AC Vents and defrost

[JohnH55]

I've got a 2001 Explorer Sport, over 280,000. I have always had a strange issue with the vents. No matter the setting it's on air will always come out of the defrost and what ever actual setting it's on. For instance MAX AC it will blow half out vents and half out defrost, normal AC is 75% defrost and 25% vent. Even for floor and vent it still hits defrost. I have checked vacuum lines they all look good and I never found a leak. I replaced the vacuum bubble with an OEM Ford part i tested and it holds vacuum at WOT. What in the dash do I need to replace to fix this issue?


Thanks,
John

 

[Pete Deering]

I've got a 2001 Explorer Sport, over 280,000. I have always had a strange issue with the vents. No matter the setting it's on air will always come out of the defrost and what ever actual setting it's on. For instance MAX AC it will blow half out vents and half out defrost, normal AC is 75% defrost and 25% vent. Even for floor and vent it still hits defrost. I have checked vacuum lines they all look good and I never found a leak. I replaced the vacuum bubble with an OEM Ford part i tested and it holds vacuum at WOT. What in the dash do I need to replace to fix this issue?


Thanks,
John

Did you check the blend Door module?
You did not state, if was manual or auto temp control?

 

[JohnH55]

Did you check the blend Door module?
You did not state, if was manual or auto temp control?

I have not checked that. It has a normal temp nob, blue to red so I'd believe it's manual. How would I check the module?

 

[Pete Deering]

I have not checked that. It has a normal temp nob, blue to red so I'd believe it's manual. How would I check the module?

I could not find a diagram on it.
Search for

 

[Motorhogman]

I could not find a diagram on it.
Search for

Good video.. Wonder how often that rear bolt gets put back...

 

[JohnH55]

Alright I checked the blend door motor and it was functioning correctly.

 

[Turdle]

It's not the blend door, that does hot to cold.

In the how to section is a thread for this,

How to: - 2nd Gen NO AC ( or heat) FROM VENTS!!! A "How to" what to look for thread

Here is what to look for if you have a 95-01 with cold ac, and hot heat, but it only blows from the defrost vent. IF YOU HAVE COLD AND / OR WARM AIR BLOWING FROM DEFROST DUCT ONLY THIS THREAD IS FOR YOU!!! I will immediately delete all ac cooling questions without answer-let's stay on track...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[JohnH55]

It's not the blend door, that does hot to cold.

In the how to section is a thread for this,

How to: - 2nd Gen NO AC ( or heat) FROM VENTS!!! A "How to" what to look for thread

Here is what to look for if you have a 95-01 with cold ac, and hot heat, but it only blows from the defrost vent. IF YOU HAVE COLD AND / OR WARM AIR BLOWING FROM DEFROST DUCT ONLY THIS THREAD IS FOR YOU!!! I will immediately delete all ac cooling questions without answer-let's stay on track...

www.explorerforum.com

Thanks Turtle,
I think I'm going to try and use a brake bleed vacuum pump and test around to see if I can force the vent/defrost to move fully to the vent setting.

 

[JohnH55]

All right I diagnosed the problem and i think it has to do with the upper vent door. The one that moves when you select face, feet or defrost. The lever is intact and it all functions correctly, but it's loose on the cam that connects to the vent door. Some how it is still able to rotate the door though, but the door flops down when the fan is turned up.

Where can I get a replacement for this door?

 

[J_C]

It probably only comes in the entire housing. I'd see what's available at a junkyard, and while I had that spare, see if there is some refurbishment possible, maybe a bushing you could make or a lever or epoxy fortification or ???. Might need it opened up, in front of you to decide.

 

[Rojoshovel]

I have a 2007 sport trac xlt, 4.6 v8, 2 wheel drive. I have a problem with the vents and defrost, stuck in defrost. I checked the vacuum, good, the actuators work. The actuator to the vent/defrost selector door moves. The door arm appears to be intact, not broken off like i have seen. I have swapped out the selector switch, no change. At this point, I believe the vent/defrost door has possibly broken inside the housing. I can't seem to locate any part numbers for the door or any information regarding how to replace that door. I do understand I will probably have to remove most of the dash to do it. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Apparently, I have the same problem as JohnH55.

 

[JohnH55]

I have a 2007 sport trac xlt, 4.6 v8, 2 wheel drive. I have a problem with the vents and defrost, stuck in defrost. I checked the vacuum, good, the actuators work. The actuator to the vent/defrost selector door moves. The door arm appears to be intact, not broken off like i have seen. I have swapped out the selector switch, no change. At this point, I believe the vent/defrost door has possibly broken inside the housing. I can't seem to locate any part numbers for the door or any information regarding how to replace that door. I do understand I will probably have to remove most of the dash to do it. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Apparently, I have the same problem as JohnH55.

I haven't fixed mine yet due to the trouble of tearing the dash off. But in my case the door arm appears intact and moves the door around but is actually broken. Once any air pressure is applied the door flops down. Like J_C said best fix is probably junkyard parts.

 

[Rojoshovel]

I haven't fixed mine yet due to the trouble of tearing the dash off. But in my case the door arm appears intact and moves the door around but is actually broken. Once any air pressure is applied the door flops down. Like J_C said best fix is probably junkyard parts.

Sounds EXACTLY like mine. I can't seem to find any instructions on how to remove and replace it. I can't even find a good part number.

 

[J_C]

Sounds EXACTLY like mine. I can't seem to find any instructions on how to remove and replace it. I can't even find a good part number.

There may be a part # on it, probably for the entire assembly, then if you can find one, it will probably be a junkyard pull anyway if on ebay/etc.

How to remove, I'd start with taking the glovebox out and see how far you can get before having to resort to pulling the dash. Guess it also depends on how much downtime the vehicle can suffer.

You might get lucky and find some youtube videos, if not for a Sport Trac then maybe a regular Explorer or Ranger of similar (enough) model years. If you can't find a video, make one and put it on youtube.

Keep in mind that for certain model years, one option is cut a big hole in the housing to extract and repair or replace the blend door, then you just seal the hole back up with the piece you cut out plus aluminum duct tape or whatever.