I'm having problems turning all 3 knobs/dials on my Climate Control Panel. I've read about buying a part that corrects the sliders, but I can't turn the far right knob to Defrost, and my Fan only cuts on when set to Setting 4. Will those 2 problems be fixed when I replace the 1 slider? Or is more to be done?

 

yes more than likely they will be fixed. i had the same problem except it was my temp knob that would not turn completely over to heat. it would stop about half an inch short. the fan knob im not sure of though.

if you havent read the HVAC thread where the member completely overhauled his entire system to fix the bugs i suggest you do so. there is more to it than buying one part to fix this problem and prevent it from happening again. first remedy the problem and then prevent it from happening again.

the part you are thinking about is a set of revised gears that came in the evo ix's. they are easy to swap and cheap. you can get them from russel at mitsubishiparts.net. the second thing to buy would be new linkage for the knobs. more than likely from them being hard to turn over time they get weak since it is just a thick wire and bend, just like mine did. once they bend they are useless. the third thing to buy and install would be a cabin filter. the evo 8 and 03 lancer did not come with one. if you remove your glove box and look at your ducting you will see an indented rectangle where one would go. installation is easy and takes ten minutes. you simply take a razor, score the plastic and pop that rectangle out and install the cabin filter.

the lack of the cabin filter is the cause for most of the problems in the evo 8s. without one dirt, dust, and grime blows right into the mixer box and out of the cracks and gunks up the doors and the gears. the knobs get harder to turn and eventually dont turn at all or you break them. if you break the temp knob or the level selector knob the whole unit has to be replaced. the only knob that can be replaced by just buying the knob itself is the fan control knob.

before installing the revised gears i advise you get under the dash and take a look at everything and get familiar with it. you should also use your hands to move the gears back and forth to free them up like i did before installing the new parts or the door inside might still be difficult to turn using just the knobs.

hope i helped and hope you get it fixed soon because it can and will only get worse. and if it gets too bad you will be removing the whole dash to replace the mixer box or have the dealer do it for about $1300. Good Luck.