David Suesz
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- March 12, 2006
- Messages
- 100
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- SE PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 Mountaineer
Did the heater blend door finally, using the Haynes manual. 
They go to great lengths to describe and illustrate the two LH dash bolts and the lower RH bolt, which any fool could find in about one minute, but casually remark you should remove the defroster trim and remove the screws on the top. After squinting throught the windshield for a while, I saw there were 3 more large bolts on the top, two on the left above the gauges, and one above the glove box, as well as two sheet metal screws holding the defogger outlet to the firewall. The console would have been easy if they had told me about the tab at the back which had to be slid rearward after removing the four bolts they did tell me about, which was stuck and took nearly an hour to figure out and unstick.
Also, Haynes says to disconnect the main wiring harness on the LH and RH ends of the dash. I did not. They say to remove the LH A pillar trim and LH kick panel. I did not. They say to remove the PCM, and I did, but later for the life of me I can't see why. They say to remove the RH airbag, probably for safety, which I did, because it takes about two minutes. They say to remove the instrument cluster, I did not. They say to remove the heater controls, I did not. They say to remove the radio, which I did, but is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, I did get the dash loose, and by disconnecting the pushpins (not the connectors!) holding the RH wiring harness, I was able to move the dash rearward about a foot, easily enough to remove the heater. Even better, with full access, I was able, by putting a large screwdriver between the alternately the top and bottom of the door and heater case, to pop the old door out, and conversely the new door in. Took about 2 minutes. The manufacturer of the door (which I purchased on eBay for $15) includes a cutting template and steel repair panel for cutting open the top of the case to insert the door, and happily it was not necessary. Even better, if you were willing to take the car to a shop before hand, have the refrigerant removed, and later pay to have the refrigerant put back in, making it possible to completely remove the evaporator, I believe you could R&R the door without disturbing the dash. With the evaporator in the way, the firewall nuts for the heater case are accessible, but only David Copperfield could get the the blend door out with only five or six inches of clearance. Since I wasn't sure, I elected to do the whole job. While I had the heater out, I discovered the source of a rattle- the prior owner had lost a penny down in the defroster, which was running around inside the heater case, so pulling the case worked out OK for me.
Anyway, it should be a four or five hour job if done this way (five would be including a problem, like I had with the console), or more like two if you removed the refrigerant and evaporator. Quite nice, considering the $850 plus parts the local Ford dealer was offering to charge.
Heater Blend Door Good News
They go to great lengths to describe and illustrate the two LH dash bolts and the lower RH bolt, which any fool could find in about one minute, but casually remark you should remove the defroster trim and remove the screws on the top. After squinting throught the windshield for a while, I saw there were 3 more large bolts on the top, two on the left above the gauges, and one above the glove box, as well as two sheet metal screws holding the defogger outlet to the firewall. The console would have been easy if they had told me about the tab at the back which had to be slid rearward after removing the four bolts they did tell me about, which was stuck and took nearly an hour to figure out and unstick.Also, Haynes says to disconnect the main wiring harness on the LH and RH ends of the dash. I did not. They say to remove the LH A pillar trim and LH kick panel. I did not. They say to remove the PCM, and I did, but later for the life of me I can't see why. They say to remove the RH airbag, probably for safety, which I did, because it takes about two minutes. They say to remove the instrument cluster, I did not. They say to remove the heater controls, I did not. They say to remove the radio, which I did, but is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, I did get the dash loose, and by disconnecting the pushpins (not the connectors!) holding the RH wiring harness, I was able to move the dash rearward about a foot, easily enough to remove the heater. Even better, with full access, I was able, by putting a large screwdriver between the alternately the top and bottom of the door and heater case, to pop the old door out, and conversely the new door in. Took about 2 minutes. The manufacturer of the door (which I purchased on eBay for $15) includes a cutting template and steel repair panel for cutting open the top of the case to insert the door, and happily it was not necessary. Even better, if you were willing to take the car to a shop before hand, have the refrigerant removed, and later pay to have the refrigerant put back in, making it possible to completely remove the evaporator, I believe you could R&R the door without disturbing the dash. With the evaporator in the way, the firewall nuts for the heater case are accessible, but only David Copperfield could get the the blend door out with only five or six inches of clearance. Since I wasn't sure, I elected to do the whole job. While I had the heater out, I discovered the source of a rattle- the prior owner had lost a penny down in the defroster, which was running around inside the heater case, so pulling the case worked out OK for me.
Anyway, it should be a four or five hour job if done this way (five would be including a problem, like I had with the console), or more like two if you removed the refrigerant and evaporator. Quite nice, considering the $850 plus parts the local Ford dealer was offering to charge.
Heater Blend Door Good News
