How to: Replace Front Blend Door Actuator in 3rd Gen Ex.

[Gumbel]

2005 Explorer blend door actuator

I was able to remove & replace the blend door actuator without cutting the dash as well. All you need to do is remove the temp control/audio trim panel and you can see the right side screw and get it out with a little 5/16" or 8mm box wrench. The trim panel easily comes out with a little prying with something flat like a scraper. I removed the upper left screw with an 8mm socket on an extension and the lower left and right screws with a 5/16" box wrench. You can sit in the driver's seat and remove that right screw through the trim panel hole. Of course getting that right screw back in is a little harder than getting it out, but once you get it started you're home free. I would put the right one in last. A ratcheting box wrench would have made it easier. Maybe I'll ask for those for Christmas. BigRondo, this was the air wing way of doing it vice the engineer way. At least you didn't use det cord to cut the dash. Oorah.

 

[Gumbel]

2005 Explorer blend door actuator, cont...

And I bought the Motorcraft actuator online from Rock Auto for about $50.

 

[waynenorcross]

Youtube quick fix for now

Just an FYI. I didn't have a gargae to do the work of getting heat on a really cold day so when I Googled the problem, a YouTube video came up with a tie wrap solution. I opened the glove compartment door, removed the radio bezel (prie off) and the console (one screw), and attached a long tie wrap around the top of the door lever and snaked it out by the edge of the console. It works great. I'l change the motor in the Spring when it gets warmer.

Wayne

 

[dub13]

First I want to say this is an awesome post. Just finished installing new actuator! Now here's my big problem... I installed the actuator, let the engine warm up and brought the rheostat to full heat. At full heat, the air still remained cold (the actuator works, I checked it like the post says). Now I'm wondering what to do.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thx

 

[dub13]

First I want to say this is an awesome post. Just finished installing new actuator! Now here's my big problem... I installed the actuator, let the engine warm up and brought the rheostat to full heat. At full heat, the air still remained cold (the actuator works, I checked it like the post says). Now I'm wondering what to do.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thx

Fixed my own problem!! If anybody reinstalls actuator and it still blows cold air in full heat, take actuator out and turn rheostat back to full cool and then reinstall. Once I went full right to full heat it did the trick and opened the heat valve to where I am now getting full heat.

Awesome post, bought the actuator for $45 from Advance auto parts and saved a butt load of money.

 

[pdzeller]

Thank you!!!

What an awesome post!

I followed your directions bit by bit...they were highly detailed and accurate.

I have an '03, and a few of the bolt sizes were different than those you listed; and in 2.g and related steps, I didn't have a cover over my screw. Apart from that, this couldn't have been any more accurate or easy to follow!

My dealership estimated $750+tax for the P+L. I paid $95+Tax for the part at Park Cities Ford in Dallas. Per previous suggestions, I opted for the Motorcraft part and drove past NAPA, AutoZone, etc.

I took apart the old part after, and as we all thought, one of the cogs was missing teeth.

Thanks again for keeping $600 in my pocket, and my wife cool!

 

[pwallace]

Rondo,
I have a 2002 Limited that I'm having an issue with. It may be the actuator but I can get hot air I just have to turn the temp control up to 90 which is the max setting. If I turn it down to 80 I get cool air (climate control system, no rear heat or cooling though.)
Back in the spring I had a unwelcome visitor build a nest in my blower fan. It would just about shake the dash loose when you turned the fan up but I figured out the problem on that one and cleaned out the nest. Is there a possibility something is blocking the actuator door (visitor related?) Any way to check the proper operation of the door without pulling the actuator switch? Is there another issue that I am looking at? I can feel lots of heat in the console so I am 99% sure there is no thermostat problem, or problem with the water control valve or there would be no heat I think.
I can't understand why I can get heat flowing on the highest temp setting but lose the heat on lower settings. Since I only noticed this issue this fall I am wondering if there might be a connection with the little devil that took up residence in my blower fan.
You did a fantastic job with your pictures and explanations here in this post and at least I have an idea where to look for the actuator. My Haynes manual does not even mention anything about any actuator and is really a waste of money for anything but the simplest fixes that anyone with any automotive knowledge already knows. Your post beats the crap out of their book.
Any suggestions you (or any one else here on the forums) might offer on a solution for my problems would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jobog]

Actuator

Rondo,
I have a 2002 Limited that I'm having an issue with. It may be the actuator but I can get hot air I just have to turn the temp control up to 90 which is the max setting. If I turn it down to 80 I get cool air (climate control system, no rear heat or cooling though.)
Back in the spring I had a unwelcome visitor build a nest in my blower fan. It would just about shake the dash loose when you turned the fan up but I figured out the problem on that one and cleaned out the nest. Is there a possibility something is blocking the actuator door (visitor related?) Any way to check the proper operation of the door without pulling the actuator switch? Is there another issue that I am looking at? I can feel lots of heat in the console so I am 99% sure there is no thermostat problem, or problem with the water control valve or there would be no heat I think.
I can't understand why I can get heat flowing on the highest temp setting but lose the heat on lower settings. Since I only noticed this issue this fall I am wondering if there might be a connection with the little devil that took up residence in my blower fan.
You did a fantastic job with your pictures and explanations here in this post and at least I have an idea where to look for the actuator. My Haynes manual does not even mention anything about any actuator and is really a waste of money for anything but the simplest fixes that anyone with any automotive knowledge already knows. Your post beats the crap out of their book.
Any suggestions you (or any one else here on the forums) might offer on a solution for my problems would be greatly appreciated.

I,m certainly no expert but my daughter and I did this fix a month or so ago. I think your problem is the actuator. Depending on what teeth have sheared off and the position when it happened you will see a problem like you describe. The blend door is stuck in a particular position and can't go one way or the other very far because the gear teeth are missing. If you can get the actuator out fairly easily open it up and look for missing teeth before you invest in a new one unless you can return it if that turns out not to be the problem. Hope this helps and that you can get it fixed.

This fix is probably the best write up I have seen on the internet and I've looked at a lot of them from fixing my refrigerator ice maker to replacing the heating element in an electric range. Way to go Rondo.

Joe Bogucki

 

[naharris]

Great Job.

RIGHT ON!!! Thanks for posting this!!! The only thing I did differently was remove the lower right dash screws so the dash would flex and I didn't have to cut it. Thank you so much, with the money I saved I can buy a new toy for the car! Thanx again.

 

[PaulElder]

Thank You!

Outstanding how-to! Made changing the part so much easier by being able to see exactly what needs to be done. I did not have to cut my panel either, but thought about it. Sure wasn't a lot of room to get the shaft lined up, but it went in eventually. Thanks again!
Paul

 

[JHG120]

Also just completed today. Amazing job, thanks Rondo. Did not have to cut. The top screw was the worst, but finally hit the hole.

Nice to finally have heat, drove entire week to and from work with no heat in 15F cold.

 

[BigRondo]

BigRondo,

Thanks so much for posting this. Because of your detail I was brave enough to tackle this on my 2006 Eddie Bauer. But it was infinitely easier on my car. It's got the floor shifter / console so I was worried about that. In the end, all you have to do is pop off a trim panel down by the gas pedal, drop the lower dash panel, remove that bracket and have at it! No cutting and nothing else to remove. There is room between the actuator and the inside of the dash to get at the screws and pull the thing out. You do need the 6 inch extension to get to the top back and front screws. And taping the screws to the socket when putting them back in is a must, thanks for that tip, too.

The actuator from the local Ford dealer cost $98 with tax. Took me about an hour, not including the Bud Light.

Glad I could help out.

 

[BigRondo]

BigRondo,

Thanks so much for posting this. Because of your detail I was brave enough to tackle this on my 2006 Eddie Bauer. But it was infinitely easier on my car. It's got the floor shifter / console so I was worried about that. In the end, all you have to do is pop off a trim panel down by the gas pedal, drop the lower dash panel, remove that bracket and have at it! No cutting and nothing else to remove. There is room between the actuator and the inside of the dash to get at the screws and pull the thing out. You do need the 6 inch extension to get to the top back and front screws. And taping the screws to the socket when putting them back in is a must, thanks for that tip, too.

The actuator from the local Ford dealer cost $98 with tax. Took me about an hour, not including the Bud Light.

I was able to remove & replace the blend door actuator without cutting the dash as well. All you need to do is remove the temp control/audio trim panel and you can see the right side screw and get it out with a little 5/16" or 8mm box wrench. The trim panel easily comes out with a little prying with something flat like a scraper. I removed the upper left screw with an 8mm socket on an extension and the lower left and right screws with a 5/16" box wrench. You can sit in the driver's seat and remove that right screw through the trim panel hole. Of course getting that right screw back in is a little harder than getting it out, but once you get it started you're home free. I would put the right one in last. A ratcheting box wrench would have made it easier. Maybe I'll ask for those for Christmas. BigRondo, this was the air wing way of doing it vice the engineer way. At least you didn't use det cord to cut the dash. Oorah.

Nice job on the fix!

I got to "swing with the wing" for the last 6 years of my service. I was stationed at MCAS El Toro, CA with MWSS-373 in the Construction Shop. I must say the wing does do things a little differently!!

Semper Fi

 

[BigRondo]

First I want to say this is an awesome post. Just finished installing new actuator! Now here's my big problem... I installed the actuator, let the engine warm up and brought the rheostat to full heat. At full heat, the air still remained cold (the actuator works, I checked it like the post says). Now I'm wondering what to do.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thx

Fixed my own problem!! If anybody reinstalls actuator and it still blows cold air in full heat, take actuator out and turn rheostat back to full cool and then reinstall. Once I went full right to full heat it did the trick and opened the heat valve to where I am now getting full heat.

Awesome post, bought the actuator for $45 from Advance auto parts and saved a butt load of money.

Nice job on the fix and the re-fix.

Enjoy the heat!

 

[BigRondo]

What an awesome post!

I followed your directions bit by bit...they were highly detailed and accurate.

I have an '03, and a few of the bolt sizes were different than those you listed; and in 2.g and related steps, I didn't have a cover over my screw. Apart from that, this couldn't have been any more accurate or easy to follow!

My dealership estimated $750+tax for the P+L. I paid $95+Tax for the part at Park Cities Ford in Dallas. Per previous suggestions, I opted for the Motorcraft part and drove past NAPA, AutoZone, etc.

I took apart the old part after, and as we all thought, one of the cogs was missing teeth.

Thanks again for keeping $600 in my pocket, and my wife cool!

Enjoy the $600!!! You know what they say: Happy wife, happy life!

 

[BigRondo]

Rondo,
I have a 2002 Limited that I'm having an issue with. It may be the actuator but I can get hot air I just have to turn the temp control up to 90 which is the max setting. If I turn it down to 80 I get cool air (climate control system, no rear heat or cooling though.)
Back in the spring I had a unwelcome visitor build a nest in my blower fan. It would just about shake the dash loose when you turned the fan up but I figured out the problem on that one and cleaned out the nest. Is there a possibility something is blocking the actuator door (visitor related?) Any way to check the proper operation of the door without pulling the actuator switch? Is there another issue that I am looking at? I can feel lots of heat in the console so I am 99% sure there is no thermostat problem, or problem with the water control valve or there would be no heat I think.
I can't understand why I can get heat flowing on the highest temp setting but lose the heat on lower settings. Since I only noticed this issue this fall I am wondering if there might be a connection with the little devil that took up residence in my blower fan.
You did a fantastic job with your pictures and explanations here in this post and at least I have an idea where to look for the actuator. My Haynes manual does not even mention anything about any actuator and is really a waste of money for anything but the simplest fixes that anyone with any automotive knowledge already knows. Your post beats the crap out of their book.
Any suggestions you (or any one else here on the forums) might offer on a solution for my problems would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry about the delay in responding. If you are still having a problem with you climate control, I can PM the troubleshooting steps from my shop manuals. Just let me know.

 

[BigRondo]

RIGHT ON!!! Thanks for posting this!!! The only thing I did differently was remove the lower right dash screws so the dash would flex and I didn't have to cut it. Thank you so much, with the money I saved I can buy a new toy for the car! Thanx again.

Awesome. Glad to help. What toy did you get?

 

[BigRondo]

Outstanding how-to! Made changing the part so much easier by being able to see exactly what needs to be done. I did not have to cut my panel either, but thought about it. Sure wasn't a lot of room to get the shaft lined up, but it went in eventually. Thanks again!
Paul

Good to go!! Enjoy the heat & AC!!

 

[BigRondo]

Also just completed today. Amazing job, thanks Rondo. Did not have to cut. The top screw was the worst, but finally hit the hole.

Nice to finally have heat, drove entire week to and from work with no heat in 15F cold.

Good to have heat!! Enjoy :fire:

 

[pwallace]

I would love to get them. My limited has dual controls and it seems to be experiencing the same symptoms on both sides so I am unsure of my exact issue the actuator door or the controller box that was mentioned. I have a Haynes manual but it has very little detailed info on the heating system.
If you read through my posts I had a mouse get into the system last spring and build a nest in the blower fan. I wonder if there is something that it might have also done somewhere deeper in the system that may be the cause of my issues? I would love to have a good idea what to look for rather than just start changing parts till I find a solution. It may eventually come to that but I would like to look in the right place. THANKS for your reply.

Pete