Frozen Vent control slider

[Laldog]

The vent slider control on my AC equipped 1973 E9 is frozen in the OFF position.
When I say frozen, I mean sledgehammer-level stuck, pretty much since I acquired the car 15 years ago (more?)

I've seen photos of what goes on behind the scene and I know that attempting to dis-assemble the heater controls and related parts will mean the end of any hope of driving my car this season.

Is there any other way of freeing up this slider (PB Blaster, a little heat, etc) that doesn't risk breaking the cable and necessitating removal and re-assembly?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bluecoupe30!]

Nope. Had a similar experience with one of the sliders. No magic wand or military grade secret silicone spray fix. To get access, unit must come out. You may find a broken Bowden cable, and you can only replace that once out of the car. Sorry for the sad news, we have all wished for a simpler resolution to this problem. I put it off for years, but as many will point out, its a good time to do other upgrades once you have access. Good luck!

 

[HB Chris]

If you remove passenger side of the console you can see which flap it controls and may be able to free it up.

 

[bavbob]

Agree, Bowden cable attachment is probably cracked off. A weak point to the system.

 

[eriknetherlands]

Just a small chance that you may have missed something: the knob needs to be depressed just a little to allow the knob to slide.

If that doesn't work, then you may indeed have to disassemble your system, perhaps only the console side.
I have a DIY article on this part with many pic and feature descriptions: it will help you isolate the involved parts, and possible root cause.

But frankly I find it a strange failure as it would require the flap, wire of hinge to be stuck. Usually they have some play even when non fully functional. Is there not something stuck inside the heater that causes the blockage (let's say, an arfreshener or so- i had that on my dailydriver....)