DOH - posted a pen through my vent?

richjohnhughes

richjohnhughes

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no laughing please - some how i have managed to drop a pen down on of the vents on the dash board..............and its rattling like mad.

is it possible to remove the front of the vent to get it out?

any ideas??

:uhm:
 
er,...............was talking on the phone and was trying to us it as a pen holder! doooooooooooh!
 
Well...can you see the pen? I know you can remove the vent rings because they can be swapped (true?) so if you can see the pen i'd assume you could grab it with some kitchen tongues or similar? I'm just guessing here. Funny story though!
 
I guess it depends how far down the vent its gone??
You can swap the plastic for ally trim on the vents I think but I dunno if you can fully remove the vent housing?? I'd guess you can... someone must have done it??
 
audi upgrades
Usually a vent fascia will come off, but if its slipped back into the venting pipe you will have to remove the under dash tray (usually on VAG these are kept in place with star key / Torq screw things), and then from underneath you can unclip the hose ducting, but this will not be easy as its located quite high up in the dash. You may be able to take the end cap off the dash (this should prize off with a flat blade screwdriver if its anything like other VAG cars), but in some cars you may have to remove fuse boxes etc to get in at the side.

THere is no easy way. What a bummer.
 
thanks for the replies people

grrrrrrrr- what a nightmare.

apart from the rattle - is there any risk of damage if i leave it there?
 
I'd go fishing for that with a piece of thin rigid wire bent into a small hook shape at the end. The vents are sure to come off. I've had the ones on the top of the dash out when I installed my Roadpilot pro. They prise out with a couple of small screwdrivers. If the pen has a pocket clip you may be able to hook it out. If it doesn't then slightly thicker wire bent over may be able to be manoeuvered past it so it can be slowly withdrawn. Sounds good fun.
 
Which vent did it go bobslaying down???

Someone on here will be able to post a workshop manual page showing how to remove the pipe etc.

Its more than likely to have gone out of reach, you may be lucky it may be easy to get to
 
What pen was it??? if its got metal on it you can buy telescopic magnets from most diy shops!!! or if your local i can lend u 1.....
 
Try get the vent off then put a tube down the vent from a vacuum cleaner or another attachement?
 
if its one of the centre vents I'm sure I've seen the business end of these when I took the Head unit out, perhaps you could look behind there?
 
Centre vents just pull out dont they?

I have to at this point confess to trying to remove some parking tickets that had found their way inbetween my windscreen and dash with one hand, and getting my hand stuck, so in a moment of clarity I tried using the free hand, which in turn got stuck! So im there, in rush hour traffic, with all 7 of my fingers (i'm one down, see nasty Injury thread) wedged in my dash lol! The car behind was NOT happy!
 
- thanks guys.

its gone down one of the centre ones - just had a look with a tourch and it not to be seen.......must have dropped right down??!!! eek!

i think if the front of the vent can be taken off - i'll be able to get in there some how?
 
I thought the vents were one piece i.e. you cannot take just the front off.

I looked into changing the black knurled bit for the alloy ones you get on the S3 a while back and most replies said it cannot be done unless I was to buy the the complete unit.

However the whole unit should come out fairly easy. Seem to remember a post about someone who'd changed their vents for TT style ones and had done a write up about removal etc. only problem is I can't remember where I saw it.
 
I'mRonBurgundy? said:
I thought the vents were one piece i.e. you cannot take just the front off.
Click to expand...

You may be correct, but I'd have thought it would be a very unusual and complicated manufacturing process to do that. Things like this are normally made in multiple pieces and fitted together. They may have been glued together of course but the top vents on the dash aren't.
 
Had a look in the manual and heres what i came up with

Ignore the special tool, use a screwdriver but DONT slip or you will have more than a rattle
untitled.jpg

untitled1.jpg
 
If it went down the centre one can you pull out your stereo and get to it that way?

Regards
 
mattandrew said:
Had a look in the manual and heres what i came up with

Ignore the special tool, use a screwdriver but DONT slip or you will have more than a rattle
untitled.jpg

untitled1.jpg
Click to expand...


great - thanks for that!! will have a go this afternoon and report back!!:think:
 
damn all the effort youre having to put in for a fricking biro! ;)
 
richjohnhughes said:
haha - a blue bic biro!
Click to expand...

A biro? You cheapskate! If you'd bought a proper pen, you could have used the magnet trick! ;)


How about wrapping some duct tape around some wire or something similar and see if you can pick it up using that....bit of a long shot though.
 
davemk said:
A biro? You cheapskate! If you'd bought a proper pen, you could have used the magnet trick! ;)


How about wrapping some duct tape around some wire or something similar and see if you can pick it up using that....bit of a long shot though.
Click to expand...

ha - spent all the money onthe car!!
 
quick update -

got the vents off no problem (thanks mattandrew) but the pen is no where to be seen - must have dropped right down into where ever it goes. eek!! might just get audi to have a look next time its in with them.

cheers guys
 
If you have a mate that works at the hospital you could be in luck
If you could get hold of a gastroscope you could have a look down the hole, some of them have a little nipper on the end used to take samples for biopsy purposes. You might be able to grab hold of the pen.
Only thing to watch out for is that it was well washed before you usue it!!

prt
 
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