i'm assuming its that.. dealer told me $1k because they had to take out the dash to get too it because it was just doing whatever it wants.. thats why its hot most of the time, but barable sometimes.. also said everything else was okay..

i'm driving a 1998 ford explorer eb edition, with 4.0L 6cyl.. all the bells and whistles..

any help getting too it without taking out the entire dash would be appreciated..

already took out the air bag, glove compartment, center console, radio, and trim around the radio..

looks like i'll be taking things apart for a year the way i'm going.. i keep reading about some quick fix, but havn't found out where that is..

Thank you in advance for your help..

 

well since it took so long, i had to answer myself, and go about with what i've found..

trying a free fix that i managed to find as a search i punctured my heater core..

yippie for me..

now i'm going to bypass that by clamping the two hoses that go into it, possible just creat a circle with them with a brass fitting for a garden hose and two clamps.. and since i did that i cut into everything, and yes it is my blend door, thinking about just making sure its in the position that i want, and driving a screw up through the bottom to make it stay where i want..

and to think, i read 3 fixes, and still managed to mess up.. gues it would have helped if i found the right tool, or atleast the tool i was looking for instead of have to use a drill bit, that went through alot quicker then i thought, and straight into the heater core..

 

Welcome to FTE . I feel your pain. DOOhh! It would have paid to wait, but I don't want to throw salt in the wound. You don;t need to remove the dash to replace (not repair) the blend door actuator. The dealer quoted what the factory repair manual says "Remove Dash", not so!

It's a good idea to loop the heater hoses, they water flow is messed up when the they are pinched off and you could be creating hot spots in the engine.

 

well i did loop the hoses, that was about a $7 fix.. i'm not big on heat, but i am in delaware so i'll need it eventually..

the lesson i learned is: never ever work on your car with the wrong tools..

still havn't found my dremel

just incase anyone was really wondering, my air conditioner is blowing ice cold right now, and if the heater core was fuctional it would still be ice cold..

there is another way to make it all work, with alot less time in my opinion..

no need to cut a hole in the bottom of them plenum..

in my opinion if you just cut a remove your glove compartment you'll see the big black plastic thing there.. ontop of that is the actuator that controls the blend door.. on the part that is facing you, but under the actuator, and alittle to the left, if you were to cut a hole big enough for you to stick your hand in, you can then position the blend door where you want..

after that all you have to do is screw a self tapping screw into the bottom to keep it in that position.. when it gets cold out, remove the screw, reposition the blend door, and once again, put the screw in a position to hold it there..

it should take no longer then 15 minutes, if you have the right tools..

if anyone would like step by step instructions with pictures please email me at wayoutside@verizon.net

i'll gladly put together something for you.. hopefully this will keep you from making the mistake that i did..

the way i ended up doing this, after my mistake, is simple and very easy to do.. although it is not fixing it, it is making it work.. and when the dealer says $1k out of the blue, the cost of a self taping screw is well worth having to go and move the screw around 2 times per year.. considering i only keep cars about 4 years anyway.. saves me $1k

 

Blend door problems are well know in the Ford community. Here's one place that shows how to repir one. Getting to the actuator is a little different in every model FOMOCO product, but you'll get the idea.

http://mark8.org/lod/blend_door_reinforce.htm

 

I just joined tonight, just bought 97 150. You mentioned pictures for fix on the blend door? HELP ??
THANKS