Fixing Broken Recirculation Duct Assembly

[MEcougar]

Hi All,

I've been ripping my dash apart to get at my broken recirculation duct assembly. It's the thingy under the dash that sits above the blower in the glovebox area. The door has fallen off inside of it, restricting my airflow, and the actuator assembly looks like a mess. I've successfully executed the partial dash removal so it is swung out, it appears to be enough room to pull the assembly out but I can't for the life of me get it out. I understand that there are two fasteners in the back that are inaccessible even at this stage of disassembly and that you can pull on it until it breaks (I read about that here: http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/08/2003-ford-explorer-ac-not-cold-enough/). I know there are some neat tips to fix the door and actuator on this site but I already have a new assembly in hand and would like to do the remove and replace.

Has anybody done something similar to this? Any tips? I'm kind of a weakling, I don't seem to be able to pull on this thing enough to break it and it is kind of depressing that is the only thing standing between me and a fixed A/C system, but I need to get it out soon so I can put my car back together and be able to drive it. I'm stressing that the car is ripped apart and oh-so-close to being fixed but I don't seem able to pull off the last step that would actually fix it! Any certain direction I should be pulling that would be most effective? Even with the dash swung out I don't have a ton of real estate.

Alternatively, I would also gladly accept suggestions on what else I could remove to help make the recirculation assembly removal possible and pointers on how to remove said parts.

THANK YOU! - MEcougar

 

[Number4]

I was able to remove enough screws (with dash in place) to open the front of the 'box' and fish the flap out. I suppose if I had a new flap I could put it in reverse of how I took it out.

There was one screw in the back that I may not have put back in. It's been 7 or so years.

 

[MEcougar]

Thank you for the response! That would have been my go-to if I stayed stuck for much longer. Fortunately I managed to do a couple of things that helped me get the whole assembly out in pieces. First, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to snap through the accessible plastic grid that is facing you when the dash is swung out and removed it. Second, I used a drill to carefully drill through the back of the plastic assembly through to where the two inaccessible screws were located. I was trying to drill through the tabs these fasteners were on but didn't quite manage. However, drilling holes and removing the grid managed to weaken the assembly enough that I could rip it out in a couple big chunks (finally!). After thinking it through, it might have worked to make a larger hole with a drill above the inaccessible fasteners and try to remove the fasteners directly. That might have made the whole assembly removable in one piece, apart from the holes drilled through it and the plastic grid being snapped off. The way I did it looks like the hulk ripped through the assembly!

I'm doing a couple of mods to the new assembly, based on previous posts, to try and keep the door from falling and to make it easier to remove/replace this assembly in the future. I'm going to drill a hole through the door "hinge" and secure it with something so it can't fall down and block the blower if it breaks like this again. I also used a combination of my drill and needle nose pliers to turn the two closed slots for the inaccessible fasteners on the assembly into open slots. I got that tip from a comment on the link I posted in the original question. This way I can replace the inaccessible fasteners but leave them out a couple of turns and just slide the assembly in/out in the future. That should make the assembly a lot more secure than just using the sealant and not re-using the screws, like the main article in the link suggested. Overall I am very happy with the way things are going along, I hope this fixes a big chunk of my A/C problems (although I suspect I have a broken blend door in addition to this recirculation door, so I may have more work ahead of me!). Thank you for your comment though, it was definitely my next step if my crazy drilling idea didn't pan out!

 

[Number4]

I've been told by the dealer, that the vacuum actuators are the cause. That they fail, over extend and end up breaking the plastic connectors on the flaps.

Actuators still function, just too far in each direction (or one at least.)

Don't know if this is true, but after all your trouble, you might consider picking up a new actuator as well.

 

[MEcougar]

Hmm makes sense. Fortunately the new assembly comes with the actuator attached to the side of it, so this should kill two birds with one stone. The old actuator assembly looks crazy, I would totally believe that it over-extended and caused the door to fall off.