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Heater issues

PJC1

Member
Joined
February 5, 2020
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
City, State
PA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003 Lincoln Aviator AWD
Hi all, new member here. I just purchased a 2003 Explorer XLT with rear heat and a/c. I'm tackling this prob first because it's cold here in PA. Problems: Heater blows cold air, air does not seem to change flow when switching from heat to defrost but does flow from a/c vents when turned to a/c. I know about the actuators from my previous experience with panthers. I do not hear the dreaded clicking noise tho. Does this Explorer have 2 actuators and am I barking up the right tree? Thanks Paul.
 



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Normally that issue is due to a bad thermostat. You can get a OEM part for very cheap from rockauto.com or from a partsstore (it will be a bit more expensive (will cost you about $15) so i i would get it from the store instead of freezing. Labour will take you a few minutes and all you need is a standard wrench set (and maybe some antifreeze or destilled water to top the fluid off but you shouldn't loose a lot of fluid).
 






Thermostat is ok. Hoses going to heater core are hot.
 






If your thermostat is bad (stuck open) your engine will heat up but not to full operation temperature. So the coolant could be hot but not hot enough. I would risk the $15, the thermostat needs to be changed every 7-10 years anyways. Just my opinion
 






And i have the blend door acurator problem too, still sometimes when it doesn't work there is always some air that comes out and that's hot/cold according to the setting. It could be the heater core too (which i dont think and hope). You also should know that the thermostat is a part that fails ever so often because the metal spring weakens (should stop the coolant from flowing until the coolant gets hot).
 






I think you have 2 different issues going on. My thought on no heat would be the heater blend door actuator, but you said there is no clicking sound. Are you low on coolant? If coolant is low you might not be getting good flow to the heater core. Maybe. Could also be the heater control valve. The airflow problems sounds like what happened to our '04. The defroster door actuator broke, specifically the plastic arm, so the door would not open and close. Our stuck closed, so almost no defroster. I ran some metal strapping from the defroster vents down to keep it open, but it meant that the heater/defroster was always blowing as a blend. The a/c vents, however, worked perfectly.
 






Thank you for your responses.
 






Did you figure out what it was?
 






I believe I have a bad heater control module.
Does anyone know where the heater control module is located? I have man heat/a/c. Also rear air and heat.
Also my rear heat does not work :(
 






Honestly, you don't know of the thermostat is still working. You can order it for $5 at rockauto.com. i am pretty sure that that's the problem, if you are not willing to verify that the thermostat is perfectly working then i can not help you any further. Link the the $ 5.26 part:
2005 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L V6 Thermostat | RockAuto
 






I found a bad electric blend door actuator (that wasn't clicking) and the max a/c recirculate door was broken and fell on top of the fan blocking the air flow.
 






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