Freeing a stuck heater control lever

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eightyfive4WD
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Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:59 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel 4WD 5 speed wagon
Location: Arizona

Freeing a stuck heater control lever

Post by eightyfive4WD »

This is not a difficult repair to perform by any means, but I figured it may be worthwhile to show with some photos for those who may not know how to perform this task.

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Over time, the heater control lever in the cabin becomes sticky and difficult to move. Do not force the lever, as there are fragile plastic bits behind the climate control panel which will easily become damaged.

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Although this picture doesn't detail the specific climate control lever I am referring to for the heater, which is at the upper left above, you can see a bit more of how these levers for the climate control all work. There are fragile plastic pieces that metal levers move through, which should not be forced. They will break before the lever moves, if it feels stiff. The good news is that the solution to fix this is simple:

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1. Open the hood and look at the passenger's side firewall, behind the air cleaner. You will see a heater control valve, with a metal bracket and a metal rod (with plastic outer sheath) clipped in place. Carefully pry the clip off of the rod, and slide the circular end upward, out of the bracket.

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2. Use a small bungie or something similar to suspend the end of the rod, being careful not to kink it. Now apply some silicone spray or whatever else you might have handy (WD-40), and let gravity do its work. I sprayed silicone spray down the narrow opening of the plastic sheath tube a few times, and waited a couple of minutes between each application.

3. Reinstall your rod on the heater control valve, and marvel your handiwork from the cabin. Enjoy your nice and smooth-operating lever. :mrgreen:
Last edited by eightyfive4WD on Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1985 Toyota Tercel DLX 4WD 5 spd wagon (manual swapped, daily driver)
2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD access cab long bed (road trip/adventure-mobile)
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Freeing a stuck heater control lever

Post by Petros »

you can also apply that silicone spray lubricant to the moving parts behind the control panel, and into the other control cable housings as well.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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