QuestionSubject is a 1997 Explorer XLT. I have diagnosed the "blend door motor" as inop. The heater stays hot no matter where I position the dial. On normal A/C, it is hot but on max A/C it will blow cool, not cold, air. My problem is the dealer says it is $750 to $1200 labor bill. Is there another way to change this $60 part? I am able to do most auto repair myself. I have no diagnostic/testing equipment, just tools and experience.
AnswerIf the door is broken, the dash and plenum have to come out. If it is just the blend door motor, that can be replaced thru the glove box opening in most cases.
I have seen on the internet that some are replacing the door without replacing the plenum or pulling the dash. I have not seen this done and don't recommend it myself. The redesigned plenum is supposed to be stronger and more resistant to breaking, seems to me like it's better to fix it right the first time.
You can check the door yourself if you inclined to be that mechanical. Lower the glvoe box door, the blend door motor is on top of the plenum, square, with a white connector. Disconnect the motor, then carefully pry up on the motor to remove it. Most are snapped in place, some are screwed down and that makes this harder. After you have the motor out, using a mirror and flashlight look at the area where you took the motor from. The motor has a shaft that sticks down into the door, if the hole where the shaft inserts is cracked or broken, then you will need a plenum. It's not a bad job, just time consuming. If you are interested I may be able to send you the instructions, although a lot of what the book says is not needed.
I did so many of these at the dealer I whittled the time down to less than 3 hours on most of them.
