Before I tear up my daughter's 99 F-150 I need a second, third or fourth opinion.

The blend door flops around all by itself. On acceleration you can cause it to swing to full heat. On sharp deceleration you can cause it to go to full cold. Of course it doesn't seem to work as well as that depending on the temperature. When it is 29 degrees outside you can't swing it to heat. When it is 100 outside you can't swing it to cold. Right now it is in full cold mode. So I gotta fix the problem.

In looking at an illustration I got from the Ford dealer I can see the blend door (and I just got finished reading TexAcoon's documented procedure). But why the flop around? The door hing is apparently still intact. I see that the actuator fits in the bottom of the plenum, but in TexAcoon's paper it didn't go that far. What piece is broken? Can it be fixed or do I need some sort of complete assembly?

What parts should I have on hand? They need to be ordered ahead of time since the dealers no longer seem to carry any parts. Are any of the available from after market retailers?

I am not thrilled to have to do the job, but a place called "Car Care" told me it would cost $1200 to $1600 to do the job. Sorry, I just can't buy that.

 

normally the cam or line between the motor and the door is what breaks. you might be able to look under the dash and see the motor operator and link. you can see it on an Explorer. Some have just used a tie wire to grab the link and tie it to the "hot" position for the winter to get you by. i dont understand why it is moving with acceleration, it is electrical controlled, not vacuum, so it must just be bouncing back and forth.

 

$1200 to $1600 is WAY to high.... I had the blend door replaced on my 99 F150.... by a dealer in San Antonio, it was $850.

 

Scott, you have either a blend door actuator shaft or blend door shaft that is broken. That is why the door is flopping back and forth.The blend door actuator is located on the bottom of the plenum in the passenger compartment on the passenger side under the instrument panel. You will need to remove the actuator to see if it or the blend door has the damage. If the blend door is the broken part, the plenum has to be removed for disassembly to replace it. This requires discharging, evacuating, and recharging the ac system. That is a job better left to a qualified technician with the proper equipment. Dan.

 

Dan, You might want to check with one of the shop technicians about this part.....

Steve

 

You don't need to evac the system or remove the plenum. I agree that the price you were quoted is high....just about anybody who's done one before can have it replaced in about a half-day or so.