The Defender's heater and blower controls are cable-operated. Two cables go to the heater/blower unit and control the flaps for (i) temperature (i.e. how much air is directed through the heater matrix) and (ii) amount of air flow (including a two-position switch for the blower fan). A third cable routes through the dash to control the flappers that direct the air up to the windscreen or down to the footwell. The temperature and up/down controls are on the outboard side of the instrument panel, and the air volume/fan switch is on the inside. Note that it's 'outboard' and 'inboard' not 'left' and 'right' - the controls are different between LHD and RHD models.
Unfortunately all three of the TUM's had become seized. More unfortunately someone had tried to free them by brute force. The levers are puny mild steel pieces which neck down alarmingly: two were bent out of shape and the third was work-fractured almost to the point of failure and soon broke right off.
I decided to have a go at mending the broken lever. First, I used a regular 2-part epoxy ('JB Weld') to tack the joint: it was not a clean break so it needed a good blob of the stuff. I rubber-banded the broken piece to the sound lever to make a kind of jig. Once that had cured overnight, I built up the surrounding area using a steel-loaded epoxy. This comes in a kind of sausage roll of epoxy + hardener: you cut off a slice, work the components together, and then work it into place. It is quite dry - roughly the consistency of glazier's putty. Once that had set, I turned the assembly over, moved the other lever out of the way, and built up the reverse side.
Once both sides were cured, I tidied up the epoxy with a file and gave 'er a couple of coats of semi-gloss black Tremclad. Let's see how long she holds up - really I think that brazing would be a better fix, but I don't have the kit.
Unfortunately all three of the TUM's had become seized. More unfortunately someone had tried to free them by brute force. The levers are puny mild steel pieces which neck down alarmingly: two were bent out of shape and the third was work-fractured almost to the point of failure and soon broke right off.
I decided to have a go at mending the broken lever. First, I used a regular 2-part epoxy ('JB Weld') to tack the joint: it was not a clean break so it needed a good blob of the stuff. I rubber-banded the broken piece to the sound lever to make a kind of jig. Once that had cured overnight, I built up the surrounding area using a steel-loaded epoxy. This comes in a kind of sausage roll of epoxy + hardener: you cut off a slice, work the components together, and then work it into place. It is quite dry - roughly the consistency of glazier's putty. Once that had set, I turned the assembly over, moved the other lever out of the way, and built up the reverse side.
Once both sides were cured, I tidied up the epoxy with a file and gave 'er a couple of coats of semi-gloss black Tremclad. Let's see how long she holds up - really I think that brazing would be a better fix, but I don't have the kit.
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