2001 Dodge Ram 1500 - Blend Door Repair/Heater Treater Installation - Part 3
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- In this video, I demonstrate how to repair a broken blend door actuator in a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 using a repair kit from a company called Heater Treater. The blend door diverts the air from the HVAC system over the AC evaporator core or the heater core to adjust the temperature of the air blowing out of the vents.
If you have air blowing from the vents, but it is cold when your temperature dial is set to hot, or vice versa, you may have an issue with the blend door actuator in your vehicle.
The repair kit I used in this video can be purchased here:
heatertreater....
Part 1 of this series can be viewed here:
• 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 - ...
Part 2 of this series can be viewed here:
• 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 - ...
I am not a professional mechanic, and my videos are not intended to offer professional advice. Always reference your vehicle's service manual for official information, and please do not attempt any repair that you are not comfortable doing.
Thanks for watching!
I have seen a couple "heater treater" fixit TH-cams, but yours is the best. Thanks hope you do others..
Matt, thanks for taking the time to put out a great video regarding this issue. Keeping older vehicles on the road, one video at a time. Can't count the number of times I have wondering what the engineers were thinking. All they would have had to do is swap the back screw and the indexing post, and it would have made removing and installing a lot easier.
Matt, the only thing I can say is thank you. I did this job for my husband because seeing him sweat his butt off in the truck was making me sad. So being a woman not knowing anything about what I was about to do, I watched your video and because of you my husband will no longer be hot and will have cold air again. I have never seen a more detailed and more accurate how to video then this one. Thank you for taking the time and having the patience to give me the confidence to make this happen for him. I couldn't have done it without your video. By the way he said thank you too. Take care!
This is a wife that truly loves her husband. Having one myself, I recognize commitment when I see it.
Thank you for the great explanation and camera shots of the project.
My dad's 2001 Ram 1500 has the same problem and you cannot order the actuator anymore... but after seeing your video, I am hoping I don't have to... I will be ordering their kit to fix this as I suspect this is the problem. Thanks so much for the video!
Thank you very much for your videos and your patience. I have the same problem with my 2001 Dodge Ram. Living in Arizona heat mixed with a cold air doesn't work when it's a hundred ten degrees outside LOL. Thanks again.
You're very welcome! I hope you're able to resolve your problem...I don't know how you Southwest folks deal with that kind of heat, haha.
Thanks for watching!
Ditto for New Mexico, also a 2001.
Great video! I am now in the process of replacing my a/c and needed to check if my blend door opened and closed but the actuator wasn’t working. Turned out the contacts were dirty but the plastic piece was fine. Your videos do come in handy in what to do and not to do in self repairs.
Thank you! great job! You were very patient in letting us see you working. Great to see the actual repair functioning as expected.
I just got done fixing mine. Now I have heat! Thanks a million dude!
what do ya do if the actuator is working correctly and my heat is still on all the time
Hi Matt ...Thanks a million for this 3 part video...its very well done and very detailed...
Awesome fix.
Cheers
I just ordered my heater treated products. Thanks a million.
Great video! Thanks for the detailed explanation and clear video!
Great video. I suffered for 3 hrs. using vice grips and Phillips and made little progress. I finally found my 90 degree Phillips with 2 different size Phillips that I got with Craftsman screwdriver set (years ago). What I found was the undersized Phillips made quick work of unscrewing the fastener because you could be sloppy engaging the screw and still move it. Each time you tried to engage, you had to rotate the Phillips a full 90 degrees.
I bought a set of 3 threaded/lag screws at big box store for a few dollars and electrically tested by plugging the actuator into the system and exercising the temp knob. I may just use jumpers when I open the actuator. I bought the adapter on Amazon for $15.
Did the bottom of the door drag when you
Thanks for the video. I used a small 1/4” boxed end wrench with a slight angle and a short Phillip’s bit for that hard to access screw.
Great video. Good step by step process. Great job.👍
Thank you, Matt. Your video helped me get it done. Cheers 🍻
So glad to hear it! Comments like this are the one and only reason I keep making my videos. Thanks for sharing your success with me!
Matt and friends, I was able to change that "adapter" lets call it, to the piece between the blender actuator and the blender door.
Things that may help you do this job easier yet. Use a 1/4 ratchet. Air Conditioning Dealers or Distributors, maybe Heater Distributors or Mechanically oriented like air conditioning or heaters distributors may carry this tool. Is sold or designee by Yellow Jacket, they have it straight and offset. I have them both because in air conditioning which is what I do, often we have to get our hands on tight spaces to unscrew 1/4, or 5/16's which is the other side of this two ratchets am talking about. Use a small Phillip bit and to hold the bottom of the bit I used a 1" spatula. A flat screwdriver is too narrow to hold the bottom but a 1"-1 1/2" spatula will help you to hold the bottom of the bit so it doesn't slip down. I added a piece of duct tape to the "neck" (space between the superior part of the Phillip bit passing the 1/4 bit and almost to the top I left about 1/8" of space for the Phillips bit to grab the screw. That little "neck of tape" will hold the tip from falling down and will hold the ratchet from slipping all the way up while trying to untight/tight the back screw.
Another hack. You can do the adapter with a piece of copper of 3/8". Just cut the length, and with an expansioner (This is a piece of steel that as you drive it into cooper pipes you can increase its width) Hope you guys understand. Because the bottom is a little wider than the 3/8" original size of the coper tubbing on the circular areas, the flat areas of the bottom are easy to achieve with a soft impact of a hammer or a controlled squeeze of a channel lock. The top part is just a little increased and hitted softer yet to keep the shape of a D. Now you see the straight line on a D, if you face that line, holding the adapter, if you make the D first, face the straight line of the D, right where the corners of the straight line and the curvature of the D meets, that corner or straight end is the width of the flat bottom. Increase the bottom a little, make it coincide with the other bottom, go easy, because is easy to pass the width, then flatten it's sides, with a soft hit of a hammer. Until you have the bottom part that fits in the actuator. Test and hit, test and hit, test and hit and you will save some bucks.
I left my cut floor sponge just covered with the carpet. Just in case I have to revisit in the future.
All works great. It may use a little of WD40 to act faster but is a slow movement but it works great man!
Thanks, Matt. I can't afford to pay someone to fix my truck so vids like this are invaluable.The Haynes manual is useless. My heat has never worked well. It is stuck on cold now and winter is coming. Pretty sure this will fix it. I wonder if a small, worm drive clamp on the outside of the broken shaft would repair it? Might go to a yard for the part otherwise.
Just an update. The no heat condition on my 1999 Ram WAS due to the actuator. The shaft was not broken. It shorted out with what looks like corrosion in the unit from a condensation drip. I turned the shaft to the heat position but still not much heat. Decided to flush the core which was not blocked. I then filled the core with commercial toilet bowl cleaner and let sit for an hour. Flushed again and now it heats like a boss. Intend to just leave it in the heat position and when summer comes turn the shaft to the A/C side.
Thanks for posting, great video. I’m about to do this for a friend of mine. This was great to get an idea of what it takes to get it done. Going to use a small Phillips bit like you used but turn it with a 1/4” sized ratcheting wrench, should speed it up a bit. Thanks and good job!
Nice video and good information. I really appreciate your help. Don't forget the last screw for the motor. Also, to save some time, you could try an offset phillips head screwdriver or a bit like you used but with a 1/4" drive ratcheting box wrench. Thanks again.
Outstanding video!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for this video
Enjoyed your video but heater treater was a little out of my price range. And Mopar was ridiculously priced for the plastic one. I did the repair with $2 worth of aluminum rod and my Dremel tool. I stuffed the rear screw hole of the servo with a little bit of paper to hold the screw in place while I worked the servo into place. Just pull the paper out when the screw is started.
So does this whole thing involve the blend door? Like is that the metal part you replaced?
Great vid. I have to pull my whole dash and do heater core after deer season
Going to be huge job.
Thanks man! I actually intend to do that, too. I'm not sure if my heater core is leaking...but it's never been replaced as long as I've owned the truck since 2005, and I need to re-do the entire AC system, too. I figure if I'm going to pull the dash to replace the evaporator core, I'm definitely going to replace the heater core at the same time. Then I'd like to put it all back together and put a new dash cover on, because like pretty much all second generation Rams, my dash is cracked. I'll definitely film all of that if I ever get around to it.
I feel like I'm kind of digging myself a hole with this truck. I'm pretty sure I have cracked heads (very common issue it seems), and the transmission is original. At some point, the truck is going to need engine work and transmission work, but here I am spending money on other stuff to make it nicer. But I just can't bring myself to get rid of it, for several reasons: 1) it's the first vehicle I ever purchased using 100% of my own money and I'm kind of attached to it, 2) I just love the style of the second generation Rams, and 3) it's pretty much the perfect work truck for me. So, hopefully I can fix it up and keep it running for many years to come.
Matt Payne yes i totally get it. I’ve spent about twice to three times what the trooper is worth but I love it.
Also the education I’ve gotten is worth a great deal. What I’ve learned will be with me forever!
I can’t wait to see your future vids on it.
Maybe jump into the heads yourself. Haha huge job
@@ktcgarage8572 Totally agree! I wouldn't change anything I've done. I love all of my vehicles and have really enjoyed learning to maintain them myself. 6-7 years ago I had never even done an oil change, so I have learned a lot by watching others' videos, reading forums, and asking friends lots of questions. It's been a fun ride, and I truly enjoy trying to help others with the videos I create.
I do hope to replace the heads myself eventually. It's really not much farther into the engine than the replacing the plenum gasket, which I've had to do twice (unfortunately)...just requires a few extra steps like removing the exhaust manifold and rocker arms/pushrods. My biggest challenge right now is that I don't have a garage, so until that changes, I'm limited in the scope of what I can tackle. Hopefully I can either build one soon, or move to a home that has one. I still have two Troopers that need to be merged into one, also...
@@mattpayne4087 so the dash is easy to pull it's not a problem at all
I have people stop by my Channel all the time it's fairly new but this is what I do as a profession I'm a master technician for Ford
I also have a 2001 Dodge Ram and had to pull the dash to replace the heater core and I was watching so many videos on how to do it and it's like man these videos were so long and I was like you know what screw those I'm just going to make my own video and teach people how to do it
Actually had to replace the actuator tonight the door was fine it was the actuator that was bad on mine
This can help if my ac is blowing through the defrost as well ?
No, unfortunately that is a totally different issue. That is likely due to a leak in a vacuum hose somewhere in your engine compartment. The HVAC air diverter is controlled by engine vacuum, and when there is a leak, it causes the airflow to do strange things like that. I had a similar issue years ago and it ended up being due to a split vacuum hose near the intake manifold.
I hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
You might be able to help me so I got a 03 dodge ram 1500 and when I got to start it it looses all electrical power I replaced the alternator and battery what else could it be?
Does it start, and then die? Or it just never starts at all?
@@mattpayne4087 it was a bad possitive battery cable
Just turn climate control knob back n forth from hot n cold n back then listen for movement in floorboard that the blend door is working or not
What did you do other than put a nut on in a weird tight spot and replace center piece? This has nothing to do with repairing the part.
I can hear the ac clutch cut in and out when i turn on heat is that normal?
Hmm...it's normal for the AC compressor to cycle when the defrost is used, but I don't think it should do so when the heat is on.
Mine does that too.
I got the same problem on my 2001 Cummings ac is on but no cooled air out the vents I feel cold air from from somewhere just not vents and no heat anywhere hopefully this solves it THX alot BTW my middle name is Paine we re almost bros lol
Yes it was helpful. The way they designed it we have to remove the wheel, the metal holding the bottom and top dashboard before we're able to remove the entire plenum, fan ducts and actuator. They "simplify" its fabrication so much that if you gonna do that job you did (am doing it right now) or replacing the top dash they've put screws from front towards driving area like if they did them through the firewall..so I realize they mounted the top dash to the metal plate, install the metal plate, attached the electric harnesses then they put the wheel. Insane installation. That's why to do it removing the whole metal panel would cost us almost a thousand dollars by design.
I have a slightly different issue. When I turn the AC on the drivers side works great but the passengers side blows hot air and at the same force. Do you think this would be the same fix? Also mine is a 2005, 2500 4 wheel drive diesel.
Great Job Matt, I have a 2002 dodge and I'm so glad to know this information. It was a great video and many thanks to you, I have a video on You Tube about a song I wrote in memory of Elvis if you want to watch it. It's (Merry Christmas Elvis by James McQueen). I realize you need to be an Elvis fan to like Elvis but i would appreciate a good comment on it just the same. God Bless you my friend. (Mac)
I have a 96 2500 Diesel, I bought it used, never had heat. I just discovered the blend door actuator isn't even there! I bought a heater treater, and I can install it to the metal rod that comes down and attaches to the actuator,,, but again, I have no actuator. To make matters worse, the plastic studs that hang down that an actuator would normally mount and screw into, they aren't there either. So even if I went and got an actuator, I wouldn't be able to bolt/screw it into anything. I looked to see if some idiot pryed or ripped those plastic attach points off, but it looks clean and flush, like it was made that way. Now I'm wondering if what's there is either aftermarket, or came from a different year model but still fit? WTF do I do now? Has anybody got any ideas? HAs anyone else had this issue? Can I rig some sort of contraption to that metal rod that comes down, and manually adjust the hot/cold? Any suggestions would be great, as I'm headed to a new job in freezing cold Reno area. Thanks
Should of been a 1 prt video
Mines a Phillips in the back damn