Actuator Door Itself?
Hi. I've read quite a few posts, in my hunt for the true solution to my problem. It has led to an aggravating week.
My mom's 2007 Explorer XLT has been blowing air through the defrost vents, not changing with the manual control. Mom was told to replace the blend door actuator, so she bought one at the local parts store - $60.
She procrastinated over fixing this, so I decided to do it. Found a video online that showed how to change the part out. Had to go buy a set of metric box-end wrenches - $40. Changed out the part...and resulted in nothing. Searched again and found another video that said a parts store actuator would not work, that I needed the actual Ford part. A trip to the Ford dealership and I had that part - $107. Changed it out...and yes...still did not work.
During all of this, I also took it in and had new tires put on, had the radiator flushed and filled - and found that the seal to the thermostat was leaking...had the seal and thermostat replaced. Next day heard a new noise and took it back to the shop - was told the serpentine belt was making the noise.
Today I had the serpentine belt and tensioner replaced. In the process they found the thermostat housing was leaking too (not just the seal that was already replaced). So, thermostat housing was replaced too.
Since I was already sitting there for half the day, I asked them to do a check on the ac and see if they could figure it out. They advised me that the blend door actuator wasn't the problem (as I learned it only controls temp) but that the recirculating door is broken.
So...all of the searches and being misinformed of the part that actually controls the air flow, resulted in a lot of frustration. Ford wants over $600 for the plenum assembly and I have been quoted 8 hours of labor at over $700...total of approx $1400 to fix the problem. I'm already out nearly $800 in parts I didn't need (Ford won't refund the blend door actuator that I didn't need in the first place) and repairs that ended up being needed, when I wasn't even having issues before I took the vehicle in for tires and a radiator flush! That doesn't even include the cost of the tires.
Can someone please explain where I need to stick the dowel rod? If you have a pic, that would be great. I understand the idea behind it, but am not sure how to get the dowel in the right place to open the stupid recirculating door.
As you can see, it has been a rough week and I need a little bit of guidance. While I am a handy girl to have around, all of these pieces of plastic are just making me think they need to be melted into a big ball of garbage
P.S. Sorry for such a long post!