Drooping Interior HVAC Vents (2 Viewers)

[cgerckert]

Now officially part of the club with a 1997 AE with 270k miles on the clock and getting right to work on resolving baseline items. I'll keep the questions in separate threads easier follow up.

Fist thing I noticed are the HVAC vents are supper loose and will droop. Is this something that needs to be resolved by full replacement of the vents or is there an alternative way to resolve it.

 

[rhc404]

Get some velcro stickers and place the soft side of the velcro on either the top or bottom of the vent or housing. The goal is to create an interference fit while keeping the small velcro sticker out of sight. The sticker can be really small. Easy fix.

 

[reklund5]

Way more elegant than jamming Velcro or foam or felt in there:

Vent bushing thing

Vent bushing thing Sold as a pair.... color may vary... Incase you have vent issues you might need this. If you want you can scream the entire time you put it in about why Toyota bring the 79 or 105 series to the US with a 24 valve turbo diesel... I feel better now.. Cost of the part is just to...

solvefunction.com

 

[Rusty Marlin]

I use foamy ear plugs.
Not overly elegant, but super effective.

 

[rhc404]

Way more elegant than jamming Velcro or foam or felt in there:

Vent bushing thing

Vent bushing thing Sold as a pair.... color may vary... Incase you have vent issues you might need this. If you want you can scream the entire time you put it in about why Toyota bring the 79 or 105 series to the US with a 24 valve turbo diesel... I feel better now.. Cost of the part is just to...

solvefunction.com

Elegant = new OEM part. Everything else is just hacks. Velcro is completely out of sight and adds damping/anti-rattle that a hard plastic part can't do. It's also not jammed in there. Maybe I just got lucky with what I had on hand but the vent action feels smooth like it should and the small velcro stickers are out of sight.

 

[Truck Enthusiast2]

Hey cgerckert! Congrats on joining the club. Those drooping HVAC vents can be annoying, but there are a few ways to address this. You can try the velcro sticker trick as suggested by rhc404; it's a quick fix that creates a snug fit. Another option, shared by reklund5, is using a vent bushing from solvefunction.com for a more elegant solution. Rusty Marlin's foam ear plug idea might work effectively too. Keep in mind that while quick fixes like velcro or foam work, a more permanent solution like the vent bushing could provide smoother functionality. Choose the approach that suits your preference and skills. Happy vent fixing!

 

[Kernal]

Been discussed: Search terms: loose floppy droopy drooping vents ---

Read post #9 in this thread, discusses using a couple of rubber O-rings over the pivot pins on the side of the diffuser/vent thingy:

Pennies and the air vents

The air vents on my 92 80 are just fine with the pennies wedged to fix the looseness, however I'm getting tired of looking at the pennies. Any better ideas out there???:confused:

forum.ih8mud.com

Or a few other suggestions in this:

Floppy Vents

Is there a way to adjust the dash vents, mine are loose and floppy. As soon as the AC is on or if I hit a bump, the vents go down. :mad: I was thinking to get some small plastic shims. and jam them to the sides of the vents.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[JOFS]

I couldn't deal with the droopy vents on a truck I bought. Replaced them all with new OEM.

Something just set me off driving down the road having the vents flopping all around but they also had more issues that the solvefunction fix wouldn't correct. (some were straight up broken).

They all are still available OEM (at least when I bought them about a year ago). This went along with another number of things I had to correct so in the overall scheme of things it was not huge in my particular situation. You have options.

Good luck and welcome.

John

 

[CrabCake]

I couldn't deal with the droopy vents on a truck I bought. Replaced them all with new OEM.

Something just set me off driving down the road having the vents flopping all around but they also had more issues that the solvefunction fix wouldn't correct. (some were straight up broken).

They all are still available OEM (at least when I bought them about a year ago). This went along with another number of things I had to correct so in the overall scheme of things it was not huge in my particular situation. You have options.

Good luck and welcome.

John

Agreed...and if you are baselining, I personally take that as fixing any deficient issues to factory OEM correct...not jamming pennies or ear plugs in the dash board. The new vents are not that expensive and still available...to me, it was very satisfying to just replace them so they function like new again. And just to put it out there, I have several @Outsane products that I love, but the bushing correction piece wouldn't have fixed mine.

 

[cgerckert]

Thanks for all the feedback. If I were to go vent replacement, is this what I should be looking for: Toyota Land Cruiser Lexus LX450 FZJ80 OEM Air Vents Register Assy 1996-97 SET | eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/114127494305

 

[JOFS]

Yup I believe those are what you are looking for.

 

[cgerckert]

Yup I believe those are what you are looking for.

I think, I'm going to take all of your advice, seeing OEM items tend to be drying up and order the set, and try the velcro method in the meantime. Thanks so much!

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks for all the feedback. If I were to go vent replacement, is this what I should be looking for: Toyota Land Cruiser Lexus LX450 FZJ80 OEM Air Vents Register Assy 1996-97 SET | eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/114127494305

Jeebus!! Look on partsouq.com first, or look up Japan 4x4.

I replaced the middle ones on my 93, and they cost me $80 Aussie pesos, so about 50 greenbacks.

 

[LandLocked93]

Wait!
You have something coming out of the vents worth directing towards you?

Imperialist!

 

[dsmud4u]

Think I spent just over 200 for a complete set on eBay. Did the job.

 

[Fj80Ringo]

Agreed...and if you are baselining, I personally take that as fixing any deficient issues to factory OEM correct...not jamming pennies or ear plugs in the dash board. The new vents are not that expensive and still available...to me, it was very satisfying to just replace them so they function like new again. And just to put it out there, I have several @Outsane products that I love, but the bushing correction piece wouldn't have fixed How in the heck do you get the vents apart/ out?

 

[mudgudgeon]

Wait!
You have something coming out of the vents worth directing towards you?

Imperialist!

Yours don't blow icy cold air??

 

[LandLocked93]

Yours don't blow icy cold air??

Only in your summer, my upside down friend.

 

[cgerckert]

Jeebus!! Look on partsouq.com first, or look up Japan 4x4.

I replaced the middle ones on my 93, and they cost me $80 Aussie pesos, so about 50 greenbacks.

I appreciate it, I got the full set. So The price is similar.

 

[b16]

I used O rings where the pivot tabs are. Has worked well for about a year now