vent gauge. It's not framed to show much of the OEM Lexus A/C vent still in its original place but you can see that it's still installed:
Unless he just didn't mention in his thread the taking apart of 1/2 of his front interior to remove the entire dashboard after having already done a full Dynamat with the interior out while his car was being built prior to these pictures ALL to install this vent gauge assembly... he must have been able to install it (somehow) without removing the dashboard.
I have a feeling the Ali technique may be needed here... Worst case I might just take some pliers to mine and get that dumb vent out of there lol. With the ducting running to the vent, is there a way to get the wires and little nylon tube out of there and under the dash so that it can be run to the engine bay?
I have a feeling the Ali technique may be needed here... Worst case I might just take some pliers to mine and get that dumb vent out of there lol. With the ducting running to the vent, is there a way to get the wires and little nylon tube out of there and under the dash so that it can be run to the engine bay?
Ali's approach may well be needed. We'll see. I have just this afternoon sent a PM to jimmymac30's account in hopes he'll see the message. I also was able to leave a message and my phone number with a live person via phone call who likely can get in contact with Jim and relay it to him although it could take anywhere from 2-3 weeks for him to get it so I was told. Just depends on when he may come by to receive it. If either contact attempt reaches him hopefully he may recall how this was done without removing the dash (which I know he did not do when he installed it).
Given that I'm going to hold off and wait a bit longer to see if he responds and in the meantime I will follow up with AutoExtrude again and ask if they got any word back from Jonathan, the original designer.
As for the wires, I'm not quite sure how they should be routed but I've been thinking about how to do it as I've been rifling through all my spare wires that I'll use to build more gauge harnesses. I'm just going to over-estimate the length I'll need for the five wires I'll need to my oil temperature gauge and try getting the wires in there from the underside when the OEM A/C vent face is removed. Once installed, unless you wrap far too much blue painter's tape around your 52mm gauge so as to make it excessively tight you should always be able to remove any gauge from the pod and re-use the same wires for whatever signals you want to be they old fashioned analog or modern CAN style electrical signals.
My vent gauge pod assembly came to me without a rear cap included but apparently this is optional and for the RHD JZZ30 Toyota Soarers the rear cap is not included at all due to slightly tighter rear ducting clearances on the RHD models. Apparently there is no issue with too much heat or cold affecting wiring or gauges even without the rear cap. But for LHD USDM/Canadian models the cap can be used if we wish. And AutoExtrude did confirm for me that they will sell me the cap separately for anyone who wants it by itself. I also think the cap is an optional part at time of purchasing this vent gauge part in LHD form.
I'm also currently waiting on a Delphi 8-Pin 14-18ga weather sealed connector kit to come in so that I can redo some of these sensor wires into my engine bay more cleanly/OEM than I have it done right now. I just need one more cabin-to-engine wire from the six already going in there but I'll add two more and have one more spare for future use.
Tackling this again tonight and I have some additional thoughts:
When looking at the Autoextrude vent gauge we see that there are two removable tabs.
The 52mm gauge holds those tabs in place (and with some painter’s tape on each to be safe about not losing them).
I think we’ve been thinking about this the wrong way.
It’s not the side clips to the OEM vent assembly face that need to come out and which are a pain in the *** to even attempt to get to....
...But rather the designer must have intended for us to get to the OEM vent’s own two tabs that allow it to swivel within the assembly.
If you look at your own OEM side A/C vent can you visualize what I’m saying?
Think about it: this Autoextrude part replaces only one piece of this overall OEM A/C assembly: the swiveling vent itself.
To install it into the overall OEM vent assembly you have to first push the Autoextrude vent into place, then secure the two little tabs in place (and use some tape on them to be extra careful not to loose them into the A/C duct!!), and finally you push in your 52mm gauge... which you will have to give a wrap or two of painter’s tape to give it appropriate tension in the housing.
(Your wiring harness of course has to be routed into there somehow as well).
See? Those removable tabs are a dead giveaway. It was designed to be installed in a very specific way without removing the dashboard. Otherwise, why have removable tabs instead of fixed tabs?
This HAS to have been the designer's thinking when designing this part.
So then it just comes down to how one removes the OEM vent.
Well... it does have two “tabs” on either side. They’re round and allow it to swivel. Those round tabs go into two deeper SQUARE retaining tabs. That’s how Toyota designed the vent.
Remember that the AutoExtrude vent has two removable square tabs.
I know you’re all right with my thinking at this point.
Now I thought of cutting these tabs with a fine metal blade but...
...with some wiggling on my very old 1993 vent... the OEM Lexus square retaining tabs started to break apart which just left the OEM vent flopping more loosely than it was before.
You can *almost* pull it out now but it’s still stuck.
Now all that you need is a sturdy tool like a metal pick/prying tool that has no give like the one below.
Carefully pry at one side of the vent assembly surrounding housing and you will have JUST enough room to get the OEM vent out.
And there you go! NOW you can install the AutoExtrude vent.
I’ll put my installed picture in my next post.
Just to note: Installing this part in this manner is more than likely going to mean you cannot go back to the stock vent as the OEM square tabs will probably be broken and thus make it impossible to put it all back the way it was. Not that I think anyone doing this would want to take their vent back to stock but just keep this in mind before installing
I suppose you could theoretically go totally back to stock if you took the whole dash out and then removed the ENTIRE A/C vent assembly and dismantled from those four tab-clips I showed a picture of in the first post of this thread. However I really doubt anyone reading this will want to do that..... unless they already happen to be pulling their dashboard for some entirely unrelated reason anyway.
As you can see, I installed the vent pod and a 52mm gauge without removing the SC300/400 dashboard!
A couple of tips:
1) KEEP THE VENT DIAL SET TO CLOSED!!! This will prevent you from losing either of the two 3D printed tabs if/when they fall out during installation. They will fall against the closed A/C duct flap and you can then pick them up easily. Put some painter’s tape on the vent dial for safety so that you don’t accidentally bump it to the open setting.
2) Use painters tape on each tab to hold them in place during installation. Those tabs will wobble in place and it is also difficult to keep them flush such that the 52mm gauge (which you have wrapped with some painters tape at the barrel) can insert all the way And snugly without snagging on them.
3) Make sure the tabs are oriented correctly. The right and left tabs are unique to each side. Also so is their orientation ON that side.
4) Play with the way the tabs insert deeply into the main surrounding A/C vent assembly. They’re snug once you find the right notch/alignment for them to seat in but have a little give that allows the gauge to shift a bit in place with no gauge installed.
5) You have to wrap some painter’s tape on the barrel section of your 52mm gauge to get a snug fit. You’ll just have to experiment with how many wraps is too little, too much or just right. Spin-Lock rings that may come with your gauge are not used with the Autoextrude vent pod.
6) You’ll have some initial trouble snagging the back of your gauge barrel on the edges one or both of the vent pod tabs. This is why the painters tape on those tabs helps. Aside from that you’ll just have to play with keeping the vent pod pulled forward by 1-2mm to keep those tabs flat in place while you get your gauge pushed in.
7) You won’t have a “just right” snug-but-not-impossible-to-remove fit for your gauge unless you wrap its barrel with just the right amount of painters tape. Use some scissors to trim any excess painter’s tape at the rear. The rear cup for the vent pod is optional.
Now after this there has to be some self-made wiring harness routed into there but right now I haven’t gotten that far yet.
I’ll leave you all with this for tonight. The hardest part is now solved
Edit: An additional note that I forgot to add before is that 1.33" of depth is the maximum depth of the gauge that will work. That is from the top of the gauge surface (where the rear of the gauge bezel meets the Autoextrude part's surface measured all the way to the very back of the gauge and its protrusions at the rear for connectors, a mechanical hose, etc.). Gauges that are really long at the rear will not work with this mounting part and clear the SC's internal vent flapper.
Last edited by KahnBB6; 02-19-21 at 02:01 AM.
Reason: Added additional measurement.
Awesome work Craig! Here we are, as usual, overthinking this when it turned out to be relatively simple! I'll have to work on mine here soon because I'm excited to get it going. I'll have to get the vent out and see what the best way is to route the wires/tube for my boost gauge.
Thank you for taking the time to look into, experiment, and post your findings! It'll help the rest of us greatly.
It seems like your AutoExtrude housing isn't sitting very flush in the vent housing, though. Are you sure that method got it seated fully? The last pictures look like it isn't clipped in all the way.
02-26-20, 06:46 AM
