Hey Guys,

Pretty funny sounding novice question. My Uno has frequently as leaves trapped behind the aircon vents on the dash. This problem also applies to my sisters much older 2-door uno. So i'm guessing its a fairly universal one.

I just wanted to know where the leaves are coming in from... So I can cover it with a mesh or something..

much thanks in anticipation,
:yum: Dane

all your air will come in from the vents under the windscreen(i assume as i dont have an uno) not the 1st time ive had a face full of grit and leaves in a car
suppose you could mesh the intakes,should be able to see under the bonnet where it comes in

If you open the bonnet you may find a bundle of leaves and maybe even a squirrel at the base of the windscreen where there are voids to feed air into the vehicle.
Pete

Welcome to the forum!

If you reach down with a hand into the rounded scuttle ahead of the windscreen, there's a rubber drain (pipe with flattened 'spoon' end) that exits onto the steering rack area. You can push this drain out and then push all the leaves etc. out. Then push the drain back in (from inside the scuttle is easier).

If you use a thin, flat screwdriver next to the pivot point at the sides of the vent grille, you can gently pry it out. Open the vents fully with the fan on max and you should have most of the leaves out.

If you wanted to fit some mesh to prevent a repeat occurence, it would probably be easiest to cover the whole of that air intake area directly under the bonnet louvres. Maybe use some garden windbreak plastic netting or flyscreen material (OK, so in England you may not have flyscreen material...) and hold it in place by the rubber sealing strips that are already there?

Cheers,
-Alex

Thanks very much for the help guys!
I will definately proceed to fit a mesh over the inlet, I'm sure that'll keep most of the rubbish out.
Thanks again,
Cheers
Dane

ahahah i had that in both of my cars! HAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHHAHA!!!

Yes, these are simple little cars, made in a time when people were not as concerned with ventilation filtering as they are today.

A friend put it rather succinctly when we were out for a drive in his (very tatty!) red Uno 45 that was basically bought for free... I rolled up the thumbwheel for the vents and a visible cloud of dust and leaves sprayed out. "Oh," said my friend, "that will be because I forgot to specify a Pollen Filter change at the last service interval..."

Modern cars with air-con usually have a pollen filter, but they also have a lot less airflow through the vents with the fan off...

-Alex

I made very effective Pollen filter from the material left when I changed the filter in a hood above my kitchen stove.
These are available in sheets of various sizes anywhere where home appliances are sold. Some have active carbon grains in them - maybe these would filter even better, like a gas mask .

Whoa, this reminded me that my hood and dishwasher are Zanussi (Italian), stove, fridge and washing machine Ariston (Italian), glass mosaic floor tiles and ceramic tiles in the bathroom are made in Italy as well and there is a fresh bottle of Martini in the freezer...:yum: