Hi, On my mk2 escort i want to remove a whole heap of pine needles and leaves from under the vents in front of the windscreen, but I cannot see how to take the vent panel off. Is there some trick to it, or how do I clean it out thanks Joel

The grill and heater plenum cover are both spot welded in place. There should be a round hole in the front of the plenum cover. You should be able to get a fair bit of the stuff out through there. Probably best to blow it out with an air gun.

Probably an idea to remove the heater matrix and fan (one unit) and then greater access can be achieved to assist in clearing the debis.

You may also get an idea of the rust situation - if any.

Well done for noticing the leaves - they have killed many an escort by building up in that area and staying wet.

As already mentioned, get the air compresser onto it. Blow into it in as many directions as possible until the leaves etc stop coming out.

Taking the heater out - budget about 2hrs for that mongrel job but as mentioned it will tell you if there is any rust there and also a good way of checking out the wiring situation behind the dash while you're there.

I pulled my heater out last weekend to and found just a tiny tiny bit of surface rust in the join between dash panel and firewall behind the heater - bit of a scape and a burst of primer for peace of mind sorted that out.