Hey all,
Got a 2001 F150 4.6. Temperature control failure. It blows heat despite turning to air conditioning.
The tech who replaced my heater core a few months ago told me he ran the continuity tests and determined that the blend door actuator (motor) had failed. I checked to make sure that the ***** weren't stripped, though I haven't actually checked out the blend door yet (don't know how).
Some of the instructions on this board discuss watching the motor (the 3x3 white box) and the shaft that goes into it to see if the shaft is broken while changing the temperature. I haven't done that either, but I'm hoping that I can change out the motor with a used one and it will be OK.
I've been looking all over for a good set of directions to replace it. I'm hoping someone out there has directions for this vehicle with pictures. Can anyone help? I'm hoping I don't have to tear apart the entire dash to do the work.
Please email me at carl_694@hotmail.com

Thanks so much for your help. It's getting hot, I gotta get this fixed and I'm a poor SOB.

Carl

 

For a temporary fix, clamp off a heater hose. That's how I ride.

The blend door actuator is pretty easy to get to. just pull off the black plastic cover on the transmission hump. The Right side dash support must come off. The actuator is held to the bottom of the A/C box by 3 or 4 screws accessible by a ratchet. Then just pull straight down on it.

Mine was only blowing hot, after pulling the actuator, I found the door is broken. Now I'm looking forward to removing the dash.

 

Almost every time I've replaced a heater core in an f-150, I've had to replace this actuator. Not too bad to do. I don't remember which wires to test for power as it's been awhile since I've had to worry about it. (i no longer work as a ford tech. found more money welding.) But I have seen these go. Like cow said, check to make sure the door isn't broken too. By the way, Sorry about having to remove your dash cow. Lemme tell you, they don't seem to get any better with experience.

 

So I got the blend door motor out. It actually wasn't that difficult. My questions are as follows...I am planning to get a new motor tommorrow. If I plug it in without setting it in place, should the arm turn if I change from A/C to heat or do I have to set the motor in place for it to work?
I just want to check it out to eliminate it as the problem.

 

that test will work. the motor does not know if it is bolted to teh duct or not, just connect the wires.

 

i have the same problem with my truck. i checked it out really close the other day and the motor was fine but the door was striped out. so i not sure i want to take the whole dash out im thinking about putting a bypass in the heater hose. do you think that would be a better idea than removing the dash.

 

the door mixes cool air from the outside with warm air from the heater core. if you disconnect the heater core it will not have any heat input, but when on air conditioner, you may be mixing outiside air with the cool air and not get real cold. with the motor off, can you stick you hand up inside and push the door over to the cool side?

 

Hey all,
Thanks a lot for your help. I installed my new blend door motor yesterday and I finally have AC again! The part was $65 or so but was well worth it. I was going to get one from the junk yard, but I decided to get one from the dealer to avoid having this problem again.
Getting it out was pretty easy, but getting it back in was a bit more difficult.

Thanks again!

 

Does anyone have any photos of this? ... Looks like this is a problem everyone has with their Ford trucks ..... WHY? I'm in the same boat with the rest of you .. All except the ones that have theirs fixed already ... So any help on this end would certainly be appreciated.....

 

What I would like to see is a cut-away diagram to the blend door area for a temporary fix.

I live in Florida, so I could get by just fine if I could figure out
1.) If I can manipulate the door over to the 'cool' position (it does move there by itself for now, but does stick once in a while), and
2.) Drill a hole, then Put a screw or a bolt to hold it to the cool position.

That would pretty much fix it for me, unless my heater-core decides to go south (err... further south than I already am).

I took away the plastic cover on the hump to get a look at the blend door area to see if I could figure it out, but I didn't see anything I recognized as telling me where the door was, or what position it should be in when cool.

A long time ago there was a link to an eleven (or so) page PDF on how to take apart the dashboard for your all-weekend project.

I know I printed it out, but probably threw it away.

 

That would have been great if you could have found the PDF on that...
Photos certainly would help. I currently have my center section of my dash pulled (on panel) for the radio, ac/heater control .. Still not sure what to look for.

Some reports say it's on the passenger side floor then next I hear on the drivers side .. Now hearing in the center behind the ac/heater control ...
Hell! anymore it could be in the bed of the truck! .. LOL! ..

I hear two other things:
1) it's vacuumed controlled
2) it's motor controlled and could have a stripped gear in it...

So in my case having a 1999 F150 which is it? .. I'm a bit lost on this one... Just fixed three of my problems using this site for info which was great! ..
My final project is this actuator .. or possibly my control switch ... yet I have no idea at this time which it is...

 

Hey,
I can't help anyone with any shortcuts to fix, temporarily or otherwise, the blend door. There are some short-cuts to avoid removing the dash that are referenced elsewhere in threads on this site. Do you guys want directions to remove the blend door actuator (motor)? It's fairly simple.

1. There's a large plastic cover that hides a bunch of components underneath the radio console toward the floor. (over the hump in the floor). It's held in by plastic clips. Remove this cover, trying not to break the clips.

2. Once removed, toward the passenger side you will see the little white actuator box. That's your target. But there are a few intermediate steps to get there. You'll have to pull back the carpet to expose support bars for the dash. You'll have to remove those, but only on the passenger side. Note their arrangement. I got a bit confused when I had to put them back together.

3. Once removed, you'll have to take out several bolts that hold the motor/actuator in. If I recall correctly, there are four or five. What I'm sure of is that there's one toward the back that's a bit of a pain to get at. Disconnect the harness to the motor.

4. It's time to remove our little white box. It's preferred to have two people for this job. Have your buddy, wife, whoever, pull up the dash from a secure point near the blend door motor. (This maneuver requires some snuggling. Make sure you're both wearing deodorant. Touch hooters as desired).
There's a spindle on the motor that rotates to move the blend door and thereby control temperature. You'll want your helper to pull up so you can get some clearance to get that out and remove the motor.
Once it's out, take not of the thread alignment. You'll see why later. Reconnect the old harness and see if turning your temp control makes the spindle move. If it doesn't, you've got a bunk actuator. I'm sure there's a more professional way of testing before removal, but I'm no pro.

5. Reinstallation is the reverse of removal. When you put the new one back in, you'll need to ensure the threads on the spindle of the new motor line up with the housing alignment. The threads on the motor are not symmetrical. Try to get them generally set up as they were on the old unit when removed.
Have your helper pull up on the dash again and jimmy the new one in. Reconnect the harness, turn the truck on, and SLOWLY turn the temp control. Listen for a grinding/not normal noise as you turn. STOP if you hear something funny b/c that means the new motor is not aligned correctly. Unlikely that this will be a problem.
If all goes well, you should now have temp control again. Put humpty dumpty back together and bask in your new-found heat or air conditioning.

 

Addendum to direction two. You only need to pull back the carpet on the passenger side. And not entirely. Just as far back as necessary to expose the support bars. One runs alongside the middle hump.

 

Thanks! .... Once I can get my heating and air working like it should.. Especially the heating cause winter is coming soon .. and Nebraska gets down right cold! ...

I would have my truck in (almost) 100% working order again.. With the exception of my door actuators needing to be replaced.. However, theres a few threads on removal and installation of those.....

 

Tex, some of the confusion with the electric/ vacuum is caused by a miss-understanding. The blend door the controls the temp is variable from 0 to 100% from hot to cold. so it is electric. the other 3-4 doors are all vacuum controlled since they select "defrost or floor", "inside or outside air". those doors are either open, or closed, no variable in between, so FORD used a vacuum cylinder to move them-- cheaper. HELP-ME has a good description to get to the motor. the problem is if you want the door out of the duct, that becomes a task. The 12 photos and cutting the duct for access is a good procedure for the EXPLORER. I would guess the F150 would be similar, but not exactly in the same position. THE older EXP door was behind the glove box, the newer units are under the radio.