IthinkIcan
New member
Excellent write up! In the process of buttoning up the car, couldn't imagine having done it without these instructions. Awesome! Thank You! Ron
Blend Door Actuator Removal and Repair (Write-Up)
- Thread starter J
- Start date
dnsherrill
New member
old thread resurrect:
I didn't see the question asked yet so I'll ask it:
I know the gen 1's BDA is different than gen 2's, but is the process of accessing it the same? can I follow these steps to pull dash etc?
I didn't see the question asked yet so I'll ask it:
I know the gen 1's BDA is different than gen 2's, but is the process of accessing it the same? can I follow these steps to pull dash etc?
With no heat, I'm going to have to take this job on soon as weather gets better. The Mark doesn't get out much in the winter and if it does I have a way to manually move the grey arm so I can get heat. This excellent write up will help a great deal. Have to fabricate the linkage steel piece I guess, if NLA.
Thanks to the OP for the great instructions and video of the actual movement.
Thanks to the OP for the great instructions and video of the actual movement.
dnsherrill
New member
I just did mine (gen 1); I followed these instructions and they worked GREAT, I didn't mess with the shifter or the steering wheel and it worked out fine
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
J,
Thank you so-so much for this wonderful posting. I have read many articles on the web about the blend door over the past two years. I managed with the workaround for the gray arm for the past two winters but suddenly 10 days ago, I lost all heat. It didn't make sense to me at first so I topped off the antifreeze through the special port over the engine thinking that I had air in the system. Didn't help. Two days later I changed the thermostat but that also did not help. Then I recognized part of the black arm sitting on the floor of the car. I wasn't looking forward to this job in the middle of a very cold NJ winter but your article gave me the confidence to tackle the job. Took me a lot longer than 90 minutes but I only do this level of work once or twice a year so I am slow and methodical. Anyway, your efforts are very appreciated by yet one more shade tree mechanic!
Here is a picture of my new actuator modified. It is a F7LH-19E694-AF and I read that the black arm is glued on the AF version and cannot be popped off so I used wire on the bottom and the ferule on the top. I used a 6d 2 inch finishing nail in the hole of the shaft. Not seen here, but I also screwed three small sheet metal screws into the split plastic pins holding the clam shell of the actuator together. In one of the posts, I read that the actuator can have so much internal force, that it can cause the cover to pop off so the three screws prevent the cover from doing so.
Anyway, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH for this wonderful post!
Paul
J,
Thank you so-so much for this wonderful posting. I have read many articles on the web about the blend door over the past two years. I managed with the workaround for the gray arm for the past two winters but suddenly 10 days ago, I lost all heat. It didn't make sense to me at first so I topped off the antifreeze through the special port over the engine thinking that I had air in the system. Didn't help. Two days later I changed the thermostat but that also did not help. Then I recognized part of the black arm sitting on the floor of the car. I wasn't looking forward to this job in the middle of a very cold NJ winter but your article gave me the confidence to tackle the job. Took me a lot longer than 90 minutes but I only do this level of work once or twice a year so I am slow and methodical. Anyway, your efforts are very appreciated by yet one more shade tree mechanic!
Here is a picture of my new actuator modified. It is a F7LH-19E694-AF and I read that the black arm is glued on the AF version and cannot be popped off so I used wire on the bottom and the ferule on the top. I used a 6d 2 inch finishing nail in the hole of the shaft. Not seen here, but I also screwed three small sheet metal screws into the split plastic pins holding the clam shell of the actuator together. In one of the posts, I read that the actuator can have so much internal force, that it can cause the cover to pop off so the three screws prevent the cover from doing so.
Anyway, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH for this wonderful post!
Paul
The write-up and pictures posted above for the 97 are extremely helpful to get at the blend door actuator on the 96. However, the major difference is that the 96 does not have the extra black actuator arm nor the grey one, nor the linkage, and it is not supported on a separate platform. The 96 unit just mounts with 3 screws directly onto the air box, and the (usually) white actuator arm on the box just plugs directly into the air box/blend door. If the position is correct, the arm just slips right in place, required only a gentle push to get it seated all the way, replace the three screws and you're home free. I may be possible to do this with just the message center opened up, but it will be a tight fit for your hands, and the last screw on the far right side probably will have to be accessed through the glove box opening, because it is just out of reach from the other side.
I managed the swap of nylon gear that was nearly toothless in my 96 Mark and thought that I was done. However, now that I have heat, I get very little ac. I believe I saw a post on calibrating the actuator to balance between ac and heat, but I cannot seem to find it. Something about switching between max air and floor to auto adjust the actuator. Can anyone refresh me on this or post link to additional message about this?