Dodge Repair: 01 Ram Heater Problem: Blend door

Question
QUESTION: both my air and heat work in my 2001 dodge ram 1500. The problem is when i hit the brakes i can hear a door in the dash slam shut and then the heat is stuck on.  Got quoted 1000 bucks to fix it.  ANy help would be appreciated as to what is wrong and if i can do it myself.  I am very mechanically inclined.

ANSWER: Hi Kyle,
The door that you hear is called the 'blend door' and it is operated by an electrical actuator that moves it so as to either pass the air over the hearer core or to by-pass that more or less.
The actuator is located on the top of the HVAC box and to access it you have to remove the instrument panel and then drop the HVAC box out of the vehicle which is of course the $1000 dollar fix.
The door is on a vertical shaft which apparently is removed via access the underside of the box. But I would wonder whether you might get some sort of a mechanical indication of its malfunction by looking/feeling on the underside of the box as to its condition by touching the end of the shaft. You might be able to get some control of it that way manually. I can copy the drawing of the bottom of the box from the '00/01 manual I have on a CD and attach that to an email I would send to you directly. But I need to know your email address. When you tell me that don't use the @ symbol or it will be erased automatically, instead us "at".
The actuator is powered by the same fuse that operates the blower motor relay so if that motor is working then power for the actuator is also working. That then suggests that the door is disconnected from the actuator or the actuator is defective. Do you have temp control of the air temp otherwise?
Roland

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: SO is the actuator below the glove box and above your feet on the passenger side.  If so that looks easy enough to change.  If that is bad that switch is the one that hold or closes the blend door?  thanks FOR ALL YOUR HELP

Answer
Hi Kyle.
No, I think you may be describing where the blower motor/resistor block/wiring is located, rather than the blend door actuator. That actuator appears to be on the top of the HVAC box, and it rotates the door which has a vertical shaft, the bottom of which is at the bottom of the HVAC box. It would be more centrally located on the box, not at the passenger end of the box, and the actuator would not be easy to replace IF it is the issue. So I would look at the shaft on the bottom side to get an idea of why the door is swinging freely.
Thanks for the rating and address. I'll send you the page(s) shortly. If you would care to do another rating and this time click on yes for a "nomination" of me I would appreciate that.
Roland