1958 heater blower lever stuck

[Jon S]

Is there an easy way to lubricate the blower speed lever on a 1958 Cadillac?  The lever is stuck in the off position.

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Much depends on how long it's been "stuck"
and how much corrosion there is in the system. 
Sometimes, you can help loosen things up by
spraying a good penetrating oil at each end and
letting soak in for a number of days.  The ends
of the cable may be hard to reach.

WD-40 is a good one to try for this purpose but
there are many others.

Good luck,

Mike

[cadparts58]

Jon,
 It's possible that the wire cable that comes thru the spiral metal jacket is kinked at the spot where the wire cable goes into the jacket. Tough to get to. If it is at the control end you can get the control away from the dash enough to see it. If it is at the other end you have to stand on your head to get under there and take the the round heater duct off(should have a clamp on it) to get a better look at the cable end.

[Jon S]

Jon,
 It's possible that the wire cable that comes thru the spiral metal jacket is kinked at the spot where the wire cable goes into the jacket. Tough to get to. If it is at the control end you can get the control away from the dash enough to see it. If it is at the other end you have to stand on your head to get under there and take the the round heater duct off(should have a clamp on it) to get a better look at the cable end.

Just did that and sprayed as much as I could. That round heater hose wraps around a cylinder with a flap inside that is frozen. I WD-40’d the flap hinge pivots, but still frozen. I assume that flap should open/close freely.

[cadparts58]

Jon,
 It should move freely. The cable moves the lever attached to the flap. Make sure there is no loose felt from the flap stuck on the pivot points of the flap.

[Jon S]

Jon,
 It should move freely. The cable moves the lever attached to the flap. Make sure there is no loose felt from the flap stuck on the pivot points of the flap.

Thought so. Will let the WD-40 work in and look at it again tomorrow. Thanks Frank!

[gkhashem]

Jon

Update us on this, I hope its the door but somehow or somewhere the temperature lever should open or close the heater control valve I would think.

If the door does not pan out see if the heater control valve moves freely.

In a 1959 it is under the dash inside the heater box

[Jon S]

I’m beginning to think it’s the heater control valve. However I don’t see it from under the dashboard or from the engine side. Is it accessible without removing the inner fender?

[gkhashem]

Looks like you would remove the inner fender,

A prior thread on the forum mentioned this

https://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=122791.0

[TomJudd]

I was able to remove the whole "box" on my series 62 without removing fender or inner. loosen the inner and wedge out w a 2x4. My job was easier because I already had the dash cluster removed for repair (MUCH better access!) replacement morse cables are available. Be sure to route cables as removed...pics !! In my case , the elaborate multi door mechanism was just very sticky. Factory grease had turned to cement. I had purchased a complete box and control/cable assy before tackling job. Made the job much clearer to understand .I have available a complete functional heater box and control mech. w cables if u need parts. Includes good htr core and ranco valve. Control set has functional heater blower switch. You will need to replace the special blower duct hose $100, available. Tricky to install. Take your time, lots of pics, good luck , happy skinned knuckles and arms !!

[Jon S]

I was able to remove the whole "box" on my series 62 without removing fender or inner. loosen the inner and wedge out w a 2x4. My job was easier because I already had the dash cluster removed for repair (MUCH better access!) replacement morse cables are available. Be sure to route cables as removed...pics !! In my case , the elaborate multi door mechanism was just very sticky. Factory grease had turned to cement. I had purchased a complete box and control/cable assy before tackling job. Made the job much clearer to understand .I have available a complete functional heater box and control mech. w cables if u need parts. Includes good htr core and ranco valve. Control set has functional heater blower switch. You will need to replace the special blower duct hose $100, available. Tricky to install. Take your time, lots of pics, good luck , happy skinned knuckles and arms !!

Would you explain the “loosen the inner and wedge out” an bit more please. Any pictures?

[TomJudd]

In my case, the car was on my lift, wheel removed. As I recall remove several lower  fasteners at bottom of inner wheel house. Probably also the fender lower mts as well. Ive got my latest 58 on the lift now. I will go take a look to refresh my memory. Its a tight fit, but with a bit of finesse , can be done. Send me a PM to my e mail (include  phone # too ) and I will send a couple pics. Text or e mail. Tom. Right now Im under car , installing rebuilt brake booster and front hoses. Reinstalling rebuilt pwr antenna. already installed couple engine freeze plugs. Not fun !!