How do you remove the fan access panel in the closet?

[nodine]

Today I decided I would take a look at my fan belt and opened up the bedroom slides and took off the engine cover. I then tried to take out the access panel in the bottom of the closet so the fan belt would be visible. It was not obvious to me how to take it out. Does anyone know how this panel comes out?

Thanks,

Bob

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodine Today I decided I would take a look at my fan belt and opened up the bedroom slides and took off the engine cover. I then tried to take out the access panel in the bottom of the closet so the fan belt would be visible. It was not obvious to me how to take it out. Does anyone know how this panel comes out? Thanks, Bob

Bob,
I have an 07 PDQ and I have a step in my closet. Where did you find the panel?

[Robi.1014]

Bob,
My floor panel has 4, black-colored pop handles. With all 4 popped-up, a hefty pull and the floor panel comes up.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robi.1014 Bob, My floor panel has 4, black-colored pop handles. With all 4 popped-up, a hefty pull and the floor panel comes up.

That is the normal engine access panel and I have had that one out many times. The panel I am talking about is hidden inside the closet floor just behind the main engine access panel with the pop up latches. If you do not look very close you will not see it. Look for the a break in the carpet. Guess I need to post over on the yahoo site where all the old pros are.

Bob

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardy1000 Bob, I have an 07 PDQ and I have a step in my closet. Where did you find the panel?

Del,

The panel I am referring to is between the step as you call it and the closet door. It is an extension of the main engine access panel and extends into the floor of the closet. I have read about it from time to time but have never attempted to open it until yesterday. I believe it will give access to the fan belt. Guess no one on this site has ever had theirs out. I'll post over on yahoo.

Bob

[wizzo442]

Hey, Bob. If you find out over on Yahoo, post the results here, please. I'd like to get mine off, too. Need to change my belt. Thanks.

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodine Del, The panel I am referring to is between the step as you call it and the closet door. It is an extension of the main engine access panel and extends into the floor of the closet. I have read about it from time to time but have never attempted to open it until yesterday. I believe it will give access to the fan belt. Guess no one on this site has ever had theirs out. I'll post over on yahoo. Bob

Bob,

I went and checked for the panel in my closet, (07 Dip) and I do could not find one. I checked the floor and the top of the step in my closet. I then called Monaco and was told that there is no closet service panel for fan access in the 06 or 07 Diplomats. If you find one please post it.

[Pusherpilot]

Try using a spike to probe the carper around the edges for screw heads. Many times the screws are pulled into the carpet and aren't apparent to the eye. On mine the driver side of the closet has an access panel to a compartment that houses the power cable reel. Since it is aftermarket and the carpet doesn't match perfectly it is apparent where it is. Also the screw heads used to secure the panel have recessed into the carpet and aren't visible.
Ron

[Our Time]

I have one in a 2008 Diplomat SKQ. As I recall it has a screw on each side. They had it removed to install the Norton Fan Clutch. It does give you access to the fan belt, although stiil tight. Closet doors were removed.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizzo442 Hey, Bob. If you find out over on Yahoo, post the results here, please. I'd like to get mine off, too. Need to change my belt. Thanks.

I communicated directly with a member who managed to get his out. He indicated that the closet doors and the support rail at the bottom had to come out to remove two of the four screws. He said the heads of the screws were difficult to find but are there in the carpet pile. I plan to follow his lead and modify the panel so that it can be removed without taking out the closet doors and support rail. I have not yet taken the panel out but will take some photos when I do.

Bob

[YC1]

I'm probably the one mentioned. I have pictures to attach and some information on how to remove it.

I love it when I type two paragraphs and then manage to wipe them out so I am going to do this in stages.

Remove screws from each end of the closet door bottom wood rail. The facing piece. It is tight on the left side. The screws are square headed/phillips head and very long. Once those are out the bottom will swing forward but you have to take the top sconce board off too. It is a bit tricky to get out but it needs to be removed. The doors then have a couple of little brackets on the back side at the top that need to be loostened. The keep the doors from being lifted off the top track rail. The top rail does not need to be removed. Just lift the doors out.

Once the doors are out you will see two screws that were hidden under the rail.
Those flat headed lag screws can be monsters to remove. I had to use vice grips and some very useful language to get them out. Once removed they were tossed. The two hidden screws don't need to be used because the large hatch holds that end of the small hatch down. I did fill the holes of course.

To replace the screws I used standard 1/4 inch lag bolts but cut the head down thin with a dremel cutoff tool. They come out easily with a socket wrench now.

If your reason for taking the cover off is to replace the fan then be careful when you take the last bolt out of the fan. Retighten it almost tight and shake the fan loose. Tighten the bolt back down to reseat the fan pulley or you risk knocking it loose when you remove the fan blades.

Finding the hidden screws in the small engine cover piece is tricky. You can looks inside with a mirror under the cover and get an idea where they are. I don't know if they are magnetic material if you have a strong magnet you can find them easily. I think I used the end of my knife.


This picture shows the left end of the closet door bottom rail. You can see there is only a few inches between the slide and the rail. I used a small ratchet, 1/4 inch socket/,and a short square headed tool to remove them. Using a phillips screwdriver can be nearly impossible to get enough torque. Everyone should have the little square headed tool for this project.



In this picture the small cover has been removed. I had not removed the closet doors yet but decided I needed to. The bottom rail was loose here. The carpet had not been cut over the small hatch. I ran a knife around the edge. If you have to the carpet can be pulled back and re-glued. Those screws are hard to find.



Although blurry you can see the fan blade in front of the closet bottom rail.



This is the right side which is much easier to get to. You can see a small gap showing on the right and the track line in the carpet which shows the screws are out.



I used silicon grease on the black weather stripping before reinstalling the covers. They can be a pain to get off. This photo shows the original fan blade.


So I hope this helps. And now how many have questions about the fan?

[wizzo442]

Thanks, YC1. Don't know how you figured this out, but I'm glad you did.

[YC1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizzo442 Thanks, YC1. Don't know how you figured this out, but I'm glad you did.

Brute strength and ignorance.

[nodine]

Thanks for your time and effort YC1. FYI, the square drive for the screws is called a Robertson drive and is very common in Canada. There is an interesting story about Robertson and Henry Ford. Seems Ford found the square drive to have advantages and wanted to use it in the Model T production but Robertson refused to license it to Ford. For that reason Ford only used the Robertson drive in his Canadian factories and went with the darn Phillips screw in the US. I wish Robertson had licensed it to Ford because it works much better than a Phillips. I wish I had a dollar for every Phillips screw driver I have thrown away because the tips got rounded. And when it comes to power driving them in the Phillips sucks and the bit will tend to back out of the screw. Not so with the Robertson. You had better hold on to the drill because that baby will not slip.

Another tid bit of information about posting on irv2. I have cursed many times after typing a long post only to have it disappear before I got it uploaded. It always seems to happen when I use the Backspace key to edit. I have learned to only use the delete key and arrow keys when editing a post.

Thanks again,

Bob