Torx Metal Screws

[Lito 2]

In planning the install of an electric heater under the dashboard, I discovered that there seem to be a few screws missing down there. The car's records show that a blower motor was replaced at some point, so probably they simply didn't put all the screws back.Anyway, I know I could probably use any suitable metal screws, but to avoid having 10 different tools at hand I rather stay "original".I don't think I've even seen torx screws at Canadian Tire... There is a place way out in Nepean for fasteners of all kinds, but is there something closer to downtown you guys know about to buy this type screws? I'm located in the Market.

[CANMAN 23]

You can get them from Mercedes probably for less money then going to a fastener place because those stores make you buy a box of 50 when you only need 3 or 4.

Be careful installing the heater under the dash.

There is a soft metal crossmember you can drill for your mounting bolts, it is surprisingly easy to drill thru.

And the passengers airbag just above, so you don't want to push too hard on the drill and drill into the airbag.

Here is a link to a post I did about my installation.

http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?showtopi...hl=Little+buddy

Canman

[Lito 2]

Thank you Cannan!

I see you did a great install (and great instructions) for a 450. The 451 is a little different as we do not have the handy 110 plug in the front. I will see if I can "recycle" an existing hole for the 110 cable.

As for location for the install, I looked at it very carefully and, in my 451, there is a lot of clear space which is flat and big enough, on top of the carpet over the tire repair kit (it should end up looking something like this):

Dashboard

_________________________

small heater

bracket

velcro

_________________________

carpet

_________________________

tire repare kit

_________________________

battery

_________________________

Because I don't think the heater blower is powerful enough to push the air clear of the underside of the dash, I probably will also have appropriate insulation covering the space between above the heater and the underside of the dash.

I will be posting pics once I am done.

[CANMAN 23]

Hi Lito,

Just in case you can't recycle a hole for your 110 cable, here is a post I did about running a 12 VDC cable thru the firewall.

http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?autocom=...ticle&id=20

I know we are talking 450 vs 451 but the principle s the same.

It should be easier with the 451 because you don't have to take the front cowl off, just open the front hatch for accesss.

Canman

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

As an FYI, the place in Nepean (Ottawa Fastener Supply) actually is a "buy as many as you need" store, with bins for a gajillion types of screws, bolts, nuts, washers, etc. I'm sure they would have Torx screws somewhere in there, and if they didn't, they'd be able to get you some. But Canman is probably right about MB being cheapest

[Lito 2]

Thank you both!Yes Flossy, I've been there before and had to order some hardware from them. Very helpful too. I guess I was avoiding the needless drive... then again, yet another excuse to take the car on the road

[Alex 21]

Just a quick note. When drilling any hole anywhere in anything that it is important not to drill into whatever is behind, never ever try to control it by hand! Use a sleeve of some sort to provide a positive stop to the penetration, sockets often work well. Set it so the drillbit only extends the thickness of the material to be drilled.

[Lito 2]

I finished the install and I am very happy with the results! Here's how I did it:

I bought this heater from Canadian Tire

It comes with: The heater (kind of like a slow and quiet hair dryer, really), a mounting bracket, 3 metres of cable and 2 prong plug, a rubber grommet and 4 metal screws.

The obvious place for installation is under the dashboard, on the passenger side. However, after looking and looking and trying to see what it would look like installed, I switched my preferred position to the space on the floor, just above the battery/tire repair kit (still under the dashboard but against the firewall - see red line on pic).

This meant some pros and some cons...

Pros:

Out of view

Out of the way

No need for drilling/screwing on the dash

Cons:

Maybe too close to the carpet (flammable?)

Could not screw the bracket to any metal surface

So I decided to build a simple plate to which I could attach the heater's bracket on one side, and velcro to attach to the carpet on the other side. This was super easy to do with left over wood I had in the basement. I used different screws for the bracket just because I had them.

Now for the harder bit... How to get power inside the car.

I looked at every possible existing hole I could find, and as it had been suggested to me, the best candidate was by a harness that comes out of the battery and through the floor. However, I was not sure how I was going to fish this from underneath, and I would have had to remove other bits of car to get to it.

After much going between under the dash and the front of the car, it seemed to me that a small hole was going to be far less harmful than I had anticipated, and that if I was to share the space with an existing wire harness, I risked screwing something up, as they are all VERY tightly packed.

So I proceeded to drill a pilot hole in the place that seemed most accessible from both the inside and the outside, onto the firewall. Please note that there are two different metals in that area... The one closer to the outer shell of the car which must be structural (and thick), and the firewall proper which is much thiner metal and very easy to drill through. Still, I highly recommend starting with a pilot hole to avoid having the drill bit travel allover the place, scratching the rust protecting paint coat.

In the two following pictures, I highlighted where the hole was made by keeping the drill bit on the hole while taking the pic. By the way, it was much easier to drill from the inside out as there is no room to fit a drill on the outside.

inside:

outside:

Once the hole was in place I installed the rubber grommet, which should protect the wire from cuts by the metal firewall. Still, the fit is not very tight, so I also applied some silicone sealant to the wire to avoid weather/dust/wind going through.

After all that, routing the cable was super hard. I was going to cut it to size but then I decided it was best to keep it at full length just in case I ever needed the additional reach. I just used one cable tie to guide the cable together with a lights harness, and then coiled and used a second tie to keep the extra cable out of the way.

view from the front:

Figuring out how to make the cable come out of the grill without any additional holes was a little trickier. For one thing, I did not want the cable to be in close contact with the radiator, so I did a bit of fishing with a rigid wire for a while before I found the route I try to show here, shot from above:

... and where it comes out and where I installed the plug:

And finally, an image of the heater making winter just a little bit more bearable

[CANMAN 23]

Great Job Lito,Perhaps you can post your installation in Articles/Technical Wikis to make it easier for other 451 owners to follow your lead.Canman

[Lito 2]

Thank you Canman! Article published! http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?autocom=...ticle&id=32

[Francesco 71]

Great write-up! Thanks!