To EVERYBODY who has to do this to his or her Ford, while you're in there go ahead and replace ALL the actuators and the blend door. I had my evaporator core replaced in my 2011 Ford f250 so naturally the dash all had to come out to get to it. After they put it all back together about a week later the actuator motors under the dash went out so the dash had to come out AGAIN it cost me 2 grand for the first time and then it had to be done again to get the actuator motors out. So I haven't decided what I'm going to do about the actuator. I'm not paying another 2 grand. I saw some videos where these motors can be removed without taking ALL the dash out. Like I said, go ahead and replace all the actuators and blend door while you're in there. I've heard this has happened to other truck owners. It's a freaking nightmare! Great video my friend, thumbs up on it.
I have a 2011 F250 oil truck. Same problem, same fix. Excellent video! I would have never found the dash bolt behind the rubber grommet on the drivers door. Bought the whole actuator assembly for $45. One day of work to install. (My wife helped most of the day.) Saved myself $$$$ doing this fix myself. Thanks again!
John C What problem were you having with it? I have the same truck and my system is fully charged and the evaporator coil has been changed but some times the air is nice and cold and then it'll turn warmer and then ice cold again. Sometimes it'll stay cold for a good while but then it'll get warm. In the mornings when I turn the key I'll hear like gear clicking under the dash and it'll start that cold and warm thing right away but some mornings I'll get in it and I don't hear that clicking then it'll stay cold for a good while. Anything that you could tell me I would appreciate it. Take care buddy.
Cheers man... I just can’t get over what life was like before these sort of videos by all good people such as yourself !! It takes time to make a quick video like this and it’s very much appreciated !! Story of my life ... always something on a guys truck lol
Dude! Thanks for the video. I don’t have the same problem yet but last summer I heard something fall down into the dash and the system doesn’t blow as hard anymore. I’ve already used a bore scope to inspect the evap coil and it’s fine. Next step is to take the dash off.
we call that the spider because all of the cables coming off of it. easiest way to replace it is to pull the hvac unit out while leaving the dash in, unbolt the steering column, all electrical and pull down the ac system, remove all of the 12/10mm bolts holding the hvac unit on to the firewall and pull the dash on to the seat and hold it down with bungie straps. then you can remove the entire unit in one piece and work on it on the bench. if you do a couple you can put a new evap in, in under an hour.
Yes the heat works.It blows cold for a good while in the mornings for a couple of miles and then at of nowhere it stops blowing cold and the air velocity slows down and its not as cold anymore and then I throw it on recirculate and it'll blow just a little colder but it sounds like its clogged. Al the levels work floor,defrost,defrost and floor together work but the only problem is that it stops blowing hard out of the vents and the air is not cold.You can here it blowing hard in the box but not out of the vents.I'm about ready to get rid of it because the dealer wants like $2000.00 and me for the last two years living off of disability because of my diabetes I can't afford those prices. I wish they would leave these cars alone and leave well enough alone.I have a car from the 70s and that car has such a simple ac system and it'll freeze you out.Thanks for the reply buddy.
In my experience, when that happens it is a clogged evaporator but u said they already did that. Once it stops blowing cold try turning just A/C compressor off and leave blower on see if it starts blowing hard again after a minute or so, evaporator may be freezing up due to over/under charged system.
I have the same truck - i have a small amount of air coming out all vents and defrost - won't switch between anything? Does that sound like this actuator? I was thinking it would be all air coming out one set of vents is this actuator was out.
What was the truck originally doing when it was brought to yall? I have the same truck and I had a shop take my dash apart to replace the evaporator core and after that was done I have nothing but problems.Now I have cold air but then it starts blowing outside air and not cold and it sounds like its clogged because the air coming out of the vents slows down.It sounds like its clogged.When I turn it on high it blows hard and cold but then it slows down and its not cold anymore.This all started when they changed the evap core on it.I took it back and they try to sugar coat a turd by telling me that is normal.Cold air one minute and then no cold air is normal,I mean really guy.Whats wrong with these mechanics now days.Thumbs up on your video bud and very informative.
It's been a long time so I don't remember exactly what it was doing but I'm sure it was not blending from floor to vent/ defrost. There is another motor that controls hot/cold blend door. Sounds like that's the one that is giving you problems. Does heat work when u turn it to hot?
I have a 2012 F450 and the evap coil is bad, have you replaced one of these? Ford wants $1800.00 to replace it. I think we can take the dash off , any more hints on the dash removal ? Thanks Great video !!
Wildman Blanton the dash is very easy to remove if u have some one to help because it is bulky and a little heavy. Go ahead and set it out of the way, so you have room to disassemble the heater/Evap core box. I haven't had to replace a evap core yet but we have had to disassemble the evap box to clean the heater core and evap core because Ford did not put a cabin air filter in these trucks. If you have to replace it you will need to evacuate the refrigerant if it is still holding pressure and have mechanic vacuum and recharge system after ur done. Let me know if I can help any more. Thanks for subscribing!
TheHill74 thanks for the reply. Now we also have to change out the compressor as well it doesn't look to bad other than the steering linkage arm. Have you replaced on of these? I am going to post a vid when we do it .
I bent the bar in front of blend door motor and slid it out,since its there holding nothing and installed the new motor then bent the bar back in place.
If on my 2012 F-250 I select "Defrost" and air stops flowing next to Radio (the 2 openings) AND floor, but if I select mid-blow, air still flows out the floor too? How can you ensure air STOPS flowing to the floor (or does it always do that if you select mid air (not defrost)?
Aaron Gray when u select the vent setting it should only blow out of the vents in the front of the dash. If it is blowing from multiple areas then you have a blend door issue.
Did your truck have the center console, or the third seat? Is the dash removal process the same, or if you have the center console, does that need to be removed to slide the dash out? BTW, I got the part today, trying to plan ahead for the swap. Thanks.
No, the box is still in my backseat. Part of me knows that if these other folks who know more than me, said it requires the entire dash to be taken out, then it probably does. The other part of me thought i'd have to at least give it a try to see if you could remove it without removing the entire dash. Laying on my back on the drivers side, I see it clearly and its behind a metal bar support. I know if the entire dash needs to be removed, I had already bought flexible 1/4 and 3/8 drive extensions and also magnetic inserts for my sockets so that I would likely not drop any bolts down there. Of course if you do/did this, I would really love to know how it works out. It's on my list... been busy with xmas crap and work.
please tell me how you installed the white cable I'm lost do I take the plenum out from the top down or can you access it from the bottom .thanks in advance for your help
bigjoker4u I can’t remember exactly but I think we took the cable off of the new part and used the one on the truck because it disappears into the dash. The cable wasn’t broke on our truck. Hope this helps.
TheHill74 what was the original problem with the AC? My 2012 has driver side blowing cold but passenger side blowing hot. Is this part the concern with my issue?
big belly What I did is removed all the lower panels the lower bolts to the support bracket( Left middle) and gave that bracket a small bend about 2- 3 inches toward the driver side which gave just enough room to get the motor out.The 4 screws that hold the motor in were a little difficult to get but with a good light and lower panels out of the way you can see 3 of them the back top I did by feel. Reassy push bracket back and catch the bolts reassy lower panels.Hope this helps you. Also It is also a little bit of a pain to catch the top door when reinstalling the motor but you have to one hand it and yes it can be done.Any questions I will answer.
Thanks Crazy! Mine is stuck where I cannot use my defrost but a/c works. Dealer wanted about $1,000 to fix. Knowing me, I will put this off until I need my defrost again. I will update on success...or fail. A huge thanks to you and TheHill74 for this info. What did we do before the internet?!
big belly Be sure nothing feel down the vents that can cause a issue to.I work for a City fleet agency and I have Ford F250-550 Running around with these vents failing all the time.A few of the had Carriage Bolts to pens stuck in them.
I have one of the oil field trucks as well. Great truck so far, just a few things I have needed to fix or still need to fix. It is unbelievable how much the dealership wants to fix these things. Videos like these and then the input from viewers like you are a huge money savings to those of us that cannot or do not want to spend that much money for someone else to do it. I will make sure to check the vents as well, could have been something in there that caused the failure. Thanks again!
I am interested in how you do it so quickly. Please do a video to demonstrate, unless you are cutting and breaking things to do it. I am a professional and I can’t damage things in order to fix another on customers vehicles. Ford dealers charge $1,500+ for this repair. Thanks Bobby
To EVERYBODY who has to do this to his or her Ford, while you're in there go ahead and replace ALL the actuators and the blend door. I had my evaporator core replaced in my 2011 Ford f250 so naturally the dash all had to come out to get to it. After they put it all back together about a week later the actuator motors under the dash went out so the dash had to come out AGAIN it cost me 2 grand for the first time and then it had to be done again to get the actuator motors out. So I haven't decided what I'm going to do about the actuator. I'm not paying another 2 grand. I saw some videos where these motors can be removed without taking ALL the dash out. Like I said, go ahead and replace all the actuators and blend door while you're in there. I've heard this has happened to other truck owners. It's a freaking nightmare! Great video my friend, thumbs up on it.
I have a 2011 F250 oil truck. Same problem, same fix. Excellent video! I would have never found the dash bolt behind the rubber grommet on the drivers door. Bought the whole actuator assembly for $45. One day of work to install. (My wife helped most of the day.) Saved myself $$$$ doing this fix myself. Thanks again!
Glad I could help.
John C What problem were you having with it? I have the same truck and my system is fully charged and the evaporator coil has been changed but some times the air is nice and cold and then it'll turn warmer and then ice cold again. Sometimes it'll stay cold for a good while but then it'll get warm. In the mornings when I turn the key I'll hear like gear clicking under the dash and it'll start that cold and warm thing right away but some mornings I'll get in it and I don't hear that clicking then it'll stay cold for a good while. Anything that you could tell me I would appreciate it. Take care buddy.
John C k
Cheers man... I just can’t get over what life was like before these sort of videos by all good people such as yourself !! It takes time to make a quick video like this and it’s very much appreciated !!
Story of my life ... always something on a guys truck lol
Thanks for the reply.I'll try that as soon as my brother brings me my truck back.He's out in the woods with it camping with his family. Take care bud.
Glad I found your video, I just purchased a 2012 ex oil truck and have the same problem.. Thanks again!
Dude! Thanks for the video. I don’t have the same problem yet but last summer I heard something fall down into the dash and the system doesn’t blow as hard anymore. I’ve already used a bore scope to inspect the evap coil and it’s fine. Next step is to take the dash off.
Thanks for all the help. Saved me a ton of work.
we call that the spider because all of the cables coming off of it. easiest way to replace it is to pull the hvac unit out while leaving the dash in, unbolt the steering column, all electrical and pull down the ac system, remove all of the 12/10mm bolts holding the hvac unit on to the firewall and pull the dash on to the seat and hold it down with bungie straps. then you can remove the entire unit in one piece and work on it on the bench.
if you do a couple you can put a new evap in, in under an hour.
Cervan should do a video!
How do you replace the white cable on the actuator if it's damaged?
Yes the heat works.It blows cold for a good while in the mornings for a couple of miles and then at of nowhere it stops blowing cold and the air velocity slows down and its not as cold anymore and then I throw it on recirculate and it'll blow just a little colder but it sounds like its clogged. Al the levels work floor,defrost,defrost and floor together work but the only problem is that it stops blowing hard out of the vents and the air is not cold.You can here it blowing hard in the box but not out of the vents.I'm about ready to get rid of it because the dealer wants like $2000.00 and me for the last two years living off of disability because of my diabetes I can't afford those prices. I wish they would leave these cars alone and leave well enough alone.I have a car from the 70s and that car has such a simple ac system and it'll freeze you out.Thanks for the reply buddy.
In my experience, when that happens it is a clogged evaporator but u said they already did that. Once it stops blowing cold try turning just A/C compressor off and leave blower on see if it starts blowing hard again after a minute or so, evaporator may be freezing up due to over/under charged system.
I have the same truck - i have a small amount of air coming out all vents and defrost - won't switch between anything? Does that sound like this actuator? I was thinking it would be all air coming out one set of vents is this actuator was out.
What was the truck originally doing when it was brought to yall? I have the same truck and I had a shop take my dash apart to replace the evaporator core and after that was done I have nothing but problems.Now I have cold air but then it starts blowing outside air and not cold and it sounds like its clogged because the air coming out of the vents slows down.It sounds like its clogged.When I turn it on high it blows hard and cold but then it slows down and its not cold anymore.This all started when they changed the evap core on it.I took it back and they try to sugar coat a turd by telling me that is normal.Cold air one minute and then no cold air is normal,I mean really guy.Whats wrong with these mechanics now days.Thumbs up on your video bud and very informative.
It's been a long time so I don't remember exactly what it was doing but I'm sure it was not blending from floor to vent/ defrost. There is another motor that controls hot/cold blend door. Sounds like that's the one that is giving you problems. Does heat work when u turn it to hot?
I have a 2012 F450 and the evap coil is bad, have you replaced one of these?
Ford wants $1800.00 to replace it. I think we can take the dash off , any more hints on the dash removal ? Thanks Great video !!
Wildman Blanton the dash is very easy to remove if u have some one to help because it is bulky and a little heavy. Go ahead and set it out of the way, so you have room to disassemble the heater/Evap core box. I haven't had to replace a evap core yet but we have had to disassemble the evap box to clean the heater core and evap core because Ford did not put a cabin air filter in these trucks. If you have to replace it you will need to evacuate the refrigerant if it is still holding pressure and have mechanic vacuum and recharge system after ur done. Let me know if I can help any more. Thanks for subscribing!
TheHill74 thanks for the reply. Now we also have to change out the compressor as well it doesn't look to bad other than the steering linkage arm. Have you replaced on of these? I am going to post a vid when we do it .
I’m doing a dash swap for my other truck, is this how to take off the entire dash to swap it?
how did you get the cable out of the heater box to change the part or did yours not come with the cable
Terry Lewis it as been a long time so I don't really remember but I don't think mine came with a new cable.
thanks
Terry Lewis did you find a way to remove the cable from the lower box?
Forgot to add, do you happen to have the part number for the part?
I did same repair.. No need to take dash.. It took me 15 min.
I bent the bar in front of blend door motor and slid it out,since its there holding nothing and installed the new motor then bent the bar back in place.
Nice!!
so how much did you have to remove to get to it to bend it ?
It doesn't bend
You can do it without removing dash.. but you have to bend the metal that is infront of motor
If on my 2012 F-250 I select "Defrost" and air stops flowing next to Radio (the 2 openings) AND floor, but if I select mid-blow, air still flows out the floor too? How can you ensure air STOPS flowing to the floor (or does it always do that if you select mid air (not defrost)?
Aaron Gray when u select the vent setting it should only blow out of the vents in the front of the dash. If it is blowing from multiple areas then you have a blend door issue.
Did your truck have the center console, or the third seat? Is the dash removal process the same, or if you have the center console, does that need to be removed to slide the dash out? BTW, I got the part today, trying to plan ahead for the swap. Thanks.
Most of the trucks we have done don’t have the center console but I’m sure it would need to be remove at least partially.
Aaron did you do your swap yet ? going to swap mine tomorrow ..any advice ?
fielding513@gmail.com
No, the box is still in my backseat. Part of me knows that if these other folks who know more than me, said it requires the entire dash to be taken out, then it probably does. The other part of me thought i'd have to at least give it a try to see if you could remove it without removing the entire dash. Laying on my back on the drivers side, I see it clearly and its behind a metal bar support. I know if the entire dash needs to be removed, I had already bought flexible 1/4 and 3/8 drive extensions and also magnetic inserts for my sockets so that I would likely not drop any bolts down there.
Of course if you do/did this, I would really love to know how it works out. It's on my list... been busy with xmas crap and work.
please tell me how you installed the white cable I'm lost do I take the plenum out from the top down or can you access it from the bottom .thanks in advance for your help
bigjoker4u did the new part come with a new cable?
bigjoker4u I can’t remember exactly but I think we took the cable off of the new part and used the one on the truck because it disappears into the dash. The cable wasn’t broke on our truck. Hope this helps.
yes sir it did
thanks for the reply I will try to use the old one if I can get that end off the old part
Thanks Thehill74
I have a 08 250 with 6.4 and with ac on it blows cold on drivers and hot on passengers. Is this the same fix.. lol i hope not
Anyone know where the hose that comes off the temp sensor by steering wheel goes
Goes through the metal bracket to a ~3/4" duct right at the top of the tunnel there is a clipped fitting to disconnect it.
So the steering wheel has to be removed?
It comes out with the dash, you have to remove one 10 millimeter bolt and it will slide apart.
No it wont
Ya steering wheel must come out it has 4 connectors, one 10mm bolt and two t45 bolts and then two 11mm nuts
TheHill74 what was the original problem with the AC? My 2012 has driver side blowing cold but passenger side blowing hot. Is this part the concern with my issue?
Yikes. I think I’ll stick with just turning the vents up for my defrost lol.
For the record you DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE THE DASHBOARD! You can remove the motor.Just did one the other day.
Can you give some details of the process you used?
big belly What I did is removed all the lower panels the lower bolts to the support bracket( Left middle) and gave that bracket a small bend about 2- 3 inches toward the driver side which gave just enough room to get the motor out.The 4 screws that hold the motor in were a little difficult to get but with a good light and lower panels out of the way you can see 3 of them the back top I did by feel. Reassy push bracket back and catch the bolts reassy lower panels.Hope this helps you. Also It is also a little bit of a pain to catch the top door when reinstalling the motor but you have to one hand it and yes it can be done.Any questions I will answer.
Thanks Crazy! Mine is stuck where I cannot use my defrost but a/c works. Dealer wanted about $1,000 to fix. Knowing me, I will put this off until I need my defrost again. I will update on success...or fail. A huge thanks to you and TheHill74 for this info. What did we do before the internet?!
big belly Be sure nothing feel down the vents that can cause a issue to.I work for a City fleet agency and I have Ford F250-550 Running around with these vents failing all the time.A few of the had Carriage Bolts to pens stuck in them.
I have one of the oil field trucks as well. Great truck so far, just a few things I have needed to fix or still need to fix. It is unbelievable how much the dealership wants to fix these things. Videos like these and then the input from viewers like you are a huge money savings to those of us that cannot or do not want to spend that much money for someone else to do it. I will make sure to check the vents as well, could have been something in there that caused the failure. Thanks again!
I can replace that mode door in an hour ;)
John Kent JR how? I’ve replaced the actuator, the gear box spins with the actuator and by hand. I think I need to replace that or free the door up.
You should do a video.
I am interested in how you do it so quickly. Please do a video to demonstrate, unless you are cutting and breaking things to do it. I am a professional and I can’t damage things in order to fix another on customers vehicles. Ford dealers charge $1,500+ for this repair. Thanks Bobby
John Kent JR.....mind giving some insight?