Magicland
Active Member
- Joined
- April 6, 2008
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- City, State
- New Jersey
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 04, 02, 00 Mountaineers
Turns out the 97 Eddie Bauer that I just picked up had a bum Blend Door Actuator (dreaded "click of death"). I googled around for the easiest way to replace it, but no matter what, it seemed it'd be quite a challenge getting that 3rd screw (the one in back of the actuator) out.
A little "out of the box" thinking, and I had it out in under a half hour. First, you want to have yourself as small a ratchet as possible. The one I used is actually a ratcheting offset screwdriver with interchangeable heads. One of the interchangeable heads just happens to be a 1/4 socket holder. Before you do anything, unplug the actuator.
Using this (and a 5/16 socket), it was fairly easy to remove the front 2 screws. The socket I started with was a little too short to comfortably (relative term) reach the head of the 3rd screw, as the ratchet has to extend over the body of the actuator. While I was at Auto Zone, I noticed that their "Great Neck" brand sockets were about 1/4 inch longer than the one I was using, so for under $2, I picked one up. It worked perfectly.
Of course, it's still tricky getting the socket in on top of the head of the screw, but it's do-able. I found using 2 hands (by "hands", I mean fingers from each hand, wedged in) worked best for me, one wedged in holding pressure down on top of the ratchet assembly (which keeps the socket from slipping off of the top of the screw), and the other to move the ratchet handle back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth). Even with this setup, you're still only going to get one click of the ratchet at a time.
About 30-40 clicks into the procedure, I could get the actuator to lift up about 1/4 inch on the screw (the front will go quite a bit higher, and you can actually remove the shaft from the blend door). I plugged the acutator back in to verify that it was indeed the culprit. I set the heat range higher, the actutator started clicking, but the shaft didn't move. Okay, bad unit. Unplug it, and get down to work.
At this point, I was having problems getting any more clicks out of the rachet, so... You weren't planning on putting the screw back when you installed the new one, were you? You can use one of those fancy hacksaw blade handles, or do what I did, just wrap electrical tape around one end of a hacksaw blade. Slide it under the actuator (being sure you aren't anywhere near the shaft that goes into the blend door. You can prop up the actuator with something if you like, but it isn't necessary). Saw through the screw (should take less than 5 minutes).
If you get tired, or feel like you aren't making progress, step back, pull out, stretch, and go back in. It's slightly tedious, but not as tedious as screwing that whole screw out one click at a time. Once you're more than halfway through the screw, you can probably snap it by inserting a large screwdriver next to it and prying up. Any piece left sticking up will fit in the hole where the screw is supposed to be, so don't worry about it.
There you go, quick and easy. If I get a chance, I'll take a pic of the ratchet thingy I used. Now comes the hard part, finding a replacement without paying the ridiculous amount the stealership wants.
A little "out of the box" thinking, and I had it out in under a half hour. First, you want to have yourself as small a ratchet as possible. The one I used is actually a ratcheting offset screwdriver with interchangeable heads. One of the interchangeable heads just happens to be a 1/4 socket holder. Before you do anything, unplug the actuator.
Using this (and a 5/16 socket), it was fairly easy to remove the front 2 screws. The socket I started with was a little too short to comfortably (relative term) reach the head of the 3rd screw, as the ratchet has to extend over the body of the actuator. While I was at Auto Zone, I noticed that their "Great Neck" brand sockets were about 1/4 inch longer than the one I was using, so for under $2, I picked one up. It worked perfectly.
Of course, it's still tricky getting the socket in on top of the head of the screw, but it's do-able. I found using 2 hands (by "hands", I mean fingers from each hand, wedged in) worked best for me, one wedged in holding pressure down on top of the ratchet assembly (which keeps the socket from slipping off of the top of the screw), and the other to move the ratchet handle back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth). Even with this setup, you're still only going to get one click of the ratchet at a time.
About 30-40 clicks into the procedure, I could get the actuator to lift up about 1/4 inch on the screw (the front will go quite a bit higher, and you can actually remove the shaft from the blend door). I plugged the acutator back in to verify that it was indeed the culprit. I set the heat range higher, the actutator started clicking, but the shaft didn't move. Okay, bad unit. Unplug it, and get down to work.
At this point, I was having problems getting any more clicks out of the rachet, so... You weren't planning on putting the screw back when you installed the new one, were you? You can use one of those fancy hacksaw blade handles, or do what I did, just wrap electrical tape around one end of a hacksaw blade. Slide it under the actuator (being sure you aren't anywhere near the shaft that goes into the blend door. You can prop up the actuator with something if you like, but it isn't necessary). Saw through the screw (should take less than 5 minutes).
If you get tired, or feel like you aren't making progress, step back, pull out, stretch, and go back in. It's slightly tedious, but not as tedious as screwing that whole screw out one click at a time. Once you're more than halfway through the screw, you can probably snap it by inserting a large screwdriver next to it and prying up. Any piece left sticking up will fit in the hole where the screw is supposed to be, so don't worry about it.
There you go, quick and easy. If I get a chance, I'll take a pic of the ratchet thingy I used. Now comes the hard part, finding a replacement without paying the ridiculous amount the stealership wants.