Found a Cheap/Affordable Solution to replacing the Defrost Duct (s)

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shanker

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I spent most of Saturday morning trying to find a 2.5" ID hose to replace the defrost Duct's in my wife's 75 Duster (I just went thru this with my 74 Ramcharger and wasn't happy with the flex duct I had purchased from McMaster-Carr for that. I found lots of threads here and on other mopar forums and wasn't super thrilled with what I came across as it all appeared more difficult than it needed to be.

I came across this on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0RH9PH/?tag=fabo03-20 ) and would like to report back with great success that an 11.99 solution worked fantastic. It's rigid, so it supports itself nicely.

The ONLY thing I had to do was to take the clips off the vents that are on the dash and HVAC box so that it would slide over them, it's a TIGHT fit so no hardware required.

The downside is that this stuff is fairly frustrating to work with as it has rigid plastic so that it's form-able and once you get it on either the HVAC Box side or the vent side, it can easily become a strugglefest trying to get it slid over both sides without it coming off of the other.

The EASIEST way to install it, would be if the windshield was out, you could run it thru the vent holes in the dash, attach it to the HVAC outlets, then attach the dash vents and merely press and secure them into place. I probably went about it the hardest way.

Defrost Duct Replace 01.jpg


Defrost Duct Replace 02.jpg


Defrost Duct Replace 03.jpg


Defrost Duct Replace 04.jpg
 
Hell yeah! I found some 2" for mine and cut the wires about 5 coils in and stretched it over the duct outlets. Works fine. Damn that 50 buck "correct" crap.
 
I think this is in the "how to" section of the forum
 
318willrun said:
I think this is in the "how to" section of the forum
Click to expand...

There's actually two, one guy used Vinyl Vehicle Wrap material (I Didn't have any handy and it's somewhat expensive unless you have some laying around, depending on the brand it may or may not be heat shrinkable too) to wrap around the original parts and the other guy used ShopVac hose. The ShopVac hose is pretty good, but due to the sizes available, it'll only fit INSIDE of the existing vents.

I was aiming for cheap (11.99 shipped on Amazon with Prime) and functional (did not make any changes to diameter, and it's strong enough to support itself).

BTW, I'm one of your YouTube subscribers, some good info you've shared on there!
 
shanker said:
I was aiming for cheap (11.99 shipped on Amazon with Prime) and functional (did not make any changes to diameter, and it's strong enough to support itself).

BTW, I'm one of your YouTube subscribers, some good info you've shared on there!
Click to expand...
We like cheap! :)
Also, thanks for subscribing!!
 
shanker said:
and hopefully to save some time on the next person trying to do this same thing. Some other products are as follows:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRFIKS/?tag=fabo03-20

Air Intake and Defroster Hose

Dorman Products - Search Results

NAPA sells it too, below are the NAPA part numbers. (This is all made by Dorman)
Comes in 6' length.
1.25"...813-1508
1.5".....815-1002
1.75"...815-1000
2.0".....815-1001
2.25"...813-1509
2.5".....815-5008
3.5".....813-1506
4.0".....815-5007
6.0".....813-1528
Click to expand...


This tubing from Nappa is the same stuff I used when I did my Cuda 3 years ago. Pricing hasn't changed much.
I bought 2.25 and 2.5 diameter hose. Comes in 6" lengths.
 
Aircraft Specialties carries all different sizes of scat tubing for ducts in aircraft. Two different types, scat and sceet.
 
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shanker said:
I spent most of Saturday morning trying to find a 2.5" ID hose to replace the defrost Duct's in my wife's 75 Duster (I just went thru this with my 74 Ramcharger and wasn't happy with the flex duct I had purchased from McMaster-Carr for that. I found lots of threads here and on other mopar forums and wasn't super thrilled with what I came across as it all appeared more difficult than it needed to be.

I came across this on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0RH9PH/?tag=fabo03-20 ) and would like to report back with great success that an 11.99 solution worked fantastic. It's rigid, so it supports itself nicely.

The ONLY thing I had to do was to take the clips off the vents that are on the dash and HVAC box so that it would slide over them, it's a TIGHT fit so no hardware required.

The downside is that this stuff is fairly frustrating to work with as it has rigid plastic so that it's form-able and once you get it on either the HVAC Box side or the vent side, it can easily become a strugglefest trying to get it slid over both sides without it coming off of the other.

The EASIEST way to install it, would be if the windshield was out, you could run it thru the vent holes in the dash, attach it to the HVAC outlets, then attach the dash vents and merely press and secure them into place. I probably went about it the hardest way.

View attachment 1715686241

View attachment 1715686242

View attachment 1715686243

View attachment 1715686244
Click to expand...

Doesn't the heater box end take 2 different size hoses, but the vents in the dash are the same size? How did you get past that? Or am I missing it.
 
DionR said:
Doesn't the heater box end take 2 different size hoses, but the vents in the dash are the same size? How did you get past that? Or am I missing it.
Click to expand...

On some vehicles, yes. On this particular car, a 1975 Duster 360, Factory A/C car, no. On my 74 Ramcharger SE, factory 440 A/C truck, no.
 
I wonder if it holds up well against very hot climates. I live in the desert and almost all my cars have melted dash vents. Warped plastic and white crumbly rubber pieces are the norm.

So I wonder if it would still be there after a couple of summers in a car parked outside a lot.

Just thinkin
 
oldkimmer said:
That’s a pretty rare car u have there. I have 1 that’s non a/c. Sweet ram charger u have also. Kim
Click to expand...

Thanks! Unfortunately with the Duster, all we know is that it's a real deal 360 car w/ #'s engine. Transmission #'s say it came from behind a 1967 318. No Fender Tag & No Buildsheet. The Duster has been ran hard and put away wet most of it's life, but it's rust free and daily driver reliable. (It was a daily for 10 years after mechanically rebuilt.

Princess Valiant said:
I wonder if it holds up well against very hot climates. I live in the desert and almost all my cars have melted dash vents. Warped plastic and white crumbly rubber pieces are the norm.

So I wonder if it would still be there after a couple of summers in a car parked outside a lot.

Just thinkin
Click to expand...

Being that you're in the desert, I'd suggest looking into aircraft scat tubing. It's made for those temperatures. But then again, in a super low humidity desert, is defrost even needed?
 
Thanks for posting. I did my 1964 Valiant recently, with factory heat-only box. The duct tubes are different sizes on each end, so hard to source. Any used ones would have friable fabric by now. I had a box of various new duct. I forgot where I bought it all, probably ebay. Most newish duct is convoluted plastic with no metal spring, so I was able to expand one end to fit after heating with a heat gun. I recall I also used an ABS (black) plumbing coupler from Home Depot to convert sizes one place. Sometimes, you can "screw" a smaller duct into a large one to get 2 different sized ends. Secure with nylon ties. It ain't rocket science and many approaches suffice.
 
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