TonyinFL
New Member
- Joined
- March 22, 2010
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Florida
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 XLT
Here's a quick fix for a broken A/C fresh air door. Mine's an '03 XLT so I don't know if this will work for others.
If you've got outside air coming in when you've got the A/C set to Max or if you're getting little to no airflow out of your vents you probably have a broken door and it's fallen down over the fan motor intake.
I've read that it costs approx. $1500 to get this fixed at the dealer. Ouch. Here's a site detailing how to completely repair this yourself for the cost of the part: http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/08/2003-ford-explorer-ac-not-cold-enough/
However, that involves partially removing the dash and other work that my condo association won't allow me to do so I had to come up with a different fix. My fix involves permanently bolting the door back in place without removing the dashboard.
This results in no way to open and shut the door again but that doesn't matter to me as I usually have the thing set to Max A/C anyway. Also, depending on how well you align the door you may still get some outside air coming in.
You get access to the door for the following steps by lowering the glove compartment. (push in on the sides and drop the door)
Step one was to pick the door up off of the bottom of the box. I tried using my fingers and curved rods to try to grab it via the box grate but that didn't work. The box is deep and you can't grab it. So, I drilled a couple of holes in the side of the box toward the bottom in order to stick a screwdriver or something in to pry the door off the bottom. I ended up using a long thin allen wrench.
As I lifted the door up with the Allen wrench I used my other hand to grab it through the box grate with a rat tail file and maneuvered it back over the outside vent opening where it would be if it were closed. I jammed the file into the plastic grate and it held just fine.
I needed something to permanently hold the door in place so I came up with using toggle bolts. I used a 1/4"x4" machine screw with the toggle. The spring loaded toggle will latch onto the box grate and the screw part will butt up against the door, holding it in place. I added a large flat washer to keep the assembly from falling down into the box (but not before it happened once and it took me nearly an hour to fish it out.)
I ended up using two bolts. The angle of the box grate makes it so the bolts go down at a slight angle and impact low on the door. Not ideal but it seems to hold.
I have no idea how long these things will hold up. If I had to do it over I'd go with a little longer screw. The 4" just touched the door when it tightened on the vent grate. A longer screw might allow adding a lock washer or nut to make sure they don't loosen over time.
I also don't know what will happen if you change the setting from Max to outside air and the actuator arm functions. I don't know if it will hit the door or what.
This whole thing cost me under $3, much better than $1500. I hope this lasts and I hope it helps others.
Tony
**UPDATE**
It's been about two weeks and the bolts are still secure. Air flow from the A/C is excellent.
If you've got outside air coming in when you've got the A/C set to Max or if you're getting little to no airflow out of your vents you probably have a broken door and it's fallen down over the fan motor intake.
I've read that it costs approx. $1500 to get this fixed at the dealer. Ouch. Here's a site detailing how to completely repair this yourself for the cost of the part: http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/08/2003-ford-explorer-ac-not-cold-enough/
However, that involves partially removing the dash and other work that my condo association won't allow me to do so I had to come up with a different fix. My fix involves permanently bolting the door back in place without removing the dashboard.
This results in no way to open and shut the door again but that doesn't matter to me as I usually have the thing set to Max A/C anyway. Also, depending on how well you align the door you may still get some outside air coming in.
You get access to the door for the following steps by lowering the glove compartment. (push in on the sides and drop the door)
Step one was to pick the door up off of the bottom of the box. I tried using my fingers and curved rods to try to grab it via the box grate but that didn't work. The box is deep and you can't grab it. So, I drilled a couple of holes in the side of the box toward the bottom in order to stick a screwdriver or something in to pry the door off the bottom. I ended up using a long thin allen wrench.
As I lifted the door up with the Allen wrench I used my other hand to grab it through the box grate with a rat tail file and maneuvered it back over the outside vent opening where it would be if it were closed. I jammed the file into the plastic grate and it held just fine.
I needed something to permanently hold the door in place so I came up with using toggle bolts. I used a 1/4"x4" machine screw with the toggle. The spring loaded toggle will latch onto the box grate and the screw part will butt up against the door, holding it in place. I added a large flat washer to keep the assembly from falling down into the box (but not before it happened once and it took me nearly an hour to fish it out.)
I ended up using two bolts. The angle of the box grate makes it so the bolts go down at a slight angle and impact low on the door. Not ideal but it seems to hold.
I have no idea how long these things will hold up. If I had to do it over I'd go with a little longer screw. The 4" just touched the door when it tightened on the vent grate. A longer screw might allow adding a lock washer or nut to make sure they don't loosen over time.
I also don't know what will happen if you change the setting from Max to outside air and the actuator arm functions. I don't know if it will hit the door or what.
This whole thing cost me under $3, much better than $1500. I hope this lasts and I hope it helps others.
Tony
**UPDATE**
It's been about two weeks and the bolts are still secure. Air flow from the A/C is excellent.
