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I just bought a replacement round vent for the passenger side ('98 TA). How is the removal/replacement done? I hope you don't have to install it from the back of the dash (as in, pull the dashboard). Given the aged plastics in these cars, I'd like to avoid snapping anything if possible. Any tips?
They come.out through the front, been a long time since I've done it. There are to tabs on the outer ring that the vent assembly snap into. I can't remember how I got them out other than gentle pulling though. Maybe take a very skinny flat head and wedge it between the outer ring and the actual vent ring assembly to open the gap up a bit.
Bringing this one back up in case someone has more detailed info. I let a friend use my car when I was out of town for a week (I know, I know ...). She evidently tried to shut the vent by pushing on the blades and broke one ...
I pulled mine out using a 90 degree right angle pick (just a cheap Harbor Freight set). Basically, the vent just pulls straight out towards you, but if you pull from the center piece of the vent that you can reach with your hands, it will snap long before you are able to pull it free. Instead, stick the pick inside the vent, hook it around the back of the vent at the perimeter. You will only get a little bit of movement, but work your way around and as you pull the vent in more places, you will see that it starts to come free. Just take your time, go around a few times, and it will come out without breaking anything. Just be sure to hook the hard plastic part, not the soft wrap of the dashboard itself.
you pulled the whole thing out......the vent part it self can be separated from it.....did it after i pulled my dash
That's what blackbyrd's post above seemed to indicate. I think I'm going to go down to Pick-a-Part and see if I can find one and practice on it before attempting it on my car. Plus I have to find a good ebony one first. Thanks guys.
If you pull the whole assembly out its easier to get to the tabs that hold the vent portion into the outer ring from the back side. Might be easier that way given the age of our cars now, note though the driver side vent ring and the guage bezel are one piece so it doesnt come out. I pulled all of mine when I painted the rings a different color. If I have time over the next few days (im off and have the house to myself) ill snap some pics and do a quick write up.
The outer ring really just friction fits into the vinyl dash, has some raised prongs to keep it from coming out. only thing to really worry about is the vinyl has a tendency to get tacky over the years making it more difficult to pull them out than they really are,
I pulled all of mine when I painted the rings a different color. If I have time over the next few days (im off and have the house to myself) ill snap some pics and do a quick write up.
Press your thumbs on the inner section of the ring I front of the vents and pull it of the dash. Once it's out look on the backside of the vents and you will see the tabs that hold it in place. Take a small screwdriver to depress the retainer tab ( you will have to do both this say) and the whole assembly will come out of the ring. The large prongs on the end of the ring are what hold it into the dash. @RevGTO
Thanks! The one that's broken on my car is the one in the center section closest to the instrument panel. The outer ring doesn't protrude like the above the glovebox, and so seems like it would be much harder to grasp. I think I could get the center section out more easily on the one in question on my car.
But if the center sections are all the same, as they appear to be, yours would be the right one to try to pull on a junked car. And it wouldn't matter if I break the center section on mine getting it out - it's already broken.
Centers are the same outer passenger is different driver is molded to the guage bezel. If you have a feeler guage you may be able to slip it in and release the tabs, but same premise applies to removing the centers. They senta deep either
Bringing this back up to complete my story ... I went to Pick-a-Part and found a good ebony dash and practiced on it. I busted up several in the attempt but finally got a center section out intact. When I was fiddling with it before attempting the install it too broke. Bottom line: they are all around 20 years old and really brittle.
So I ordered the Dorman part #74935 (center). I busted up the old one getting it out (tried not to for the sake of technique, but hey, it was broken anyway). The Dorman unit went in easily as it was pliable enough to squeeze so the retaining tabs could snap into place. Finish and function are as factory.
Thus I recommend the Dorman part for anyone needing to do this replacement.
02-06-2019, 12:36 AM
Trans Am Dash Vent Install 
