I'm pretty adept at fixing/rebuilding/repairing most things on (older) cars, but there's one thing I avoid doing if at all possible -- trim work. Door panels, knobs, brightwork; I break stuff every single time. As I'm currently rewiring the Merc, I need to take out the headlamp switch, blower switch, etc. from the instrument panel, but I cannot get the knobs to come off. I don't see any set screws, and if there's some sort of special clip holding the knob to the shaft (that's what she said), I can't see it. Can anyone shed some light on how to remove these knobs without destroying them? Thanks-- CH
refresh our memory, what year is the Merc? Light switches often have a button on the switch that will release the knob. Pull out the knob so the headlights are on, then while you push the button, pull the knob out a bit more. It takes practice, and patience. Blower knobs sometimes have a set screw, sometimes they have a clip that you press, sometimes they have a clip that you just have to force the knob off of, sometimes they are just pressed on to the lever. Sometimes you take the whole switch assembly out of the dash, and the levers and knobs stay with the switch, no need to take them off the levers to get the thing out of the dash. Ford ignition switches from the 50s into the 60s have a bezel and a funky internal "nut" that you turn about 1/4 turn, which releases the switch. pictures help, too
Hate to admit but I will......many years ago while working on my '55 Chev trying to remove the cig lighter element. Hmmmmmm, how'd they put that in there. Lost patience and took a small chisel and was hammering it out. My next door neighbor who had just arrived home heard the pounding, wanted to know what I was doing. Whoa, he said. He then reached under the back of the dash and unscrewed it! Ever since, I don't do stuff like that!
1950 Mercury Is this the button of which you speak? I pulled out the switch and pressed on the spring-loaded doohickey, and nothing came loose. Does the shaft need to be rotated fully one way or t'other to release? I figured out the other knobs...blower knob is threaded, wiper knob has an age-camouflaged set screw. How the wiper-button-knob-vacuum-cable assembly actually functions is a mystery for another day.
That is the release button, they can be a pain, pull it all t/he way out and then push the button to release. Sometimes you have to work it in and out a little to get it to come out.
Glad you brought the train back on the rails Squirrel. Some of these posts leave the tracks within 3 or 4 replies but this went off in the OP first post
I'm hip. I hate to admit this, but on my daily drivers (which are usually 20-30 year-old Ford trucks of some ilk) I know that there is a better-than-average chance I'm going to break either the headlamp knob or the wiper knob if I have to take off the dash bezel for some reason. So, I have a box of set screw knobs that I've accumulated over the years, and when I break one of those MFers off, I throw on a set screw knob and go on down the road. There's a half-dozen Ford trucks running around Texas with lawn- mower-throttle headlamp knobs and Fender-guitar-amp wiper knobs. Also, if I ever meet the Ford engineer who designed those 80's-90's clip knobs.....
The last couple 50's vintage Ford products I worked on the headlights needed to be off for the release button to work, just the opposite of what all the GM's I've worked on were. Try it, betting the button only compresses in the off position. Still can be a pain, 55 T Bird in shop at moment I haven't got to release yet.
The trick to the button/knob "deal-eo" is........pull the knob out half way....then mash the button while you pull it out all the way. Could made a LOT of sexual connotations there....... but didn't!! 6sally6
Sometimes on those headlight switches you can pull the shaft all the way out, hold the button down, then slide the shaft back in slowly until you find the spot where the button will fully depress, then pull the shaft out. It's not always at the fully extended position.
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