[JDM Performance]

Ok,

There was another thread about this, but there was no good pics on how to remove them. So here it is.

1. Firstly, using a very thin blade flathead provides the best result. Using a wide thick blade screwdriver I found butchered a bit of my dash (but you cant see it when the gauges are in).






2. With the screwdriver, slide it between the edge of the vent and dash and wiggle it around to loosen up dash (which is made of high density foam). I did this throughout the entire edge of the vent, but I dont think you really need to. Benefit is that it will loosen the vent considerably in order to reach the damn clips. Next at 12 o'clock, slide the screwdriver right in, but this time at an angle so it doesnt push the clip in a way that will bend and snap it. I found it was a little difficult at first, but once you do the first one, the rest are piss easy. It doesnt matter if you bend or break the clips, shit happens..

Once you have the screwdriver on top of the clip, grab the vent with your other hand and pull it. It will need some force in order for the clip to free itself. That's the hard part done.






3. Once the top clip is freed, it's now onto the bottom clip which is located in the 6 o'clock position. Slide the driver in, again at an angle so it doesnt bend and brake the clip. Once you have the driver pushing against the bottom of the clip, it's time to remove the entire vent!





4. Here you see the removed vent with the clip undamaged.





5. Below you can see the difference between using a thick blade driver and a thin blade. 2nd pic is using a thin blade. See how relatively undamaged the surrounds are. In the end, I broke Zero clips and the vents remained totally undamaged. Only gripe from this exercise was I slightly butchered one of the holes, but like I said before, you wont be able to see them when the new gauges are in!







6. And finally, a pic of my dash. Boost gauge on the pillar and the oil temp and pressure gauges will be nicely fitted into the new location! Good luck!

[Sleeper Spec]

You are my hero!! I am getting my boost gauge installed tomorrow and needed to do this tonight.

Thanks champ!

[Sleeper Spec]

Got the boost gauge out with little trouble after following your instructions. Once again, thanks alot.

This may have been covered before, but do you know how the remove the silver surrounding of the airvent so I can use it to trim the gauge?

[Menthu_Rae]

isnt it illegal to replace your steering wheel with a non-airbag model, if your car had an airbag in the wheel? :| how do you get away without being defected big time???

[jasonli]

to prevent any damage at all .. I found that instead of using a screw driver which has a limited flat bit, I used a normal butter/kitchen knife which has a long blade without being sharp. I had no trouble with ripping anything ... I just used2 knives, 1 up top and 1 on the bottom and pulled the vent out ... easy ...

[JDM Performance]

Sleeper Spec, on Sep 12 2004, 11:40 PM, said:

Got the boost gauge out with little trouble after following your instructions.  Once again, thanks alot.

This may have been covered before, but do you know how the remove the silver surrounding of the airvent so I can use it to trim the gauge?

All you need to do is undo the screw at the back of the vents. HOwever, if you have a gauge like GReddy's, it wont fit so you need to either cut the housing, or get some GReddy gauge holders.

[JDM Performance]

jasonli, on Sep 13 2004, 09:50 AM, said:

to prevent any damage at all .. I found that instead of using a screw driver which has a limited flat bit, I used a normal butter/kitchen knife which has a long blade without being sharp. I had no trouble with ripping anything ... I just used2 knives, 1 up top and 1 on the bottom and pulled the vent out ... easy ...

Even better!

[Sleeper Spec]

My gauge is actually a Greddy 60mm warning gauge.

Does anyone know how much a new vent is? If they are something like 50 bucks, I might just cut the one I have and get a new one to put in when I sell the car.

[Sleeper Spec]

I just called Westpoint Nissan in Brisbane and found out that a new vent is $93.60.

Does anyone know where I can get one cheaper?

[JDM Performance]

Considering there are so many ppl who remove their vents, I'm pretty sure there will be a shitload of them just collecting dust. When it's time to remove the gauge and reinstall your vent, just ask around and I'm sure someone will be willing to part with theirs. I'm gonna cut mine, doesnt worry me too much..

[phantc_s15]

great write up mate!

does the heat when you turn on your heater have any effects on guages?

[[FLYN]]

Well done for this dude..

[s15_clint]

Wow thats great! now i know how to do it I know what im doin tomorrow

Clint

[_ck_]

Has anyone put anything behind the gauge to reduce the heat/cold exposure?

Was thinking maybe a container of some sort like cream or something like that where you would just cut it to size and drill a hole for the tube and the container would sit well at the back in the hole so you wouldn't see it.

[JDM Performance]

I dont think you'll need any blocking plate or whatever to cover the piping. But if you really need to, just stuff some cloth down the pipe. Too easy.

[LISTEN_180SX]

mxfly, you are a LEGEND!. i'll be doing mine this weekend hopefully!

thanks mate!

[JDM Performance]

LISTEN_180SX, on Sep 14 2004, 11:32 AM, said:

mxfly, you are a LEGEND!. i'll be doing mine this weekend hopefully!

thanks mate!

I'll even help you out if you need any! Just give me a call!

[bangin]

Dug up an old thread but how do you run the wires/hoses out of the vent when the gauge is in there?

also What size gauge can you put in there?

[SIL80]

60mm guages, cut small holes in the plastic ducting behind where the guage will sit, remove the stereo unit to give more room to pull wires thru

[yakozan]

^^^

thats what I did to.
i also used 2 screwdrivers. One at the top and one at the bottom.

And for the record. The Greddy warning gauges (60mm) will fit like a dream. Just remove the centre bit of the airvent by undoing the screw in the back and chuck the gauge in. It will sit tight and look very nice

[JDM Performance]

Wow, an oldie thread of mine, hahaha

And i still use that darn screwdriver as well!

[yakozan]

Excellent write-up mxfly.
If only the search engine was better so people can find this thread when searching.

I searched for several hours before doing mine, But this is the first time I saw this thread.

[anth]

i just did this before... but i used the single air vent on the right of the driver (the one closest to the drivers door)

i have an autometer liquid filled gauge, will the heat from the heater affect the liquid?

[Tell]

I put my GReddy boost gauge in my middle A/C vent. All i had to do after i removed it was to cut the back side sections from the outer vent so all i was left with was the silver surrounding. It looks like the gauge has been in there from the factory. I would post pics of it but i dont know how to. I know there is a sticky explaining it but ill do it when i have more time to fiddle, i can SMS it if anyone who wants to see the ned result before i manage to put a pic up.

Cheers
Tell :8)

[02S15]

Cheers mxfly for the great explaination - just finished installing my defi boost gauge on the drivers side vent and it looks the goods
Thanks

[SXR200]

What gauges do you think fit and match best? I have only seen the greddy ones installed

[Bman]

Do you need to make up any sort of brackets to hold the gauges firmly in place?

[xenoic]

Very very good pic & instruction MxFly. My gauge is 60mm but it's still a bit loose in the vents. What i did is that I used a "tamiya r/c" rubber tyre to wrap around the gauge and tick it in. It fits nice n tight and looks good.

Here's a pic. U can see that there's a black rubber thingy around the gauge.

Attached thumbnail(s)

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[ichi-go]

I have defis installed in the centre vents by previous owner. It seems they used the silver surrounding to hold the defis. It sorts of protude and does not look as nice as xenoic's one.

[JDM Performance]

Thanks everyone, and you dont need to use any brackets for Defi GReddy or HKS gauges as i've tried them all.