2001 blend door fix problem

Im now in the process of the blend door problem.
1 the blend door works fine its the motor that runs the gears are slipping and wont turn the door.. Now it will but slowly and the knock everybody hears is the door bumping up and down. I open up the
xf2H-19E616-FB motor assembly and every thing looks fine I hooked it back up and it started again I know what the problem is, just thinking of disasembling the motor and clean and regrease. I do note that if you slide the cool and heat knob to the furthest point it will not stop knocking but if you keep it a 1/4 of an inch from the furthest point it will stop knocking. Someone mention this problem before and said to put somthing to stop it from sliding to the furthest point. May try that or put a new one in. OH by the way on the 2001 model if it was the blend door it would be murder too get tooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Any info or questions more than welcome. Oh I did buy the radio tool from Advance auto and the radio came out like a pro. no problems there. I paid 4.25 tax and all. If it were not for this site I would have crash the van into a tree and filed the insurance. :naughty: Just kidding I like the van as long as I can fix the problems. If i have to pay for someone else to work on it I would just rather have a payment.And a Brand new Van.. Hope this helps
Gary

I have plugged the 1/4" ends of the slot with RTV. This was after I did a Cesarean on the heater/ac plenum... then repaired and reinstalled my old blend door. I would recommend the RTV action to anyone with a '99 - '01 Winnie. The blend door for these years will distort over time and exposure to the heater coil ... once warped, it can no longer travel all the way to its "stops". This distortion leads to failure of the blend door or/and the actuator.

Ford began installing the upgraded plenum assembly in Oct of '01 (If I remember correctly). Unfortunately, they will not sell a Windstar blend door as a separate part ... only the whole assembly, complete with ac evaporator... $300 or so.

So far I have not replaced the actuator ... but its a bit noisy.

Just got done!! the motor has a striped gear so i had to buy a new one.
57.64 is what it cost. I think my blend door assembley is up dated because I use a 1/4 ratchet with exstention on the end and moved the door by the D shape hole the motor goes into. It feels really solid.There was no play or any thing I can feel. The new motor at first thought,was bad but it just really quiet and moves really slow I guess like new should.Before it was clunk and air was real warm or cold.I thought that was normal.The new is much smoother and air is adjustable even better than when i got it.From the hot end to the cool end you never hear the blend door make contact like before. Hope this helps.
Gary

By the way Thanks!!! 12Ounce. You are a big help on this forum along with the others as well.. Gary

Thanks also to you.

I believe I will try a new actuator.

Here is a site with instructions for fixing the blend door. It's for trucks but should be similar:

http://www.blenddoorfix.netfirms.com/

From this thread, 15 pages!

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24962&page=1&pp=20

Another excellent archive:

http://www.cartrackers.com/Forums/live/fordwindstar/1104.html

Thanks also to you.

I believe I will try a new actuator.
When you take it out. Take it with you on the bill it says motor asy.I asked what is it called? and they said part XF2Z-19E616-FB They looked at it and did not really know, but a motor. So the part number payed off.. LOL Also pulled my passanger side window door panel off.Taped the motor and pulled at the bottom of the window and it started working.The passenger vent window will work now. I pulled it off and lubed it a little and it works ok but every now and then it will not. I think the motor is going bad on that. It runs good unhooked from the window.But not strong like the other. As for the locks the 2 front ones it looks as well the actuators will need to be replaced. All others work fine.
As for the tsb issue I replaced the PCV valve and today with the motorcraft on it as you perfer. I reset the code when i did that the first time using the PCV valve from NAPA, and going on now 3 to 4 weeks no engine light. So for now the TSB issue is on hold but not forgoten. I still want to clean it up a bit in there and replace the issolator bolts and the seals. Gary

Thanks to all the brothers who led the way on this Windstar blend door fix! The part cost me $80 CDN and was about an hour to install. All works well now but would like to pass along some suggestions to make it easier for others, the way folks made it easier for me:

Preparation

(1) Open glovebox and pinch the sides to get it to flip down. This exposes 3 metal screws which can be removed with a 7mm driver. Toss the glovebox in the back seat.
(2) Remove the radio with an inexpensive "Ford Radio Puller Tool". Once you have extracted the radio, disconnect the antenna (orange) cable but not the wiring bundle. If you pull out the cup holders, the radio can rest on the tray.
(3) Remove the lower console shroud. There are two nylon Phillips head screws and two nylon grommets on each side, near the floor. Wriggle the shroud loose so you can disconnect the wires for the electrical plug, then get this big piece out of your way.
(4) Place a trouble light under the dash to illuminate where you'll be working as it's really dark in there.

Removal

The offending actuator is the white plastic box you can see when you look through the space where the radio used to be. It is secured by three 8mm screws and a couple of prongs to line things up..
If you're right-handed, probably easiest to sit in the driver's seat, look through the radio tunnel and put your right hand with the wrench up underneath the console. Access to the screws isn't too bad with the shroud and glovebox removed.
With the screws gone, the unit can be pulled towards you and the wiring plug can be disconnected.

Installation

It's the reverse of what you've just done but as has been pointed out in this thread, the big trick is to line up the "D" shaped shaft on the new actuator with the "D' shaped hole in the shaft in the duct. If it's not lining up for you, turn the key to power your electrics and move the slider to 'cold' or 'hot', which repositions the shaft.

Summary

It's a fairly challenging job because of the tight space but do-able. The new part is just a fraction of what a Ford dealer would charge you to fix this problem, so use all that cash you've saved for something fun, eh?

p.s. If you can't remember what you did with the glovebox, check the back seat!

Watch your hands! Under dash work loves cutting your hands up.. A tiny thumbwheel helps and Small hands a BIG plus.. 15mins and your cleaning up, dont forget this is with the ford radio tool!

If you dont have the tool, cut a metal coat hanger, NOT A HEAVY DUTY HANGER, and push in the 4 holes. brazin rod also very good! Try grabbing and pulling on the radio to get passed the tiny locks with the pieces into the holes. Little time and youll get the radio out.

I just joined AF to tell all you guys in this thread THANKS!!! I just finished the process on my 03 Windstar and I now have heat - just in time to travel for Christmas. The part was $77 and with the forum help took me 2 hours. Thanks again!

2000 Winnie. No heat or AC in the front or back but the blower works and the air can be changed to defrost/floor/middle etc. I can not hear any clicking noises.
I have just bought the radio tool. Plan to take the radio out and the glove box out to see what is going on. Checked with the local Adv Auto. The have one in stock and cost is $45. Seems reasonable. No shipping cost etc.
My questions are:
-Do the same actuator and the blend door control the heat to the front and back ?
-how do I find out whether it is the bad actuator or the blend door broken ? I guess once I can see the actuator I will try to see if the arm moves etc.

Please some one answer if you can. I need to do this fix tomorrow...........Thanks for your help.

Well success..... Thanks for all the people who wrote about their experience. Dropped the glove box. Looked to see if the actuator arm was working by moving the heat/ac control. It was not. Went to Adv Auto. They had a unit for $45.99. Showed them that rockauto was selling for $31.99. They matched the price. Loosened the bottom shroud. Took the steerio out. Was able to use an 8mm open ended spanner to remove the 3 bolts out which were holding the white actuator assy. Replaced it with the Doorman unit. Heat is back on. Opened up the original white unit. Cleaned up all the grease and found out one of the teeth was broken. It was also jammed and not moving. Plastic gears assy is just so frail. What a joke. After seeing the problems on this van, I have bought two more new cars and none of them Ford. 2008 Ford Focus had good reviews. Considered it for a minute and said....nah.

Wow- a local shop matched Rock Auto's online price? I'll have to remember that one. I replaced mine about 2 months ago for under $45 (got the part from O'Reilly Auto).

The funny thing is that I just showed him print out of one of the messages from this forum where some one had mentioned the part number and the price of rockauto. The sales guy entered in his system "match competitor price from rockauto" He told me next time I should get a print out from the selling web site. I said, I will definitely remember that.

This is an old post, but I recently had an issue with my windstar blowing cold or mixed air while I had the temp control set to max heat. At fist I thought it was the heater core, but after a bunch of wasted time I found that the heater core was fully functional. I then came across a DIY blend door replacement kit online called the heatertreater. This kit allows you to replace the blend door by removing the glove box and making a small incision in the plenum box with a dremel tool. This saves a lot of time and money over removing the entire dash and replacing the plenum box as a whole. Just wanted to add my :2cents: as these guys saved me a lot of effort.