Loud and weak a/c - blower motor?

[RogerB1]

I have a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer that I have bought used a few years ago. I was never happy with the a/c performance. At first, it was not blowing out very strong. I ended up replacing the box thing that houses the blend/fresh air/recirc air door. I did it myself. Perhaps the box housing is not seated properly but I doubt it, I don't feel any cold air coming out where I don't think it should. That dramatically improved air flow.

Still, not quite up to par. I also had to re-attach the actuator that moves the flap from front vent to defrost. It is now in the totally open position to blow out front vents near radio. When I put it on fan speed 4, which I want to do a lot, it is very loud. I did some research and read this could be caused by a dirty, clogged a/c evaporator core. I am not sure this is the problem. The examples I found on the net showed a lot of pet hair clogging it. This mountaineer was immaculate inside and out when I bought it. There was no way that vehicle had any pets or smoking in it. But, perhaps I got some leaves in it.

Looks extremely difficult to replace the evaporator core. Could I possibly need a new blower fan? Should I remove the blower fan but leave it plugged in and watch/listen to it spin?

Any other ideas

 

[Number4]

A common issue is the fresh air flap breaks and falls on top of the blower. It's behind the glove box. There are some posts here about it.

Here's one discussion on it:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274510

 

[RogerB1]

Nope, the air flap works. fine. You can observe it moving back and forth when you drop the glove box and you turn the switch from regular to max air, like I mentioned, I repaired that a while ago. Turns out, the problem was leaves. They had worked into the system. I ended up cutting a rectangular opening in the air inlet duct (flap door box) and removed a bunch of leaves. I repaired my cutout with a slightly large piece of plastic, some foam sheeting, and screws. Now, I can access it easier. I noticed there was a gap between my windshield and the plastic grate between the hood and windshield. That is probably how most of the leaves were getting in. I sucked a bunch out of there too. You don't hear them when they are trapped above your blower fan, they don't make a sound like debris whipping around. Air flow is much better. It is still weak going to the back seats though. I am going to take apart my lower duct and check it out for blockage. There is a little rotating lever the people in the back can use to open and close the back vent, perhaps the flap is ajar, even though I can tell the lever does change the airflow slightly. I may end up putting some silent 40mm 12 volt fans in the lower duct to really move the air into the back seat area.

 

[Number4]

Interesting, sounds like you should post some pictures.

The OE foam used to seal the ducting pieces together is crap. It breaks down and allows air to leak inside the console and dash.