Center Dash Duct removal

by 76 Malibu Wed May 20, 2020 6:23 pm

How do I remove the center outlet on the dash of my 76 Malibu? Thus is a non A/C car. Some critter got a bunch of stuffing in there over the winter so I need to remove it to clean it out.

Thanks.

by Hawk03 Wed May 20, 2020 7:55 pm

Can you see the stuff in the vents? If its in the duct between the heater box and vent, you might be able to remove the lower duct and push/pull it out. If you need to remove the center vents, it might be easier to remove the dash to get to the four screws holding the vent in, otherwise you will need to reach behind the dash and remove the screws. My dash is a A/C dash so I'm not sure what the differences are.

Back of dash

Lower duct removed, you can see the center vent duct on the left.

Closer view of the center vent.

by 76 Malibu Wed May 20, 2020 8:09 pm

Yes I can see the stuff. I tried to suck it out with the shop vac but it didn't work. I can get the bolts that hold secure the vent to the dash removed. Now that its loose I can't get the assembly out. There doesn't seem to be enough play pull the vent assembly back far enough from the front of the dash to remove.

On the non A/C cars the vent doesn't go into the heater box, it goes to the cowl vent.

I hope I don't have to remove the dash. It sounds like a tough job. I read the removal thread and without photos it's hard to follow. Your photos are helpful for me to understand how this dash goes together - thank you.

by Hawk03 Wed May 20, 2020 8:48 pm

No problem. I'm sure someone with more knowledge on the non A/C will chime in. Here is a thread with a similar issue.
https://www.g3gm.com/t10398-dash-vent-removal

I just took my dash out and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The instructions in a couple of threads were not that helpful but its pretty straight forward once you start on it.

by 76 Malibu Wed May 20, 2020 9:55 pm

I got it out. I ended up taking the radio and removing the heater controls. With them out I was able to get my hands in there and see it was hung up on the speaker. Once I freed it up, I was able to get out out of the dash relatively easily. The damage wasn't as bad as I thought inside, just some loose insulation and some seeds. I didn't realize GM put jute type insulation inside these vents.

So for anyone doing this in the future, remove the ash tray, and remove the four screws that hold the vent to the dash. Removing the radio and the heater controls give more room to work, and makes it easier to get the vent assembly out of the dash.

Thanks for the help.

by Hawk03 Thu May 21, 2020 9:57 am

Awesome, glad you got it.

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