3rd gen Explorer Blend Door Actuator Replacement

2003 xlt

Hi Everyone. New to the board from Chicago.
Well, after finding this great thread, it really convinced me I can tackle the problem and save myself some big bucks. I'm prett handy and can fix a lot of things like washers and dryers, radios, and even my big screen projection TV.

Well, I met my match today, and sadly and embarassingly, I had to give up and face the fact that I must take it in to the dealer come Tuesday.

I borrowed a propane heater from a neighbor, bought a tank of fuel, got the OEM part, which by the way, is a back ordered item at all of the dealers. Ford really screwed this little item up! I managed to find the last one at a remote dealer. Got all my metric wrenches and swivel sockets and all, and headed to the garage.

I pulled out the console, the lower steering dash panel, the radio panel, and the floor brace. On my XLT, there is a big honking hunk of instrument panel that is covering two of the screws, with only3/4 of an inch between the actuator screws and the dash panel. This panel wraps around the entire dash. I tried every tool and extension/swivel combination, but there is just no way to get into this tiny space to remove the screws, let alone try to reassemble it. I would not even attempt to remove this big panel of dash.

So it looks like a trip to the bank, and then the dealer is in order. They gave me a labor cost of $550, which I can understand, if they disassemble the dash to do this right.

I'll tell you, I feel terrible after reading all of the success stories here. I wonder if I have a trim level that is different from what I read here, on my '03?

Anyway, thanks for all the photos, diagrams, and instructions.

Windy

are you trying to replace the actuator just to get heat? because if so there is an easier way to get heat without replacing the actuator. There is a lever located directly on the passenger side of vents that you can pull down to give you heat. I will post a really great diagram on how to do it shortly. Good Luck

jackoreilly said:

Windy

are you trying to replace the actuator just to get heat? because if so there is an easier way to get heat without replacing the actuator. There is a lever located directly on the passenger side of vents that you can pull down to give you heat. I will post a really great diagram on how to do it shortly. Good Luck

Click to expand...

Hey Jack,
Yes...I now lost heat. I had heat for about a week as long as I didn't touch the temp adjustment, then, it sounded like the actuator lost a few more teeth on it's gear when my wife adjusted the temp knob. The actuator is just clicking away now.
Looking forward to seeing the diagram of this lever!

Windycity


i went to http://www.heatertreater.net/Ford Explorer 02-08.html
look at the very last picture. that arm coming from the side of the box is part of the blend door. you can move that arm if you want and it will turn the air to hot , cold etc... if you turn it all the way down you will get heat. i used a ziptie and hooked it onto something to keep it pulled down. you could use string, rope whatever to tie that arm and keep it pulled down until it warms up outside and you can replace the blend door actuator.
The arm is located on the passenger side, you will need to take the center console out to get to it but i can get the console out in about 15 minutes.
You may have to look a little until you see the arm but while looking up under the dash if you switch from heat to cold you should be able to find the arm because it will turn upwards and downwards.

Listen to everyone else on here. don't get the after market part from advance auto parts. get the OEM part from ford. or from http://www.silverstatefordparts.com/ (they were $20 cheaper after shipping than my local ford dealer)

I bought that after market part from advance and have since concluded that the actuator is not quite the same as the OEM and i had to replace it again (not fun, but it gets a lot easier to replace the second time). what happens is when i go from hot to say warm the door would fall. when i went from 4 to 3 or 2 or 1 (blower control) the blend door would fall. and i think it is because the actuator is slightly different and doesn't hold the blend door open as it should (it would stay open on 4 just because of the pressure of the air coming through).

Anyways i hope this helps.

Jack

A bunch of the pics in this thread appear to have been lost. When I did this job a few months ago, I printed the whole thread and had no real issues. It took some imagination and bold determination to get to those screws, but it definitely wasn't the worst job I've ever done (that would still go to the front wiper motor on my 94 Explorer).

The top screw is accessed through the radio trim, using a combination wrench (ratcheting ones make it easier).

The other two screws were accessed from the drivers side, floor area. Not "easy" but not too bad.

Mike

I was able to get all of them off from underneath. I did pull the radio trim to see what I was doing. For the top one i used a very small wrench because i could not get my socket in there.

Total time took me about 2 1/2 hours but would probably be easier next time.

FYI, the new 604-202 from DORMAN is in fact keyed to fit the blend door. I just replaced mine. Ordered from RockAuto.

Replacing your blend door actuator yourself? More likely than you'd think...

jackoreilly said:

Windycity


i went to http://www.heatertreater.net/Ford Explorer 02-08.html
look at the very last picture. that arm coming from the side of the box is part of the blend door. you can move that arm if you want and it will turn the air to hot , cold etc... if you turn it all the way down you will get heat. i used a ziptie and hooked it onto something to keep it pulled down. you could use string, rope whatever to tie that arm and keep it pulled down until it warms up outside and you can replace the blend door actuator.
The arm is located on the passenger side, you will need to take the center console out to get to it but i can get the console out in about 15 minutes.
You may have to look a little until you see the arm but while looking up under the dash if you switch from heat to cold you should be able to find the arm because it will turn upwards and downwards.

Listen to everyone else on here. don't get the after market part from advance auto parts. get the OEM part from ford. or from http://www.silverstatefordparts.com/ (they were $20 cheaper after shipping than my local ford dealer)

I bought that after market part from advance and have since concluded that the actuator is not quite the same as the OEM and i had to replace it again (not fun, but it gets a lot easier to replace the second time). what happens is when i go from hot to say warm the door would fall. when i went from 4 to 3 or 2 or 1 (blower control) the blend door would fall. and i think it is because the actuator is slightly different and doesn't hold the blend door open as it should (it would stay open on 4 just because of the pressure of the air coming through).

Anyways i hope this helps.

Jack

Click to expand...

Do you or anyone else know exactly what I could tie the lever to in order to keep it pulled down. I found the lever and pulled it down but it pops back up almost immediately.

jloot said:

Do you or anyone else know exactly what I could tie the lever to in order to keep it pulled down. I found the lever and pulled it down but it pops back up almost immediately.

Click to expand...

If you have your temp set to max heat and it pops back up, your gears are stripped at that point, back the temp off a bit (toward cool) and try it again. eventually you will find gears that will hold it until you shut the vehicle off, then it resyncs and the door will slam shut...at least on mine it did.

It really is easy to replace if you follow the guides here. I used power tools to undo all the little 8mm / 10mm screws. Dash doesn't need to be removed. If I had to tear back into it right now, I'd probably have it ready to be replaced in 30 minutes.

jloot said:

Do you or anyone else know exactly what I could tie the lever to in order to keep it pulled down. I found the lever and pulled it down but it pops back up almost immediately.

Click to expand...

You have to use something strong to hold it in the down position. I used a wire close hanger and wrapped it around the bolts holding the center council down. You could also use a zip tie but it has to be something strong that will hold it down when you drive over rough roads. Good luck

Jack

Sleb thank you

Thanks so much for posting the pictures,the job took me 2 hrs and $70 from Ford for the part.Ford also told me it would take 6 hrs (lol).Thxs again.

I think I have a bad blend door, but to make sure here are my symptoms...no matter what i have my selector set at (max a.c, defrost, floor, etc) nothing changes, its like a little bit of air is blowwing through every vent, I also have cold air coming through the paasenger side floor compartment. does this mean its my blend door? thanks in advance...

I Performed the Actuator Replacement Yesterday - Saved $400!

I thought I would pass on my experience with replacing the actuator on my 2003 Explorer XLT. Although some of the instructions that I found in this thread were very good, none of them actually hit the nail on the head. So I've taken some liberties with what I found, and provided more detail on exactly what I did, and how long each step took.

First, the autopsy report:

The broken actuator could probably be serviced if you could find the right sized gear, or if you were industrious enough to machine a new one. But, buying the part and doing the installation yourself is still a minimum savings of $350 at Ford Dealer. The smallest of the gears has two stripped teeth, as everyone has reported. If you decided to salvage any parts, the motor is a plug-in and probably worth keeping. The case has MANY clips around the edge which break very easily when you separate it. I'd suggest making the clips a little less fragile by putting a hair drier to them, then use toothpicks to hold them open until you're ready to separate the two halves.

My Steps:

1. While your engine is running, turn the heater control to the far left (COLD setting), turn off the fan, then shut down the engine. NOTE: In my experience, you do not need to disconnect the battery.

TIME: About ONE minute.

2. Remove the center console, usually a two part process. You need a 7mm socket and an 8mm socket. Remove the screw under the rubber mat at the front of the console. That is all that holds the cup tray in place. Lift it up from the rear in front of the glove compartment. You may need a flat head screwdriver to pry it a bit before it pops. Unplug the cigar lighter. Set aside.

TIME: About TWO minutes.

3. Now remove the center console lower trim and glove box. There are 12 screws and two plugs. Start at the front and work back. a) Pop out the trim plug on either side at the very front. b) remove the two 8mm screws holding the trim to the lower part of the front dash below the heater controls. c) Remove the 4 7mm screws on the top surface of the trim halfway along the console (two on either side). d) Remove the 4 screws inside the glove box under the removable felt liner. e) remove the two 8mm screws on either side of the rear of the console trim near the floor. (You will need to slide both front seats forward to gain access). Now you can lift from the rear, separate it from the front and move it out of the way. This whole process is just to expose the dash for access.

TIME: About TEN minutes.

4. Pop off the trim around the front of the dash surrounding the radio. The heater controls are part of this piece. I recommend doing this so you have a downward view of the actuator, and to shed some light on the patient. You'll need to pop off connector plugs from the back of the trim to move it out of the way. Use a flat blade to pop it off.

TIME: About TWO minutes.

5. Remove the plastic panel under the steering column. One screw on either side.

TIME: About ONE minute.

6. Remove the vertical brace to the right of the gas pedal. There are two nuts and two bolts. Use a deep socket for the lower two nuts.

TIME: About TWO minutes.

7. Remove the lower air duct. Just two bolts. This is a must to gain access to the actuator from below.

TIME: About ONE minute.

8. Remove the top screw from the actuator. This is easier than has been reported. Just use a 7mm socket on an 8" extension and go straight at it from below the steering column. You can see it very clearly. (NOTE: There are three screws holding the actuator onto the blend box. They have coarse threads and only require a few turns to remove.)

TIME: About ONE minute.

9. Next remove the remaining two screws from the actuator. I have a different approach. Because the lower edge of the dash below the actuator has a lip, it was impossible to access the remaining two screws with a standard socket wrench. I eliminated much hardship by cutting a 1/2" x 6" piece of the lower edge of the dash to allow easy access with the socket. You can use a utility knife as its just foam between two pieces of vinyl. Once that piece was removed - and you can't see it unless you stick your head down on the floor and look up - it doesn't hurt the appearance of the dash.

TIME: About TWO minutes (after removing the small piece of dash with a utility knife).

10. With the three screws removed, reach up and wiggle out the actuator. The cutting away of the piece of dash mentioned in the previous step, helps this process too. Save the piece of foam under the actuator (looks like a little donut). When you get it free, carefully unplug the electrical connector.

TIME: About ONE minute.

11. Take the new actuator, and plug in the electrical connector with the proper orientation. Place the foam donut over the axle. The axle is keyed, and is also marked by Ford for proper COLD setting alignment. Slip the axle into the keyed hole on the blender box, and you'll see that all the holes are properly aligned and ready to accept the three screws.

TIME: About TWO minutes.

12. Replace the screws starting with the top one. Do not overtighten.

TIME: About THREE minutes.

13. You're done with the actuator replacement. Test it! Start the engine and let the temperature of the engine get up to normal. Now turn on the fan, feel cold air. Turn the heater control to the right and towards hot and you should feel the heat! NOTE: The new actuator appears quieter than the old one. I cannot hear the blend door opening or closing.

14. Now replace everything in the reverse order of removal.

TIME: About 25 minutes.

So that is how I did it. One note about the part. Ford Parts go by VIN # to ensure that they give you the proper part. I paid $70 for the actuator at the dealer.

i lost heat friday night. noticed a clicking and starting trying to figure out what it was... started messing with my heating control and it stopped and then my heat did also... errrrrr. i'm going to order the part from silverstateford today... doing it whenever i get the part. this thread helped out a ton with diagnosing the problem and will help fix it. thanks!

I cant find it on silver state website...

i couldn't either... i'm going to call in the morning.

It could be a failed actuator that is failing to open the blend door. You would have to remove the actuator to test it. The actuator is housed in a plastic case that can be opened and then snapped shut. When you remove it you can check the gears to see if they are stripped. See my note above about using toothpicks to assist in separating the two halves of the actuator's plastic housing. You don't want to snap off the fragile clips along the edge.

nugget68 said:

I think I have a bad blend door, but to make sure here are my symptoms...no matter what i have my selector set at (max a.c, defrost, floor, etc) nothing changes, its like a little bit of air is blowwing through every vent, I also have cold air coming through the paasenger side floor compartment. does this mean its my blend door? thanks in advance...

Click to expand...

ColdnFrosty said:

It could be a failed actuator that is failing to open the blend door. You would have to remove the actuator to test it. The actuator is house in a plastic case that can be opened and then snapped shut. When you remove it you can check the gears to see if they are stripped.

Click to expand...

I went ahead and removed my actuator, it is bad. i didnt have any striped teeth, the motor inside of the plastic case wasnt even engaging, then after I took it apart and tapped it, it wont stop running now...

nugget68 said:

I went ahead and removed my actuator, it is bad. i didnt have any striped teeth, the motor inside of the plastic case wasnt even engaging, then after I took it apart and tapped it, it wont stop running now...

Click to expand...

If you have no stripped gears, make sure everything is seated properly. The fact that the motor runs and won't shut off sounds like something is askew as that is what happens when the gears are not engaged properly. The actuator thinks it has not reached the point where it is supposed to shut off.

ColdnFrosty said:

If you have no stripped gears, make sure everything is seated properly. The fact that the motor runs and won't shut off sounds like something is askew as that is what happens when the gears are not engaged properly. The actuator thinks it has not reached the point where it is supposed to shut off.

Click to expand...

I will check and make sure then...i wonder why it wasnt working at all before and now it is constantly running?