First Gen Tundra Hvac switch glued on

I have a 2005 tundra that my
older brother owned before me. He believed cheaper is better than doing it the right way so he gorilla glued the middle control knob. I bough led T5 bulbs and was planning to switching the whole hvac panel over to leds instead of halogens but cant get the middle knob off because it is gorilla glued on. I tried rubbing alcohol and a hair dryer to try to loosen the knob but it’s still stuck. If anyone knows how to get it unglued without casing damage could you please let me know. I put a picture so y’all could see what I am working with.

 

Why is it sticking so far out? Is it partially pulled off, or is that how dear old brother left it?

I think you'll have to sacrifice that knob and just plan to get a replacement. I got a set of 3 online for $15 if I remember correctly and they fit perfectly.

I'd use a Dremel to carefully cut the knob apart to expose just the area that's glued to the shaft. Then using a combination of Dremel, Exacto-knife, and a small file, perform micro-surgery to remove the remaining plastic that's glued to the shaft. If you can get the glue & plastic off, the new knob should slide right on.

Oh, and the next time you see your brother...

 

I would also suggest putting painters tape on bezel all around that knob so as not to scratch it while removing knob

 

I never thought of a dremel so thank you so much for that. I’ll probably end up ordering some new knobs today and i’ll be sure to pay my older brother a lovely visit .

 

Bought 3 recently from Toyota Cool Springs for $9 ea before they become NLA. I'm sure fleabay/amacon can be found cheaper but decided long ago to personally go OEM from a dealer for basically everything....YMMV !

Knob Sub-Assembly, Control, No. 1 55905-0C010 | Toyota of Cool Springs vParts

 

If that shaft is fucked, I don't think you can get a replacement potentiometer/switch unless that white dash electronic console $$ can come apart to put a new one into it.

 

Use the right tool for the job. Acetone dissolves most isocyanite glues, and if you have a woman in your life, she may have some in the form of nail polish remover. BUT FAIR WARNING...

Test on the plastic knob and post first to make sure it won't melt them, put down a drop cloth underneath and consider putting plastic grocery bags over the dash bezel before applying. Dash bezels and center consoles are often painted, and acetone is paint dissolver, so ... you get the gist.

I'd probably soak a cotton ball with acetone, squeeze most of it out, then hold it on the back side of the shaft to let it do its work. Alternately, if you have a small gauge syringe, like those used for insulin and vitamin injections, you could hold a towel under and squeeze a couple drops at a time on the back side.

Whatever you do, you DON'T want to damage the post itself. Based on another member's issue, where the post snapped off, Toyota gave no real way to replace the center post, and trying to find the correct HVAC controls (they're wildly different) is not easy.

 

I mean....it says "once dried, there is no known solvent" on the back so yeah...probably stuck grinding it off.

 

Depends on which Gorilla product you're talking about. The white haze would suggest it's their super glue product, which I think is a cyanate (or cyanoacrylate or isocyanite or whatever) versus the urethane original adhesive they make that's water-activated. The former comes loose with acetone, I don't think you can get the latter off. Just sucks, acetone will dissolve some plastics and definitely loosens paint.

OP needs to identify which one it is. Identification is easy. If it's the color of honey or white, hazy, puffy, with small bubbles, maybe shiny on top, it's the polyurethane version. OP is screwed. If it's laying pretty flat, hazy, dull, there are options.

 

PS - if it were me, and acetone test on the plastics showed risk of melting the plastic, or I didn't want to risk collateral damage from using acetone, I'd work to split the knob. OEM knobs are pretty damn cheap. May need to clean up the post of any glue residue after. YMMV.

 

True, true, I forgot they make 'super glue' now too. All I have in my shop is the original, which literally says nothing will dissolve it on the label.

 

Came here to read a random post, and learned we apparently have some chemical engineers in the 1GR group.

 

Definitely not me, Sys.E here, not Chem.E

Have a lot of respect for anyone doing the latter, though.