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How to: 2nd Gen Blend Door Quick Fix

Blend Door Problem - Maybe

I may have a blend door problem. I have not looked very hard yet. I have removed the glove box and read the threads on using the pin in the acturator and cutting the side of the box. But before I act on the door, I would like to find out why I lose vacuum on the heater control value when I select the "vent" button. (hey, the temperature outside is >100 deg. F.)
I have made some improvement. I would lose vacuum to the heater control value when I switched from max A/C to normal A/C. I cleaned the inside temperature sensor and this cleared this problem.
I had replaced this week the compressor, accumulator, flushed, and etc.
I now have coolant until the engine warms up.
And I have replaced the heater control value.

I need help on two questions:
1. How do I know if have a bend door problem?
2. Why would I get max heat when selecting the vent position?
Any help would be appreciated.

Shorty
 



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I replaced the servo and the box. I believe I only had around $400.00 in it. But the time (I am very experienced mechanic) is a *****. I believe I had 6 hours in the removal of the console,dash, and line removal(outside). Did I mention this is a *****? The little nuts on the firewall were a pia to get to. The SOHC engine is so wide that imposed a little problem. Got mine replaced with new parts and was happy with the results. I also bought all my parts from Ford. One thing to note is that the A/C has to be relieved and recharged after the job is done. I also replaced my heater core as well, because my luck would be it to go out shortly after my job was complete.
 






re:quick fix for broken Blend door

JDXPRS-Thankyou so much for this information. I am a 56 yr old retired female who didnt want to put 700.00 into our 1997 explorer that is used for my husband to drive to work. I wasn't able to cut thru the plastic with a utility knife so I got my handydandy paring knife from the kitchen. We now have heat! In the spring I'll go back in and tape it in the "cool" position. I called my husband at work and told him it's fixed. He is still laughing.
 






Thanks Guys!!!!

Thanks to all who have posted on this topic. I cut through the plenum and found that the blender door was open....but then glanced over and noticedthat control knob was on the furthest "cool" position. So i turned it to the furthest "warm" position and felt the blend door close on its own....and presto i have heat, i dont kno if it was just stuck or what but something i did fixed the problem, which was "no heat"...........so much thanks for leading me in the right direction! I wouldve never figured it out without ya!!! I just found this site tonight in my desperate attempt to fix this problem, since i have a 4-month old daughter and this is our only means of transportation...so again thanks, and im looking forward to conversing over time -Brad :thumbsup:
 






Just did it, worked great. But, you have to get a REALLY sticky tape because when it gets hot the tape tends to peel off. Also, a utility knife really did not cut it...the plastic is thick, use a Dremel.
 






How do I found out which Dorman Blend Door I need? I tried looking it up on Rock Auto under Heater Blend Door and I got a "No Parts Found"
I have a 97 Eddie Bauer. Thanks for any help.
 












Just did it, worked great. But, you have to get a REALLY sticky tape because when it gets hot the tape tends to peel off.

I did find that tape eventually peels off, even really sticky tape.

What seems to have done the trick (although I'm sure that as soon as I post this, it will fall apart) is epoxy putty. There's a lot of different kinds. The one I used says it's for plastic repair. It comes in a clear plastic tube kinda like a cigar tube, and looks like a cylinder of modeling clay. There's an outer part and an inner part, which you mix by pulling off a piece and kneading it.

I taped the cut-out section of the plenum bottom in place with narrow strips of duct tape, to keep the putty from oozing up through the crack. Then I covered the entire cut with epoxy putty, with some strips running all the way across the cut-out section, and wrapping some around all the indentations and bumps and around onto that vertical part of the plenum.

The putty sticks to the plastic real well and hardens into, well, something as hard as epoxy. I won't be able to ever get into the plenum again to fix the blend door, but if the Exploder is still running when it breaks in another 10 years, I'll happily deal with it.
 






Blend Door

:thumbsup:
for those of you who like me, dont want to shell out 1200$ to fix this blend door issue, you can do this. im writing it in as simple a way as i can for those, who like me, arent very mechanically inclined.

open glove box, and push the sides in to drop the box down as far as possible. you will see a big black plastic box. inside of that box is the blend door, and your heater core (looks like a miniture radiator).

take a razor knife and on the farthest left side of that box, cut a square hole big enough to get your hand in (only cut 3 sides of the square though so that you can just bend the plastic down out of your way and put it back in place when finished). now that it's open, you can see the heater core, but not the blend door. the blend door is located around the back left side of the heater core. reach your right hand in, with your thumb down, so the palm of your hand is facing the passenger side of the truck. when you reach behind the heater core, you will feel the blend door, and you can swing it open or closed. if you want your air conditioning to work, open the door all the way. if you want your heat to work, close the door all the way. after you have adjusted the door how you want it, blend the plastic you cut to get your hand in, back to it's normal position and tape it up with some duct or thick masking tape.

unfortunatley you can only have hot or cold doing it this way, but it saves you 1200$ and a lot of headaches trying to fix this by pulling the dash.

for where i live, i need only a.c. in the summer, and only heat in the winter, so i just go in and change the door position twice a year. the original job takes about 5 minutes, then at the beginning of summer or winter when i go in to change the door position, it takes me about 3 minutes, and most of that time is spent removing the tape and retaping it.

i hope this helps someone.
 


















Vacuum Leak

Thank u very much BrooklynBay, should there be a leak, would it be difficult to repair? :eek:
 












Vacuum Leak

Thank u, greatly appreceiated!!! :thumbsup:
 


















Put my vote in for the cut the bottom way. I tried the nail in the accuater way only to have it work for 2 days. (multiple times I might add). After a $10.99 door from Napa and hour of time, I was done. It probably could have been done faster, but I was a little nervous about cutting something that was wrong. After actually doing it, I realized it was no big deal. Duct taped the bottom (I used that sticky bendable contractors grade stuff), and I was on my way. You can't even see it. It's been over a year now and still going strong. The best part is that if it ever breaks again, It'll take me about 10 minutes to fix it!
Jerry riggers unite.
It's fairly easy, and it works!!!

I used the following post from HEARTFLIGHT incuding the helpful pictures in the included link:
"Ok, here goes. I just replaced the blend door in my 97 explorer. This is the easiest and least expensive way to do it.
First, order a replacement door from Rockauto.com
Next cut the whole triangle shape piece out as described at this site. Don't try to cut a small piece out, do the whole thing.
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~dmf/blenddoor.htm
Use a dremel tool or I used a Husky air dremel tool that I got from Home Depot. Use the small cutoff wheels for the flat areas and for around the bottom pivot boss, I used a small straight bit (like a dentist drill). This can be purchased at home depot also in the dremel section.
Remove the triangle and you will see the door and can pull it off the upper "D" shaped arm or it may just fall down out of the socket. Note the orientation of the door, only goes in one way with the D slot on top.
Next, I put a little grease in the new door D slot. To get it back into the
"d "slot hole, use a mirror to help see the position of the D shaft. Turn on the ignition and with one hand holding the door, use the other to turn the temp knob. Push the door up slightly and the new door will position it's self into the d shaft at the top and hole.Have a piece of duct tape handy to hold the door, so you can put the cutout back in place. Turn off the ignition. Now, using both hands, you can remove the duct tape and position the cutout piece back in place. I put a dab of grease in the bottom support boss, before putting it back. I used a small soldering iron, with a flat tip to melt the plastic in 4 corners to hold it in, then I melted along the seams. Works better than duct taping in place while the silicone or epoxy glue dries. Now that it's in place, you can go around the whole cut seam with silicone adhesive. let it dry over night before using or if you hot welded real well, you can use it right away.
That's it in a nutshell.... It took me about 2 hours. I wasted an hour just trying to line up the d shaft on top, until I decided to let it fall into place with the ignition on, Otherwise, this is an hour or less job and the cheapest way to go. The blend door was $17 total, with shipping. Sure beats removing the dash or going in from the engine side.
The best part is you will never see the cut, unless you stand on your head and look under. Hey, if it should break again, your jobs half done. But I dought it. The Rockauto replacement is not made of cheap plastic like the Ford Factory door. Don't be thrifty and try to glue the old door or try to reuse it again. It will just break on you again.Also, the nail trick is like playing Russian Roulette with the blend door. I'm one for doing it right the first time."
 






Do you agree with the 9 and 3 o’clock positioning advice?
 






Do you agree with the 9 and 3 o’clock positioning advice?

I have a 97 Limited. It doesn't have the dials. It has the auto buttons with the ability to set exact temps. Probably make sense though.
 



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What are the symptoms of a bad blend door. My 95 EX is just blowing the air through the defrost vents no matter what the dial is set on. any ideas? no temp changes though.

Tim
 






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