I did a little blog post on lever removal

http://shufti.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/vanagon-heater-control-lights/

might help.

alistair

On 2012-11-18, at 5:08 PM, David Beierl wrote:

> At 06:31 PM 11/18/2012, Harry Hoffman wrote:
>> Do they just pull off or is there some trick? I'd like to replace
>> the bulbs so I can see the climate controls at night. Cheers, Harry
>
> If it's cold, warm the sleeves with a hair dryer through the ashtray
> opening for a while.
>
> Then grasp them carefully by the stem and exert a controlled
> pull.  If you pull by the knob it will come off in your hand, and
> within each pair one retaining sleeve sticks up and the other down,
> and if you just yank the levers loose you'll break the panel  On the
> '84 I sliced the sleeve on each handle from its edge to the retaining
> hole so as to make them easier to remove.
>
> The panel itself is held on by two plastic pins inserted into spring
> clips in the dash; lower left and upper right.  Pry carefully.
>
> The original bulb/socket combination is NLA, so you'll have to buy
> the correct socket and a regular instrument panel lamp (which is how
> they should have done it in the first place).
>
> The rear blower switch is held on by plastic tabs on one side and a
> flat spring on the other, easy to remove from behind.  I forget how
> its light works.
>
> Yrs,
> d