E30 Heater Control Installation

[brianimal]

Recently got my 318i A/C serviced. The BMW dealer filled with R-12 - no leaks were detected and the compressor was working. However, the system would not fully work due to a malfunctioning Heater Control unit Apparently the sliders are interfering with the connection?
The dealer wanted to charge $590 for part and installation. I declined the service and wanted to do the installation myself. I'm not the most mechanically inclined individual, but I did find a helpful tutorial on the forums which gets me most of the way there.

The tutorial doesn't go into the removal of the piece I'm replacing and I wanted to know if anyone had experience removing this component. I'm hoping once I get the part in the mail and open up the panel that it'll be fairly straight-forward, but I wanted to get some expert advice before I dove in.

Thanks!

[grantorino62]

Are we talking about a heater control valve? You do know that on your 85, if the bottom lever is fully to the left, the compressor shuts off. It re engages once you move that lever about a quarter of the way to the right. My 86 does this and I at first, thought it was a worn out contact. The Bentley manual says its designed this way to keep the evaporator from freezing up.

[Jeffnhiscars]

According to Bentley it's the centre lever:

On 1987 and earlier cars with air conditioning (A/C) , the lever that regulates air flow for the instrument-panel vents also
electrically controls the AC compressor. To prevent condenser freeze-up and AC system damage, the compressor is
switched off if the lever is set below a certain point.

As far as changing the slide mechanism, the hardest part was getting 3 very stiff cables hooked on to the levers without damage. I recall them being secured so not a lot of free play. Someone may have a better technique but it was a major PITA when I did it.

[changyeamoon]

Did this issue get solved? Sounds similar to my situation