Blend Door Revisited (quick fix didn't take) 1996

[brokenford]

I was delighted with the results of applying the fix to the blend door on my 96 Expl. Fix found here: http://www.blenddoorfix.netfirms.com/

The instructions and picts were explicit and I did the whole job in about 35 minutes. I used a #2 screw rather than a nail or pin so it would stay in place; I cut the head off the screw after getting it positioned right.

I fired it up and enjoyed full control of both heat and cooling for a couple of weeks. I was, however, concerned about the scraping kind of noise I could hear from the heater assembly as I turned the dashboard heat control.

Then it quit working and I was stuck with full heat again.

When I removed the actuator again, I found that the top of what must be the shaft from the door was chewed off. More, the hole where the actuator seemed to be enlarged, or better said, it was missing some material that formed the lip, both above and below the hole.

So now it appears that no variation of the quick fix will work. The shaft is shorter and the end chewed off and the hole enlarged.

So what next? I don't want to spend a thousand bucks to fix it at a dealer. Nor am I inclined to remove the dashboard to get at it. I did find another fix on the web that suggested that it could be repaired (or the actual door replaced) by going in from under the hood and disassembling the whole mess from that side--I don't really want to do that either.

Has anyone tried cutting an access hole in the housing in the area accessible behind the glove box and doctoring the end of the shaft from there? It might work, depending on how many other parts are mounted right behind the rear facing area of the box. I think if I could reach it, I could add a ferrule or piece of tubing to the top of the existing door and join it to the shaft from the actuator.

Thoughts anyone?

[B33p3r]

If your not willing to pay and you want heat.................Go for it! Necessity is the mother of all inventions!

[brokenford]

So I hacked into the plenum with a Dremel Moto-Tool and after a bit of manipulating (and bloody knuckles) was able to get the door out through the front of the housing.

The entire top had broken off so there was nothing for the pin to grab and turn. The door was flopping around inside. It felt like one of the pieces that had broken off had fallen into the bottom mount causing it to jam and the force from the actuator motor had broken the remainder of the top end off.

More bad news. Ford has discontinued the door. It is now only available as a complete assembly for around $335. The new assembly is different so perhaps the problem is fixed, but there appears to be no way for me to get a new door. (I am not interested in paying that much for a part for an old car or performing the labor to install it)

The number on the part is F57H 18B545.
Does anyone know of a source for discontinued Ford parts where I might be able to get one?
(also, the local dealer provided me with the number of another discontinued door, # F5TZ 18B545A, which may or may not fit in this car. It may be for a later model that wouldn't work anyway.)

[XLT03]

I would find other Ford dealers in the phonebook / internet and get onto their websites and go to their parts dept link and email them with the part number you are looking for and see what happens.

[B33p3r]

Hit the junk yards

[420troublemaker]

Try this fix if you quick-fix didn't work

http://chrisfransen.com/Ford_Blend_Door_Fix/index.html

Good luck!

[brokenford]

This is the Ultimate fix found here. A bit of a project, but it works perfectly when done. Looks nasty if you remove the glove box door, but so what?

See it here:
http://www.conceptualedge.com/blend-door/