Sorry, the camera is cheap and I touched up the pictures to see them better.

http://ip68-0-34-43.hr.hr.cox.net:8080/Mustangs/pictures/IMG_0001.JPG
http://ip68-0-34-43.hr.hr.cox.net:8080/Mustangs/pictures/IMG_0002.JPG
http://ip68-0-34-43.hr.hr.cox.net:8080/Mustangs/pictures/IMG_0003.JPG

Broken Blend door. Got the duct for $115 and it took me 6 hours by myself. I did use my son twice to help me lift the dash out and back in.

I used a Haynes manual and it was a help but they missed some things to disconnect behind the dash. Didn't have to release pressue on the A/C unit. All works fine now. I do have a few skinned knuckles though.

I'm going to bed early tonight. Too old for that crap!

Ed

hey ESPNfreak....looks like that'll be your dad's truck this summer....lol:confused:

That does not look like fun :(. I had to replace the heater core in my wife's Firebird, and It looked just about the same. Had to even move the steering column to get the blasted dash out.

hey travis my dad says he will pay you to do his door. so we gonna do it this summer then?

I had no idea it was that involved. Holy crap!!!

I've been afraid to take my dash out to rero it because I figured it would take like days... thanks for the pix. Since I don't need to touch the heater core, I figure I can get the dash out in 6 hours. I love this site.:bounce:

Originally posted by espnfreak
hey travis my dad says he will pay you to do his door. so we gonna do it this summer then?

Uh...that would be helluva job. i know for a fact that you and i won;t get it done in 6 hours.....might take a day or two depending on how long we work each day. I guess I could try to do it...i am just worried about messing with air bags and the steering colum.

It really wasn't that bad. I could much quicker next time. But that's how it always works.

The part that gave me the hardest time was the 3 bulkheadl connectors under the drivers side. Getting all three connectors to let go at one time was a pain. I ended up removing the black nandle over the top of it and doing each connector one at a time.

Things the manual missed were removing the parking brake release handle, disconnecting the cable from the tranny to the shift lever in the dash and the steering knuckle.

While I had the intake apart I also cleaned the MAF and housing.

The blower/evaporator housing under the hood can be relocated enough to get at the duct works mounting bolts without having to release the pressure on the A/C system.

Other than that it was very straight forward. Just a big puzzle.

I also noticed that much of the hardware I removed was either not very tight or already loose. Either time got to them or somebody had already been in there. All of the dashboard rattles are now gone, and it's really nice to have control of the heater again.

Almost forgot. Next time I'd try to do it without even touching the steering column. Just disconnecting the column at the knuckle.

Ed

Hey Ed,
It looks like i may try to help ESPNfreak and his dad remove the blend door unit out of his dad's 98 XLT. i am worried about the steering and the air bags. If you can give me any pointers or detailed instructions on what to do it would be very helpful. I've never done anything this big, but there's a first for everything.

The first thing the Haynes manual has you do is remove both battery terminals and wait two minutes. Then you disconnect and remove the passenger side bag. The driver side stays in but the steering wheel has to be locked before any movement.

I'll retype the Haynes instructions modified by me later on this afternoon. I can just about remember every nut and bolt still.

Ed

Thanks a lot I really aopriciate the time.

My ol 91 Ranger had a access panel where the passenger feet would be to remove the heater core w/o removing the dash.
What knuckle brain at Ford decided to design the Explorer's this way?
I hope my heater core on my 97 never goes because I will be more mad at the design than to have to take the whole dash apart!

Thanks Ford!

:fire:

The heater core is very easy to access on all explorers.

In this fella'a situation his blend door was broken , thus the removal of the dash.

the blend door being busted would cause no change in temp when the temp control is moved from heat to cool air. My dads truck only gets heat, and thats all.

Hey well at least he has heat. LOL

Hey, ed was this the blend door that you needed?

The heater core is very easy to access on all explorers. by Jason_25

Jason, everyone else is saying that the entire dash has to be taken apart. What is your suggestion? on say a 95-00 explorer.

Pics don't work, but oh well...

Sounds like a big job there. I'm glad you finally got through it.

My dad and I tackled the blend door problem. The cost was absolutely nothing, zilch, nada, none whatsoever. And the best part about fixing this problem doesn't require the removal of the dash. Here's the link to the fix, for others who still has the problem with the blend door.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kandc1/ford/blenddoorfix.html

It requires about an hour max. We took two hours because my dad liked to look everything over before doing anything. "Measure twice and drill once!"

Ed Clark~ I live in Virginia Beach... Welcome to the site... if you have need a hand, let me know!!