I HAVE A 98 XLT V-8. THE BLEND DOOR APPEARS TO BE BROKEN. I ONLY GET FULL HEAT REGARDLESS OF HOW I ADJUST THE TEMP DIAL. I GET COLD AIR ONLY IF I SET TO AC MAX. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 95-98 XLT. ALSO I HEAR THAT YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE DASH. ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS REPAIR? THANKS

 

I sometimes have cold and no heat. At other times, it's stuck on hot.

Is this the same blend door problem?

 

Yep, just went through it. Exact same situation you have. Had to take the dash out to replace the heater box. The plastic part that turns the blend door broke. The heater box itself is about $250 -300, labor was 9 hours, mostly to take the dash out and put it back. $880 later, everything is fine. :-X23 :-staun

 

Had to replace the plenum box on my '96 XLT a couple of weekends ago. The dash (and console) does have to come out to remove the box. It is a fairly time consuming repair, but I was able to do it myself with some assistance from a Haynes Manual. However, the manual does not cover replacing the plenum box specifically (mainly just assists in dash removal). So be prepared to wing it on some issues that arise. BTW the box at my local dealer was around $110. A lot of headache for a simple piece of plastic (the blend door shaft had broken where the actuator fits into it). I did email Ford to see if any financial assistance was offered on what seems to be a known issue... no such luck!