Thanks for the info on the parts number. Exact match for the one removed. I don't think the one I took out was an original FoMoCo part. It didn't have any Motorcraft markings. BTW, when I opened the old one, all the gears were intact. So I guess the motor must've burned out or something else. That's why I didn't hear any clicking under the dash. The last one of these I did was on a 2002 Explorer and that one clicked very loudly because one of the gears was stripped.
Ok, just finished up the actuator swap on the passenger side. Things to know:
1. Taking out the glove box door completely helps using two hands to handle the actuator but doesn't give you any better access to any of the bolts. But you'll want to have the door out when reinstalling.
2. Mine only had three screws holding it in so someone has changed out the actuator before and didn't put the 4th bolt in. Can't blame them. It's totally inaccessible without removing the whole dash. So after you get the three bolts out, check to see if it's loose or if you'll have to somehow remove that 4th bolt. Don't know how you'd do that without pulling the dash. All screws are 8mm.
3. There's a large wiring harness that runs right along the side of the actuator and is ALWAYS in the way, especially getting out the top bolt. There's no where to disconnect the harness so you just have to try to move it out of the way best you can. On mine, it prevented the socket wrench from backing out one of the bolts completely because the harness gets pinched against the steel brace that's part of the dash and then jams the wrench on the head of the bolt. So you have to get it out as far as you can with the ratchet, then switch to a open end 8mm wrench. Very slow going.
4. After getting the bolts out, the actuator slides out of the door socket and comes out freely. However, putting in the new one took the longest time of the project. The problem was that the socket where the actuator slides into was turned about 1/32" too far in one direction and wouldn't let the shaft align properly. And the door couldn't move since it was all the way against its stop. Spent about an hour trying to fight the harness in the way and the steel brace to get the actuator to align correctly. So I had to do some trickery to make it work.
a) Cut off the 4th ear that will not get a screw put back in anyway so it's no longer needed. Prevents that ear from hooking on wires.
b) Cut off 1/4" of the plastic shaft and file the edges. This gives just a touch more room to make the alignment work.
c) This was the trickiest part. After trying for another 1/2 hour trying to align the actuator shaft with the socket and having no luck, I decided,
since there was no returning the part anyway, I opened it up very carefully and looked at the gearing. I gently lifted the top gear and moved it one notch forward so the shaft no longer bottomed out against the outer case. This gave the shaft just enough of a turn to align with the
socket.
After that it slid right in. Having the glove box door off helped a lot to use two hands to help align the shaft/socket.
5. Be sure to plug in the new one before mounting it to be sure it turns as it should. Also, while you have it plugged in, use "Defrost/Off" buttons together and then "Automatic" within 2 seconds and you should see the fan icon come on. After a few seconds, you'll get all the icons to light up, meaning the new actuator is connected and operating as it should. If you still get the 24/67 numerical message, something isn't working right.
6. Mine was stuck on the coldest setting so I let the vehicle warm up and then pushed the "Dual" button and adjusted the temp to the coldest setting to watch the shaft turn. Once it reached it max position, shut off the heat system. Then, after you've pulled the old one out, compare the positions of the shaft to be sure they match.
7. After you have the actuator in place, use one screw to hold it temporarily. Just snug up the one screw to begin with. Then warm up the vehicle to running temp and test that the door is moving and the temperature on the passenger side responds to calls for heat or cooling. Then put in AT LEAST one more of the screws. If you can get all three back in, you're a better man than I!
Not something I'd like to do again.
Hope this helps.
