SUCCESS on a 2013 F150 Platinum! Thank you for being a pioneer, figuring this out, and posting an awesome video and fix! Had this exact problem on my 2013 F150 last week and happened on this video while researching repair options. Your suggested repair process only took me about 2.5 hours with the benefit of your video and having the right tools (completed today, 29OCT21). That flex screwdriver is indeed a necessity, but a good tool to have nonetheless (and cheap at Lowe's...$14). I followed your instructions exactly, with three exceptions. 1. The upper cage flange in an F150 is indeed a stud with a nut and not a screw, so the flange just needed to be popped off the stud when trying to spread the cage open. Not a huge issue as the plastic is flexible enough to clear the stud, allowing the cage to be split up and open about 1". My foam was fine after the repair. 2. I used strong magnetic tools for everything and made a string follower on the tip of the flex driver to yank it into a vertical position remotely, which is almost a necessity with my huge hands. 3. When reinstalling the new door, I quickly dipped the anchor end (not the actuator end) halfway in hot tap water immediately prior to wedging it in to allow for some flexibility. This trick worked wonders and made reinstalling the door a non -issue. The actuator end was fed in first and placed mostly in its hole, the cage was spread, and the warmed anchor end was quickly popped into the housing, locating itself almost immediately while allowing the actuator end to seat in its hole as the door angle changed. I warmed one half of the door part because when I extracted the old broken door, I noticed a small stress crack up top due to the cold and brittle plastic being flexed heavily on removal. The door was moved back and forth to ensure proper seating and sealing, and the cage was buttoned back up (5 separate screws and the stud nut). Honestly, following your video, the 'hardest' part of all of this is getting the blend door actuator dismounted and re-mounted. I know you left the forward screw half seated on yours, but I had to remove my actuator entirely to get access to that difficult screw on the corner of the cage. Again, not much room there to maneuver. I would say that airbag removal is absolutely necessary for visibility to the repair as well as certain tool access. I could not have done this with the airbag in. Scariest part of this fix was messing with that airbag. Still cannot believe this all worked as well as it did. I also cannot believe the cost and effort to get this done the official Ford way.
WOW! What a great comment! Thanks so much for all the awesome info, that will for sure help others who are doing this. We're gonna pin this comment we like it so much. So glad the video helped and thanks for taking the time to comment and help the community!!
I just saw this... ame problem 🙄 ugh! Anyway thanks for this video and your efforts. I was thinking that if you were not able to get the door back in and you quit right at that spot in the repair, your air would have been fre-cycled air. Ha!🤣
Hello!! I wanted to say "Thank you" for the Video!! and for all that have commented with tips and tricks.. I tackled this little endeavor this afternoon on a 2013 Ford 150 LXT FX4.. I had all the tools out and ready and started at 230pm.. I finished at 530pm all tools put away!! Notes: I removed the Airbag, Glove box and all the rest below.. Removed the 4 housing screws 2 keeping it together and 2 holding it to the blower housing in the back.. I did not have to remove or loosen the one in the front.. I took the Motor off as well, and only loosen the front of the motor. A Flex and solid Shaft extensions are a must for this made it much more bearable to get in to the very tight spaces.. I also used a Trim remover to wedge in between the housing to pry apart, then used a C clamp to hold the Trim tool in the open position.. This is when you will need to flex the flap a bit to get the old one out.. This is not EASY and will take some convincing.. Really.... Once you get the old one out then you know the new one can go in right!!! :) I used PBlmkr suggestion, I had HOT tap water not boiling.. and let the whole thing sit in the water for about 5 min.. Also note it was 70 degrees outside today so I would not try this in the Cold or with cold plastic as you are taking a big chance it will crack on you when you have to flex it a bit to get it back in.. I was able to get the new one in by wiggling it and really maneuvering it into the housing. Once you have the new flap in place and it move freely.. you can put the 4 screws back in, then replace the Airbag. Once AB is reinstalled and back on the dash you can reconnect the Battery. Test your motor and make sure it is working. The motor is Keyed so it can only go into the flap one way so this will take a bit of maneuvering until it is in place.. Leave the engine running as this puts tension on the housing so you can put the back screw back in and tighten up the front.. This was the one mistake I made and turned off the engine and the Motor fell out and had to redo this step as the tension is released. If anyone has this problem... FORD quoted me $1800 there was no room for anything other than that amount.. The part was $135.. it took me 3 hr with this video!! I count that as a HUGE WIN!!! Again Thank you for posting this!!!
Man what a great comment! Thanks so much for posting the details to help out other viewers and we're so happy the video was helpful! That's awesome you got it done so fast, nice job!!!
Thank you for figuring this out! I just installed mine on a 2104 F150 FX4. I found using a 105 Degree 1/4 Inch Right Angle Drill Adapter Hex Shank Screwdriver Angled Bit Holder(Amazon) in conjunction with the flex tool you used helped get the screws out(and back in) easier that hold the housing in place, especially the back one closest to the firewall. I appreciate your pioneering efforts!
This is a heck of a solution, really nice job! I had this happen at 40k miles and Ford did the fix. We'll charitably say the dealership wasn't as careful with making sure everything in the dash was carefully removed without breakage and reinstalling properly as I would have liked. I still have rattles years later that I haven't been able to track down without removing the dash again. This is a way better way to go because you wont get your dash all messed up. Thanks guys!
Aww man that sucks. Yeah we had another viewer tell us that his broke at 25k, but that left him in warranty so that was good. But still, you make a good point about the dash maybe not ever being the same. Thanks for commenting!
SOOOO happy to find this video. Mine just broke about 5 minutes ago and I've been holding on to this video in my 'saved' youtube list for a rainy day. That day has come! I'll report back once fixed! I'm going to try the flapper from the Dorman version... we'll see if I regret that! I'll be fixing it after an upcoming RV trip. In the meantime, I dropped the motor, removed the piece, reached up and manually put it in recirculation mode. As long as no one farts, we'll be good.
@@iholguin303 Well I have a confession to make. Once I opened it up, I ended up just zip-tying the flapper into the recirculate position. I figure in the 10 years I've owned the truck I've never NOT had it in recirculate, so, I just stuck it there permanently.
So glad you posted this. I just ran into this exact problem today on my 2013 lariat. I thought maybe a twig or something got into the blower motor and was making a sound. Took it apart and found that exact Broken actuator piece. Looks like I’ll be spending a few hours trying this out in the very near future.
Dude, you are awesome! Your endeavors helped me save a lot of money. My dealer quoted me over $2,000 a couple years ago for this repair. I didn't complete it as fast as you, it took me a little over 4hrs, but it's done and it's so nice to have the ability to prevent those outside smells again in bumper to bumper traffic. I pray I never have to do it again, it's still not a super fun job, even with your great instructions. 👍🏼 up from me!
Nicely done!! When the part broke on mine and fell down into the squirrel cage/fan, it seemed to have shorted out the resistor as well. I had to replace the resistor because it would only run full blast from that point forward. Just replaced the resistor last week and working fine now. Just be sure to disconnect the battery while you replace the resistor and it resets the system. Went through 2 resistors before we figured that out. Thank you Lord! The third time worked. Now my variable speed control on the fan is back. :)
I have the same problem and I'm going to attempt it this coming spring. I wish you showed how to take out the air bag since I've never messed with one before. Thanks for the rest of the information though, it will defiantly come in handy when I attempt to do this myself.
We hear ya, airbags are tricky and they can blow up lol. Check out a more detailed description at 4:00 minutes in this video. th-cam.com/video/L5-lesrpeHI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=MotorsandMischief
Don't have to say this was the most useful video I've seen in a very long time. And saved me a bunch of time and help me maximize my income on this repaired
Just pulled this same broken part out of the blower housing today and hopped on TH-cam to see what's involved. Seeing the amount of work required, I can live with it for a while. Right now it's too hot to be doing it. Thanks for the video!
In the meantime you can just affix the broken flap with a screw and leave it in re-circ all the time. Worked for me with basic tools. @MotorsandMischief video helped me out big time!
I fixed mine today (2010 F150) that was broken for about 2 years. I'm in South Texas, so the early summer heat finally made me get off my butt and fix it! I went the Southern Engineering way - took off the blower motor, rotated the door to recirculate, then fashioned a piece of 1/2" x 1/2" wood dowel to jamb the door in permanent recirculate. Down here, I run the AC about 10 months out of the year, the rest of the time it's heat or windows down. I don't mind recirculate 100% of the time. I cannot believe Ford has not engineered a better fix for the door, either a better plastic, a metal connector (that will not break over time), or some type of "stop" for the actuator motor to minimize stress on the door.
Right? Someone else posted that they use the same system on Explorers and other vehicles and its been breaking these parts for a loooooong tome. What the heck Ford? Anyway, good job and thanks for commenting!
You are AWESOME for posting this SUPER informative video! Not many people would help the Ford community with the level of detail that you provided. Just yesterday I started hearing a noise in the fan of my 2003 F150 that sounds like something has fallen into it. Gonna pull the blower motor fan assembly out and see if that's what is happening. If so, I am saving your video for sure!
JUST had that problem today!!. It seems straight forward :).. question about how to zero the actuator. I don't follow that part. can you elaborate some more?
Haha great timing then! That's a great question and we can for sure elaborate. Jake simply meant that you need to make sure the motor is in the same position as the door. The easiest way to do that is disconnect the motor, put it in the closed (recirc) position using the switch on the dash, and then put the door in the closed (recirc) position and attach the motor (or put everything in the open (fresh) position, it doesn't matter, as long as the door and the motor are the same). The reason this is necessary is because you have no way of knowing which position the door broke in, so its easiest to just "reset" it by removing it, putting it into a known position and then matching the door to it. Good luck with when you do it and keep us posted!
Thanks for the video! Very informative! Huge headache of a problem but got it fixed. The part cost me $145 from the Ford dealer so basically saved $1,500.
SUCCESS on a 2011 F-150 Raptor! (But wow, what a 4-day struggle in the driveway, but that's DIY-life) 1. I found six air inlet housing mounting screws to remove, instead of four in the video. Damn you, Ford! I had to sit down for an hour (with the wifey) and spatially work out how to get to the last screw directly behind the inlet cage. It was not possible to get to it via a bendy wrench or a lot of extensions. The only way I could reach the screw in the back was with a small Kobalt ratcheting wrench I had in a mini-toolkit. (That little kit has proven to work wonders on many projects. I highly recommend it for tight spaces). Anyway, I managed to figure out I could reach up into the cage, through where the fan motor/squirrel cage are mounted and get to the rear screw that way. Friggin' Genius. 2. I removed just about everything, Carpet, seats, passenger airbag, console, Sony amp, EVERYTHING! The only way I could successfully reach up into the housing correctly was lying across the center console with my feet to the driver's side so I could lie on my back and jam my right arm into the housing to get the damn screw out. That mini ratchet made it happen. It also got many other tightly-seated HVAC screws out. One side is 1/4" and the other side is 8mm... The larger 8mm side is perfect for this project. 3. That screw in the back did not go back in, along with another pesky one. Four screws is enough... give me a break! After screwing down the mounting screws, it didn't move from rocking it back and forth. It's in there good! 4. Magnetic tools recommended as well. They help for guiding screws back to their mounting holes upon assembly. (And also if you happen to drop a screw... or all of them) I managed to get this project done and the center console blend door actuator replaced (Thanks to YT channel: FordTechMakuloco) Thanks again for the great video and enthusiasm to get this baby fixed! -- Below is the Kobalt toolkit that has paid for itself at least 10 times by now. www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-35-Piece-Standard-SAE-and-Metric-Polished-Chrome-Mechanics-Tool-Set/3387640 $19.98 in FL
Awesome video! I just took off the squirrel cage fan and removed the broken gear and reinstalled original fan. I prefer the recirculating position and don't want to spend extra $$ to replace door. Will it stay in the recirculating position if manually put in that position while reinstalling squirrel cage fan? TIA
So glad it helped you! When we were messing with our door, it seems like it flopped around fairly easily without the gear on there. It *may* stay if you put it in recirc and then button it back up, but it might bounce open when you hit a bump, not sure. To be sure it stays closed you might want to tape it shut or something so it can't move. Warning, tho, some manufacturers, like Mercedes and some other Fords, will automatically limit the amount of recirc time and forces a switch to fresh air. We don't know if this is a safety item and we'd hate anyone to have an issue off of something we recommended, especially someone who liked one of our videos! So just keep that in mind if you decide to keep it closed.
There’s TH-cam video where a guy shows how/what he did to keep the door in the recirc position. “2014 Ford F150 Air Recirculating issue” Basically, he used a very long extension on his screw gun, and coming in from the side of the dash, put a screw through the housing which kept the door from moving.
Very good video. Fixed mine today on my 09. I was wondering why my a/c wasnt working good this last summer. Also why air was coming through the vents when the controls were off. I just ran a screw through the door to lock it in the closed position. If i need fresh air ill roll the window down before i suffocate 😅
Thank you for this awesome video. My recirculating does not work on 2012 f150 fx4. I replaced the actuator, and it is still not working (it worked 2 times) after the replacement of a brand-new actuator, and then stopped. The flap door is perfectly fine and moves freely with NO broken parts. The recirculating button on the front control panel lights up when you push it, but I'm not sure if it actually works properly or not or sends proper voltage to the actuator. Right now the flap and actuator stuck on "Fresh Air" and will not go back to recirculating. Any suggestion how to check the connector power into the actuator pins with a meter when pushing the recirculation button? Another words what pin powers up when Circulation is on and what pins powers on when its on off position (5 wire pin connector that goes to the actuator, not sure what each wire/pin does and what voltage goes through each pin when its on or off position). Any help or sugestion, I greatly appreciate. I honestly think the actuator is not getting any power or gets some power but stops....not 100% sure tho.
This looks amazing! The recirc door on my 2014 F-150 broke and I have been looking for a fix like this. I am going to purchase the parts and give it a shot! Thank you for the video
Worked! Lowe’s in WA doesn’t carry that tool but Amazon had an extension that was a must. You are a money saver. Took about 4-5 hours because, well, beer. Now please figure out how to replace the rear backup camera and get zoom working again without paying for a $300 Ford camera. Very happy subscriber.
will this also make your heater only work in half the cab my truck blows hot air on driver side but still blows cold air on passenger side my truck? makes the same noise with the rattling
Great video! I decided to give it a try yesterday on my F150. Unfortunately, I decided to stop and I wanted to share why so those of you considering this can decide for yourselves. Based on the good suggestions from the video, I didn't really have much trouble getting all the bolts and screws out using a flexible driver, 1/4" ratchet with u-joint, and a couple of other tools. In the video Uncle Jake commented you might want to take out the airbag and I would strongly recommend that you do as the visibility it provides is pretty important. So, why didn't I succeed? A couple of reasons. First, at the top of the plastic assembly (the assembly he purchased), there wasn't a screw holding it in place. Instead it was a metal bracket with a bolt welded onto it. The bolt stuck through the hole in the top of the plastic assembly. I tried to push the bolt through the hole in the plastic assembly by deflecting the metal bracket (flexing the metal bracket but, not permanently bending it) but, it stopped moving with probably 1/4" of the bolt not through the plastic assembly. I looked closer and saw that when I pushed the bolt through the hole, it hit against another part and stopped moving. So, why is this important? If you purchased the new assembly as I did, look at the bottom of it and notice the lip on the bottom. You have to push the unit up the height of this lip before you can begin prying it apart. So, back to the metal tab and bolt. The bolt wouldn't allow me to push up on the assembly. However, even if there wasn't a bolt welded to the metal bracket and it instead used a screw like all the others, the bracket itself would prevent the required vertical movement. It looked to me like you would have to bend the tab and twist it out of the way to allow the vertical movement. My truck is not a Raptor, so this might be different on the regular F150s. Back to the vertical movement necessary to allow you to begin prying open the plastic assembly. You can only move 1/2 of the plastic assembly as described in the video - basically opening it like a clamshell. The other half of the assembly is still bolted/screwed in and won’t move. Also, keep in mind that the back of the assembly is still screwed in. So, if you are able to achieve the vertical movement to free the front of the clamshell to pry it open, the lip on backside of the clamshell will still be in the piece below. So, when you pry it open, it looks like you’ll be prying it open against the lip at the back. Finally, you have pry the clamshell open a fair amount. I didn’t measure how much I had to open the new assembly to remove the flap however, it was probably 1 1/2”. I tore the foam on the new assembly when I opened it up to remove the flap. When you’re doing it in the truck, keep in mind you have to move it up and then pry it open as well. When practicing, you only have to pry it open. So, now I have a new part with torn foam. Do, I replace it to be safe or have it installed anyway - TBD. The dealership said they were doing this on a truck now. They had a good suggestion - they are replacing all 3 actuators under the dash since they will have it out. $1750 including the 3 actuators and the new assembly. Lot of money to replace a simple plastic part! So, Uncle Jake rocks! He did accomplish a very impressive thing in my view. He might have additional input or suggestions on the issues I faced. Success on these type of projects depend on the details and knowing what you are going to face. If you’re like me, you have a limited time to spend. I wish everyone luck and success!!
Tim this is an awesome comment, and thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Thanks also for giving it a shot; we're sorry it didn't work out for you. What year F-150 do you have? We're still trying to document differences between the model years as well as between the F-150 and the Raptor. Uncle Jake did want to pass on to you that when he did his, he really had to crank on that part, as he says there is a lip there that he had to get over (he said to push down with your fingers and up with your thumb, if that makes any sense to you). He said "you can't be afraid to break the piece" and clarified that he doesn't feel like it will break, it's pretty tough plastic, but it *could* and, at least for him, he was going to replace it no matter what so if it did break he'd have to figure out another way. So not sure if that helps you or others who may be searching the comments but Uncle Jake does confirm it needs quite a lot of force to get it out. Keep us posted on how the repair goes with your rig and thanks again for commenting!
Also, in thinking about this, if anyone does take it to the dealer/ pull the dash themselves, we'd recommend changing not just the actuators but the doors as well. Our actuator was working fine with the broken door.
Hello, I have a 2014 F-150, non-raptor version, too. I was able to get past the bracket problem after I noticed that the top of the metal bracket bolts on to the underside of the dash with just one nut. Because there's only one on each end of the metal bracket, it's not a permanent part of the dash. In fact, it could be removed if you could get to the top nut. However, that's not possible without taking the dash out, because it's blocked by the plastic tube that feeds the far right vent. Alternatively, I was able to push the stud with bracket through the hole and then swivel the entire bracket to the right, up and out of the way. Because there's only one nut holding the metal bracket at the top, you can swivel it with a little force.
Could there be any electrical issues that could also cause the flap to stay in fresh air? My 2012 XLT is stuck in fresh air, the button lights up for recirc, and my fan doesn’t vibrate. It blows fine, it’s just stuck in fresh air. Or could it just be that the broken piece hasn’t fallen into the squirrel cage yet? I’m in southern Louisiana and I break a sweat just from walking out my front door to the truck!
Success! Thank you Sir! 2013 lariat Couldn't find the flex driver but a reversible ratchet 15° wrench worked inverted there was just enough to get 2 clicks out of the 72 tooth but it would have been so much easier with the flex screwdriver. That screwed was an hour out and 45 min back in.
Man good job making it work anyway! That silly little flex driver is gold for this project but if anyone is doing it unexpectedly, good to know there's a ratchet combo that will work. Thanks for posting!
The same exact thing happened to me with my 2013 FX4, 3 days after I had the whole dash removed to replace the evaporator core assembly, how could that have caused this recirc door to break the drive hub off. Meeting with the manager this morning and could use some opinions regarding what they owe me if anything. Thx for the great video!
This video was super instructional and saved me some $$$. I just replaced my door today and it took some time and patience. I ended up using screwdrivers to pry the two halves of the housing apart. The back screws are the worst. Thanks guys for the informative video.
That's awesome, so glad to hear it! And yeah the back screws are horrible, we're not sure how to do it without that tool but some viewers have figured out how, so its not mandatory but man it almost is. Thanks for commenting!
Success for a 2006 Charger too. Thank you. This saved a lot of time by just repacing the actuator, and recerculation door. Tip, 10mm deep socket on the top nut. They used lock tight, making it tougher. Went back together very nicely. Again, thanks.
Thanks for the solution. I fixed mine today. A couple thoughts for the next folks. First I bought a 90 degree drive adaptor that really helped with a couple screws. Second I really had to pull hard on the housing. I ended up removing completely the screw towards the cowl behind the motor. This enabled me to open it further. I had to open it about 1.5”. Practicing with the new part really helped. Thanks again.
Very nice work around. Same problem with a 2014 F150 Raptor. We were driving down a dirt road and my GF said what is that noise? Is there someone in the forest driving a motorcycle we cant see. Nope it was that fresh air door that broke. I like the work around, now I just have to do it!! I will!! Thanks to your video. The plastic pieces nowadays, ugh.... I might try something different like somehow locking the door into the recirculation position and calling it a day. Either way, thank you for this video and all your other ones too.
Thanks so much for the kind comments, we really appreciate them! If you decide to lock it into recirc (as a bunch of viewers have said they're going to do), just remember a lot of manufacturers have the computer switch out of recirc after a while to get fresh air into the cabin. We have no idea how well sealed a typical F-150 is, but we can't afford to lose any viewers so please be careful!!
success here too, Getting to the 2 screws on the front edge almost stopped the repair but I cheated by cutting out some of the grille to get to them through the fan hole,a hack I know, but its just pulling inside air into the fan. and there is a 10 mm nut on a strap on the top edge, so, 4 screws for the "clamshell",4 screws hold the assy. on top of the "fan box", and the 10 mm nut .sound right?
thanks to your video i was able to track down this problem on my 1999,the flap had come loose and fallen down blocking the blower motor resulting in low air flow through the vents of course the local shop wanted 1500 to replace the evaporator
Awesome work! I'm not ready to tackle this as so far I don't seem to mind fresh air all the time but I also haven't hit summer yet... One question I have though.... When the part broke off and I pulled it out of the fan and replaced the fan the recirc motor seems to CONSTANTLY run even when the truck is turned off and key is out. Seems to be slowly draining the battery which is becoming a real problem in the winter. Would you think disconnecting the actuator motor would solve this so the motor just can't run? Did you notice if the wire harness to it was "easily" accessible while you were in there? Thank you for the great video!!
Interesting question! Since the computer is looking for a certain amount of resistance in that motor, it makes sense that it would run it until it found that resistance, unless Ford programmed it to stop trying after a certain amount of time (which would make sense, but, well, Ford). It certainly shouldn't be running after the key is turned off, but unplugging it won't hurt anything and will for sure keep it from hunting for the resistance value its looking for when the truck is on. We're not aware of any errors or codes that would bother you or interfere with normal function if that's unplugged. Uncle Jake does mention that connector in the video, we'll figure out what the time stamp is and edit this comment so you can find it easily. Thanks for commenting!
@@MotorsandMischief I got to it from underneath. Little red safety tab and then depress black tab and wiggle free. Not the easiest to get at but no removals needed beyond trim and glovebox. At this point with this 2013 I'm beyond wanting to do the full Uncle Jake fix. Just screwed it in the recirc position and voila. We'll see if unplugging it causes anything else to go wonky. I'll update if so. Thank you again!
@@brodiebirkel I am having the same thoughts. I have not had battery issues like Brodie, but I can hear the actuator running when you put the key on in the car and when leaving. I have a 2013 F-150 XLT 4x4. I have previously removed the broken plastic piece in the squirrel cage. But now thanks to the video and comments, I think I will disconnect the actuator and screw the door permanently in the recirculating position. If I want fresh air, I have 5 windows I can open.
@@m.g.1784 so I screwed mine open and I’m curious about it effects on my defrost in Wisconsin in January. When I have kids in the car we start to fog up even with the defrost running 🤦🏼♂️. I’ve since removed the screw I put in but can’t be sure the flap dropped back to vent. Time to take it apart again and test it out. It seems the only time recirc is used automatically by the truck is Max AC so shutting it for the winter may have been a mistake…. On a positive note I got a new battery and my truck is starting in the cold again!!! I can’t be certain it was the constant cycle of the damper motor but it certainly can’t help matters.
@@brodiebirkel how did you screw the door shut so it's in recirc? I don't think I want to go through the trouble of this even though its way easier than pulling the dash. I'm not pulling the dash unless I lose the evap or heater core, and with 237 on it I might toss the keys in it and call it a day.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I was wondering if when 'spreading open' the housing, one of the small Air Wedge Bags would work. I have used them for other projects and they allow you to precisely spread an assembly open with a simple hand pump. You can purchase a set of 3 for around $20.
That's a really good idea! We're gonna order some up and do a video showing how the Air Wedge Bags can work. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for commenting!
For what it is worth, spreading the cage was not hard to do by hand or stressful on the part. If you remove the 5 screws and stud nut, it is pretty easy to separate. It doesn't spread immediately sideways...you need to pull while lifting to get the lip to pop up. Once mine was spread initially to remove the broken door, it stayed that way more or less until I closed it up again.
Wowza! You da man! I found you after replacing fan and finding this piece. I’m wondering if the recirculating door would be up or down for recirculating? I’m going to try and screw, wedge or just tape it for always recirculating. Thanks again one day when my son comes to visit we may tackle ur way.
Really glad the video was helpful. We always recommending fixing it into the fresh air setting rather than the recirc because modern designers will turn off recirc after a certain amount of time to prevent asphyxiation. We don't know if this is strictly necessary or is just the lawyers being overly cautious but we like to err on the side of caution. Thanks for commenting!
using your camera view up into the blower compartment, the exterior intake screen had all kinds of JUNK stuck in it. Would an air nozzle eject that debris back out the exterior intake?
Very nice video and commentary. History made and now you can set up shop and fix these all day every day based on the number of people who have complained about the 'fan noise'.
Haha right? And other viewers have noted that this goofy system is used in Explorers, Rangers and a bunch of other Ford vehicles. Crazy! Thanks for commenting!
Great video. I appreciate your help. I am having trouble “zeroing out” the actuator motor, I can’t get the motor shaft to go in the grooves of the door on that side. Any suggestions or help?
Hello, Thank you so much for your effort! Instead of doing all that can I just disconnect it? Is it possible or can I just take the fuse out? Thank in advance!
You can definitely disconnect it! Just watch up to the point where I pull that motor out, just before I do that I disconnect it. Also, if you want you can decide what position you want to blend door to be in, recirc or fresh. You will have to remove the fan, hold the door in position, and drive a small screw threw the case and into the door. If you dont care that its fresh, just leave it as is. One other note, if you have anything that has broken loose and fallin into the fan, you can just take that out and clean the broken parts and you are good to go!
@@MotorsandMischief Thank you for replying back! My is not broken, I'm just want to disconnect before it breaks... Since I still have that options to keep it close, I just don't know where to disconnect it!?
Oh gotcha. The video will show you where the connector is, and we'd recommend disconnecting it when the door is open, allowing fresh air in. Some viewers have jammed it in the closed position, and this may be fine, but we do know some manufacturers force a switch to fresh air after a certain amount of time to prevent potential asphyxiation problems, so we'd err on the side of caution and go with the fresh air rather than the recycled. Good luck!
So what port needs to be changed? Is it the whole air duct or is it just the flap? And would you have the part number available? Thank you for this video.
My 2011 recirc button no worky. at around 128k.. just took the acuator off and found the broken door piece (which fell into the housing). This is my near future! Great video!
@@MotorsandMischief Will do... currently locked the door into "summer recirc only" mode via painter's tape, and once it cools down here in FL ... NEW DOOR GOING IN!
Hi Curtis! It falls down into the open position. So, if you wanted to be recirculated it would need to be in the up position. Unfortunately it wont stay up on its own, but some have used a small screw to hold it in the up position. Thats if the part I fixed is broken on the flap itself. If its the motor thats broke, its possible it might stay in the up position. Good luck and come back and tell us how it went!
If resistance is what stops the gate motor, does it still need to be set at a certain starting/stopping point at installation of the new gate? 2013 F150
You are 100% correct! So no… it doesn’t. We weren’t positive when we filmed the video but have since confirmed it works exactly as you say. So it can safely just be stuffed in there and it will adjust itself. Thanks for the comment!
So I have a question, do I need to remove the green screws from the back that hold the assembly together? I know I have to remove the one that is towards the rear that bolts it down. Prepping to do this on a 2014 ford f150. So far I have all the screws out except for the two in the rear that hold the assembly together. Thanks.
Sounds like you have it about ready! Take a look at 12:20, thats a great spot in the video to see what screws I take out and where they are at. You basically have to take out the screws on the right side, including two lower ones, so you can pull it apart. That spot in the video shows the locations. Good luck and tell us how it goes!!
Great question. The motor is not to difficult to change out, so if the part that inserts into the door looks good you are probably fine to use the old one, and it quits working its way easier to change than the door. Its also not a super expensive part, so it might be worth just swapping it for a new one.
I have a 2015 Ford F150 twin Turbo 3.5 my AC actuator's stop working how can I get them open without opening the hole taking the whole - off just to open them up or which ones are the ones that really go out instead of changing them all out and wasting money
Thank you! Based on the comment discussions here we’re of the opinion that no, you don’t need to clock it like we did. However, no one has reported back to confirm this yet so if you do it, let us know if it works. Thanks for the question!
Thanks for the video! I recently removed the broken recirculation door gear from the blower motor and fixed the really loud noise. I left the recirculation door as it was and put everything back together. I now have a faint buzzing noise that is present for the first few minutes of starting the truck and again after I turn off the truck. Is this the recirculation door actuator that is still trying to open/close the recirculation door? If so, is there a way to unplug the recirculation door actuator or a fuse to disable it? Thank you for the help!
I figured it out. The buzzing noise was the recirculation door actuator that was continuing to turn. I was able to unplug it by just reaching up from the bottom (next to the blower motor) with my left arm. To unplug it, you have to first pull out the red tang, then depress the flange on the connector with one finger, then pull out the connector. After unplugging, no more buzzing sounds! Note, I also took off the small side panel between the glove box/air bag and the passenger door so I could see what I was doing back there. Hope this helps someone.
Great reply @thailey3 thanks! That buzzing is something I didnt think about, without resistance that gear will just keep turning for a period of time. Great input.
Great video. I'm getting ready to tackle same project on 2014 Raptor. "Thought" WRT installing the door open or closed dependent of the Switch... What difference does it make? If I understand correctly, the door motor stops (open and closing) when it reaches preset tension controlled probably by a potentiometer. If I'm correct then it doesn't matter which position the door is installed in or which position the Recirculation switch is in? Does this make since? Also, does it make since that the door motor could be the root cause of the door spline breaking: e.g. if the motor doesn't turn off then will continually apply pressure to the spline... With this thought in mind, and assuming I successfully change out the door I'll check the motor operation before reinstalling the blower. One more question: from the video I see there are 4 screws (2 front/2 back) holding the housing together. Do/did you remove all 4 screws or just the 2 at the rear of the assembly?
We believe you're absolutely correct. In an abundance of caution we put it back the way it was as you saw us do in the video, but we think you're right on both counts: the motor just spins until it gets enough resistance so it doesn't matter where it is in the cycle and also, its probably putting too much force on that door and its what's causing this (very) common problem. Indexing the motor so it "knew" where the door was and then using a pre-determined arc (90 degrees or so) would eliminate the too much force problem but then would require the motor to be properly indexed to the door, something that is (probably) not necessary now and (probably) speeds assembly for Ford. Let us know what you find and thanks for the comment!
@@MotorsandMischief Can you answer my question WRT removing all 4 screws from the housing. I'm pretty sure I just have to remove the 2 clamshell screws on the rear side. BTW, I just picked up the housing from the Ford Dealer and removed the blend door. Upon inspecting door end where the motor attaches the splines will only align in one way. There's definitely no need to worry about the switch and/or door position when reinstalling the blend door motor (it only goes on one way.)
Check out our video on the SYNC upgrade for this truck, we give detailed instructions on pulling the airbag in that video (you can search the channel content for SYNC). We really need to make a standalone video from that footage but we haven’t yet. We’ll post here when we do. Thanks for the question!
My dog fell into The control dial and drove it to the full on setting. The dial is above the normal range and the blower motor is in constant full speed. How can I reset the dial to get the full range of fan speed
Does this effect the cooling affect during Hot Texas Summer; I was thinking I had a low charge and had the evacuated the system and recharged it; but remembered that I had that issue and removed the broken piece out of the blower a couple of summers back; but do notice when I lower the speed it feels cooler but that outside hot air is coming through due to the flapper/ damper being in the fresh air position I would suspect
Its sure possible, when this is broke it usually breaks, or falls, into the fresh air setting. So its always pulling in the hot outside air. You can take out the fan and manually put it into the recycled position, but something will need to hold it there. Some guys are running a small screw through the housing into the door to hold it in that recycled position. Funny enough, a lot of them commenting are in Texas lol.
I have this problem and have yet another idea! The actual switch that moves the “door”. Could that possibly be replaced and attached to the existing door inside? Since all of those can be accessed in this video, I’m wondering if that’s possible… Please please let me know if you think it is possible.
The typical problem is that the door snaps in two, and the little stub area that sits inside the housing and connects to the motor breaks off. That's the little piece we found rattling around in the blower housing. So yes, your idea would work, but would be a great fix for if the door actuator motor was broken and not the door itself. But we love the ideas, thanks for sharing!!
Everyone should know before attempting this task, check you wiring diagrams in the section of the dash. There is a connection for the airbags and when disconnecting that harness you can potentially cause a electrical discharge and ignite that air bag. The emergency room is not fun. Thanks for the video bud. Helped me a bit.
Thank you for the comment. In case we weren't clear in the video, air bags can kill you if they go off next to your head. ALWAYS disconnect the battery and then give the capacitor time to discharge before messing with the airbag. Capacitors are designed to hold power long enough to fire the airbag in an accident if the crash severs the power supply before the airbags can go off, so typically they only hold a charge for about 30 seconds. Err on the side of extreme caution and let them sit for 10 minutes after the power is disconnected. Every manufacturer we're familiar with gives times less than 10 minutes, but check the manufacturer's recommendations on your own vehicle to be sure.
Cylinder head temperature sensor? Its screwed into the drivers side cylinder head... under the intake manifold in the valley next to the knock sensors.
When you talk about the motor, just to be clear, are you speaking about the blend door actuator? In other words, would I need to replace the blend door actuator AND the door itself? In my case I have the broken piece in the squirrel cage... there is no mistaking that noise. But I also have a little noise that persists after the truck is off. I thought actuator hunting but all the examples have a clicking noise. This is more of buzzing. Another video claims it's the ecoboost vacuum pump failing. it's right against the firewall. I'll see if the actuator has a fuse I can pull. This video is a big deal BTW. Thank you for doing it.
Oh, never mind. I see in another video. The housing for the flap has a female end for the actuator. That is what breaks off. Oh my sweet plastic nightmare.
I recently removed the broken gear from the blower motor to fix the really loud noise. I left the recirculation door as it was and put everything back together. I now have a buzzing noise (like you said) that is present for the first few minutes of starting the truck and even after I turn off the truck. Did you figure out what this was?
@@thailey3 I parked the truck for now. Monday I will decide the plan of attack (and see if parts are available). Everyplace was closed for the holiday.
@@briangregus5225 I figured it out. The buzzing noise was the recirculation door actuator that was continuing to turn. I was able to unplug it by just reaching up from the bottom (next to the blower motor) with my left arm. To unplug it, you have to first pull out the red tang, then depress the flange on the connector with one finger, then pull out the connector. After unplugging, no more buzzing sounds! Note, I also took off the small side panel between the glove box/air bag and the passenger door so I could see what I was doing back there. Hope this helps someone.
@@thailey3 That gives me a little happiness actually. Most of the noises people have posted related to the actuator is a ticking (from missing teeth). The only buzzing videos were related to the vacuum pump (which on the ecoboost is also responsible for braking assist if I am not mistaken). If you're getting a buzzing from it that is good news for me. If it's just the actuator... that at least has no safety concerns associated. I think I'll be doing the full fix, jamming a new blend gate in there.
(ORIGINAL) I'm in the process of doing this repair on my 2014 F-150. I can't figure out how to open the 'cage' enough to get the door out. It moves freely upwards (compressing the foam), but I can't get the two half to separate enough to get the door out. Is there a trick? or just brute force...? EDIT: I got it done! I'll be honest, it was a pain in the butt. Yes, saved me a good bit of money. But ... it was frustrating. Total time ... maybe 4-5 hours with an overnight break. An important note - I did this when it was about 45 deg outside. This probably contributed to the frustration -- cold/dry hands, stiff parts, etc. I suggest doing this (as previously suggested) in a warm garage or in the summer. I followed the steps in the video and comments below, with a few key learnings: 1) There are various wires/pins that I undid to make it easier to navigate. I did NOT remove the airbag, but I imagine it may have made a couple steps a bit easier had I done that. 2) I removed 5 screws (the two visible screws connecting the two halves of the clamshell, and three around the bottom of clamshell connecting to the base). I couldn't find the suggested Kobalt tool in Canada, so I settled for a flexible extension on my 1/4" drive. 3) I also removed the top nut (not a bolt) connecting the clamshell to a metal connecting flange. Loosening the second nut on the top of the flange makes it easier to get the bolt out of the top of the clamshell by swinging the flange out of the way. 3) Getting the clamshell opened enough to get the old flap/door out was a major(!!) pain. I eventually used a tip from the comments: wedge a trim remover (about 3/8 thick by 1.5" wide) between the two halves through the glove box opening. Then, I attached vice grips at a 90-deg angle to serve as a handle. I twisted the trim remover 90-deg which pried the two halves apart. I then used a mini quik-grip clamp to hold the vice grips in place and prevent the trim puller from slipping out. 4) Even so, the old door was a pain to get out. Once I got a good grip on the non-gear side, I pulled until ... and it broke. It came out pretty easy when 1/4 of it was busted off :) 5) I used the hot water heating method to warm the new door before installing. Even so, it was a bit of a trick convincing it to go into the clamshell. It finally went, and after re-seating the clamshell, I had a problem: the new door wouldn't freely move back and forth. The two ends were seated correctly in their respective pivot points, but I figured the new door became disfigured from heating -> forcing into position -> cooling in the 45-deg weather. If I pulled down on the door from inside, it would move without catching on the inside of the cage. Letting go caused the door to catch. So ... I got the heat gun out and heated the door from underneath. After heating for a bit, I use vice grips to pull the door downward, effectively molding it back into its 'correct' shape (or at least one that allowed free movement). 6) I put the actuator and fan back in place (no special actions done to reconfigure/cycle the motor). Then I buttoned everything back up, which proved difficult without a magnet -- but we got the job done. 7) Fired up the truck - worked like a charm! As mentioned -- it was an exercise in frustration, but having saved money, I'm quite pleased!
This is a great right up, thank you! Yes, we agree, the cold really makes it a lot harder. Doing it in the heat (or having a heat gun as as you and some other viewers have suggested) really makes a difference. Good job getting it done, 4-5 hours is still a respectable time! Thanks for the in-depth comments, they'll be really helpful to other viewers!
Mine has a bunch of leaves above the air inlet duct like yours did, he leaves probably block a lot of the fresh air from coming in. Do you know how to get the leaves out? I don't see how they got in there.
Apologies for any confusion, we did buy the whole assembly, about $90 when we did this and the part number from Ford is listed in the description. We pulled the door out of the new assembly and saved the housing in case we need it in the future. Thanks for the question!
They call it a Kobalt 1/4-in Spinner Handle with Flexible Shaft. It should be listed in the description but here's the link to make it easy for you. www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-1-4-in-Spinner-Handle-with-Flexible-Shaft/3382208 Thanks for the question!
Great video, thanks for sharing. I think I will order up the part and go to Lowes for the Dec tool and hopefully will have the same success. Better than smelling exhaust all summer long! Thanks again.
On my way in to the office the other day, the HVAC intake flap broke (a known F150 issue) in my truck. Scared the crap out of me because I had the fan on medium, and I was on the freeway and the whole inside cab began vibrating violently. I thought I had a blown tire or I was about to lose my transmission! I started changing lanes, getting over to the far right lane to get myself on the shoulder. I noticed that my speed decrease didn't change the pitch of the shaking, and I thought that maybe it was something else. I continued on to work and as I drove, the engineer mindset kicked in. To listen better to what was going on, I turned my fan speed down...and the vibrating decreased! I researched it (gotta live Google), and realized the the end of the HVAC flap that was driven by the actuator (to open and close the flap- fresh air versus recycled air) had sheered off, and the broken piece was now in the squirrel cage beneath it, throwing the fan off balance. Today's project was to get in the squirrel cage and remove it. The complete fix whould be to remove the piece, and replace the flap ($2400 at the dealership, because they have to remove the whole dash and center console to do it), but I just wanted that broken piece out so my fan would balance and I would have no more vibration. I don't use the 'recycled air' setting anyway, so... Today, having learned I could get to the squirrel cage without removing the dash and whatnot (because I was small and had small hands), I went under my dash (after removing the glove box and pulling back the carpet along the firewall), and removed the squirrel cage and got the busted piece out and put everything back together. 1.5 hours, and tore up my right forearm a bit, but that fixed it!!! All thanks to Motors and Mischief up on TH-cam... (th-cam.com/video/aop-XfuFqFM/w-d-xo.html). That dude rocks! Now its time for a shower and breakfast for sure! Happy Sunday peeps!
Happy to have run into this video..I tried to get mine replaced but was unsuccessful to do because I couldn't get those 2 screws all the way in the back loose. How were you able to accomplish that as it seems almost impossible to reach them. Appreciate any more advice
For the screws on the back, Jake had to go with reaching up behind and going by feel. He says its actually not too difficult once you figure out how it has to go on. There is a shot that shows the piece out of the vehicle so you can see where those screws are, which should hopefully make it easier to go by feel. And of course the horizontal (back right) uses the flex tool we linked in the description; from what we can tell the job pretty much can't be done without it (also available at Lowes if you need it fast). Good luck!
Does this being broken affect your ac? This happened to me over the winter and now summer is here my ac isn't working well. Iv recharged it says it's full. I have the door zip tied to one side
If it breaks, but doesnt fall into the fan you will still be ok, you just cant choose recycle or fresh. If broken it almost always falls open to fresh air only. If that little tab falls into the fan, it will give you a really bad shaking when the fan gets turned up.
You’re a lifesaver! I’m having difficulty getting the front right screw in front of the grate that you used the flexible attachment to get. I have the flex screwdriver but can’t get it. Did you go through the small gap between the door and the dash to get it?
What up Conner! I went in with my right arm through the little access between the door and dash, and my left arm going in through the opening behind the air bag. You could try tying a string onto the lower part by the socket and using it to "bow" the flexible attachment. Thats the hardest part, getting that to flex over the screw. If you made it this far you can totally get this last screw!
So I bought a used 2018 F150 and i noticed when i turn on recycled air I still get smell from outside etc but everything else like air speeds up and colder works. So, i take it my fresh to recycle door is broke too? Thanks
Were you able to hear the motor trying to open and close the flap before you did this repair? I’m not so sure that my flap door is broken. Im thinking it’s one of the actuators. When I turn mine to recirc I don’t hear anything happening. I also don’t have any broken pieces in my blower
Yes you can hear it but its not very loud. If you lay down under the dash and have someone change it from fresh to recirculation you should be able to hear it. you can even put you hand on the recirc motor and feel it humming open and closed. Another way you could check is to unplug it under there and see if it makes a difference. If you are not getting that motor to move and thats all you need to change that would be a way easier fix.
Also check out our video on cleaning the fresh air grate, it'll give you some more insight before you dive into this! th-cam.com/video/yj3Qv5QR-xQ/w-d-xo.html
So I just bought a newused 2014 F150 yesterday and noticed this problem today, I was like WTF? So I called the dealer and of course I bought as is. This noise only happens on high speed. Is it possible to just leave the damper on closed position and just have recirculating air? Not a big fan of fresh air coming into the cab. I live in Texas and its rarely has awesome weather. Its either hot or cold. Also is the damper forward or up to be in the recirculating air? Also thank you for an awesome video
Absolutely! You might need to put a screw through the box and into the door to hold it in place. Just use a really small one. For the sound, I would drop the blower down and see if you have pieces in the fan, thats probably making the noise. That where all the broken pieces go lol.
Wow, I think I'll leave mine in recirculation in cab max a/c for June through September and just open windows October through May, I'm not turning it off in cab circulation
We see you got it in right after this post, but we'll comment anyway in case others run into the same problem. Further down in the comments, one of the viewers gives instructions for how to heat it up to get it to give enough to get in there, scroll down for that. Other than that, it seems to help a lot to do it on either a warm day or in a heated garage if possible. We've gotten a lot of feedback, plus our own experience, it can be a pistol, but just keep working it and it will go. Thanks for the question!
The actuator was in the way. Tried positioning it leaving the one screw. I ended up just removing it. The actuator was bad as well. Once I did that I was able to move it enough to get it in. Again, thanks for the R&D.
My initial issue was the extreme vibration of my 2014 F150 fx2 when AC was running on high. I watched the fan motor video and pulled it myself (note: you definitely want a 90 degree/flex screwdriver or ratchet for the bolt in the back. I got it out with a small 5/16 box wrench. Dropped the Fan motor and poof there is the little gear/cap. Got the fan motor back in and all is fine. So i have a couple questions, clearly this is an issue in these vehicles with so many people reporting it, why isn't it a recall/defect through Ford? Second, what impact / danger/damage could it have if you don't fix the recirc/fresh air door? Will heat / defrost still work?
Nice! Ford is very aware of the problem, as they use the same setup in Rangers/Explorers/etc going back to the late 90s from what we can tell. Ford says they exceed their design specification for service life, so no need for a recall. Or even an improvement to the design, apparently. As to the safety question, the door fails in the "fresh" configuration, so all HVAC functions remain intact. The two main issues with having it always in fresh is no ability to not pull bad smells from outside the vehicle and the inability to use pre-cooled air from the cabin when the A/C is set to Max. A few other viewers have jammed the door in the always-closed position but we don't know if this is a safety concern or not, as some manufacturers, Ford included, will override owner settings to bring fresh air into the cabin, which seems like a safety concern on their part. But we are not aware of any issues going the other way, hence why the system breaks into always fresh. Thanks for the comment!
@@MotorsandMischief thanks for the quick reply! Looks like I’ll be using this video in the fall to replace the vent door. 105 is too hot to do that now lol thanks for the great videos!
I went even cheaper. In South Florida, you want that door closed all the time anyway, so after removing the blower, I used zip ties to secure the door into the circulate mode and just left the actuator off/unplugged.
For sure! If you dont need to change between fresh and recycled its really not necessary unless the tab falls into the fan. If that happens, you can just drop the fan and clean it out. Thanks for posting a comment!
@@gamalielgarciasigala5177 I can't guarantee that since defrost isn't needed in South Florida. I wouldn't think that it would cause any problems in that area though. When I lived in cold climates, I used the defrost with the vent closed and it worked okay.
The door is balanced to move easily so once the unit breaks, it doesn't want to stay put, even with tape. That said, you certainly can glue it open if you are determined. Like we've mentioned to other viewers, we recommend putting it in the fresh air position if you're going to lock it into one or the other; depending on how good your seals are, you can potential asphyxiate yourself if you leave it locked into recirc mode (or at least that's what Ford's lawyers think since the factory unit will turn off the recirc after a certain amount of time). Good luck!
Its a decent amount of force. You don't want to put a bunch of ugga-duggas on the pry bar, but you do need to distort the housing a fair amount to get the flap out to get the new flap in. It works better when its hot, which is, happily, when most people are working on this problem. Thanks for the question!
If you had to guesstimate, how many inches and did you take the green screws from the back that hold the assembly together. Thank you so much for your video and time.
Perfect thank you my EcoBeast just did this exact thing! And I didn’t know what it was at first after digging under the dash I found that plastic nub in the blower motor just like this… and then I was like “Oh Sh*t” how in the world do I fix this? But @Motors and Mischief for the WIN!!! Thank you!
Its a flexible ratchet. There's a link in the description to see exactly what the tool is. We don't feel you can do the job without it. Thanks for the question!
Awesome video. But i have a question. I believe in my case, the recirc motor just stopped working and its permanently open. I just want to have my recirc permanently closed. Any suggestions on how to best do that after taking out the blower motor?
So if your motor is busted, you could remove the motor to disengage it from the gears, then flip the door to the position you want and then reinstall the motor so the broken motor will hold the door in the closed position. Just a heads up tho, many auto manufacturers will not allow the HVAC system to stay in recirc mode for more than a certain amount of time so that the air you've been breathing in the truck gets replaced with fresh air (and oxygen). New cars are pretty well sealed. We have no idea if they're sealed well enough to cause a health risk, but we'd hate to not say anything if it is an issue. Thanks for the question!
![How To Clean Fresh Air Grate on Ford Raptor-F150 [Bonus Cabin Air Filter Replacement!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yj3Qv5QR-xQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![How To Clean Fresh Air Grate on Ford Raptor-F150 [Bonus Cabin Air Filter Replacement!]](/img/tr.png)
SUCCESS on a 2013 F150 Platinum! Thank you for being a pioneer, figuring this out, and posting an awesome video and fix! Had this exact problem on my 2013 F150 last week and happened on this video while researching repair options. Your suggested repair process only took me about 2.5 hours with the benefit of your video and having the right tools (completed today, 29OCT21). That flex screwdriver is indeed a necessity, but a good tool to have nonetheless (and cheap at Lowe's...$14).
I followed your instructions exactly, with three exceptions.
1. The upper cage flange in an F150 is indeed a stud with a nut and not a screw, so the flange just needed to be popped off the stud when trying to spread the cage open. Not a huge issue as the plastic is flexible enough to clear the stud, allowing the cage to be split up and open about 1". My foam was fine after the repair.
2. I used strong magnetic tools for everything and made a string follower on the tip of the flex driver to yank it into a vertical position remotely, which is almost a necessity with my huge hands.
3. When reinstalling the new door, I quickly dipped the anchor end (not the actuator end) halfway in hot tap water immediately prior to wedging it in to allow for some flexibility. This trick worked wonders and made reinstalling the door a non -issue. The actuator end was fed in first and placed mostly in its hole, the cage was spread, and the warmed anchor end was quickly popped into the housing, locating itself almost immediately while allowing the actuator end to seat in its hole as the door angle changed. I warmed one half of the door part because when I extracted the old broken door, I noticed a small stress crack up top due to the cold and brittle plastic being flexed heavily on removal. The door was moved back and forth to ensure proper seating and sealing, and the cage was buttoned back up (5 separate screws and the stud nut).
Honestly, following your video, the 'hardest' part of all of this is getting the blend door actuator dismounted and re-mounted. I know you left the forward screw half seated on yours, but I had to remove my actuator entirely to get access to that difficult screw on the corner of the cage. Again, not much room there to maneuver.
I would say that airbag removal is absolutely necessary for visibility to the repair as well as certain tool access. I could not have done this with the airbag in. Scariest part of this fix was messing with that airbag.
Still cannot believe this all worked as well as it did. I also cannot believe the cost and effort to get this done the official Ford way.
WOW! What a great comment! Thanks so much for all the awesome info, that will for sure help others who are doing this. We're gonna pin this comment we like it so much. So glad the video helped and thanks for taking the time to comment and help the community!!
This is a 20yo problem. 95+ explorers broke the same way. It was the blend door though. Some guys rigged up a hand lever :lol:
I just saw this... ame problem 🙄 ugh! Anyway thanks for this video and your efforts. I was thinking that if you were not able to get the door back in and you quit right at that spot in the repair, your air would have been fre-cycled air. Ha!🤣
@@MotorsandMischief if there was only a way to add a cabin air filter and keep all the dust out of the inside of the truck!
what is the name of that housing unit because the same thing happened to my truck. I need to change out that flapper.
Hello!! I wanted to say "Thank you" for the Video!! and for all that have commented with tips and tricks.. I tackled this little endeavor this afternoon on a 2013 Ford 150 LXT FX4.. I had all the tools out and ready and started at 230pm.. I finished at 530pm all tools put away!!
Notes: I removed the Airbag, Glove box and all the rest below.. Removed the 4 housing screws 2 keeping it together and 2 holding it to the blower housing in the back.. I did not have to remove or loosen the one in the front.. I took the Motor off as well, and only loosen the front of the motor.
A Flex and solid Shaft extensions are a must for this made it much more bearable to get in to the very tight spaces..
I also used a Trim remover to wedge in between the housing to pry apart, then used a C clamp to hold the Trim tool in the open position.. This is when you will need to flex the flap a bit to get the old one out.. This is not EASY and will take some convincing.. Really.... Once you get the old one out then you know the new one can go in right!!! :)
I used PBlmkr suggestion, I had HOT tap water not boiling.. and let the whole thing sit in the water for about 5 min.. Also note it was 70 degrees outside today so I would not try this in the Cold or with cold plastic as you are taking a big chance it will crack on you when you have to flex it a bit to get it back in..
I was able to get the new one in by wiggling it and really maneuvering it into the housing.
Once you have the new flap in place and it move freely.. you can put the 4 screws back in, then replace the Airbag. Once AB is reinstalled and back on the dash you can reconnect the Battery. Test your motor and make sure it is working. The motor is Keyed so it can only go into the flap one way so this will take a bit of maneuvering until it is in place.. Leave the engine running as this puts tension on the housing so you can put the back screw back in and tighten up the front.. This was the one mistake I made and turned off the engine and the Motor fell out and had to redo this step as the tension is released.
If anyone has this problem... FORD quoted me $1800 there was no room for anything other than that amount.. The part was $135.. it took me 3 hr with this video!! I count that as a HUGE WIN!!!
Again Thank you for posting this!!!
Man what a great comment! Thanks so much for posting the details to help out other viewers and we're so happy the video was helpful! That's awesome you got it done so fast, nice job!!!
Thank you for figuring this out! I just installed mine on a 2104 F150 FX4. I found using a 105 Degree 1/4 Inch Right Angle Drill Adapter Hex Shank Screwdriver Angled Bit Holder(Amazon) in conjunction with the flex tool you used helped get the screws out(and back in) easier that hold the housing in place, especially the back one closest to the firewall. I appreciate your pioneering efforts!
Thanks for sharing the tools that worked for you, that's a big help to everyone that attempts this! And thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
This is a heck of a solution, really nice job! I had this happen at 40k miles and Ford did the fix. We'll charitably say the dealership wasn't as careful with making sure everything in the dash was carefully removed without breakage and reinstalling properly as I would have liked. I still have rattles years later that I haven't been able to track down without removing the dash again. This is a way better way to go because you wont get your dash all messed up. Thanks guys!
Aww man that sucks. Yeah we had another viewer tell us that his broke at 25k, but that left him in warranty so that was good. But still, you make a good point about the dash maybe not ever being the same. Thanks for commenting!
SOOOO happy to find this video. Mine just broke about 5 minutes ago and I've been holding on to this video in my 'saved' youtube list for a rainy day. That day has come! I'll report back once fixed! I'm going to try the flapper from the Dorman version... we'll see if I regret that!
I'll be fixing it after an upcoming RV trip. In the meantime, I dropped the motor, removed the piece, reached up and manually put it in recirculation mode. As long as no one farts, we'll be good.
Let us know for sure!
Update on the dorman?
@@iholguin303 Well I have a confession to make. Once I opened it up, I ended up just zip-tying the flapper into the recirculate position. I figure in the 10 years I've owned the truck I've never NOT had it in recirculate, so, I just stuck it there permanently.
So glad you posted this. I just ran into this exact problem today on my 2013 lariat. I thought maybe a twig or something got into the blower motor and was making a sound. Took it apart and found that exact Broken actuator piece. Looks like I’ll be spending a few hours trying this out in the very near future.
Dude, you are awesome! Your endeavors helped me save a lot of money. My dealer quoted me over $2,000 a couple years ago for this repair. I didn't complete it as fast as you, it took me a little over 4hrs, but it's done and it's so nice to have the ability to prevent those outside smells again in bumper to bumper traffic. I pray I never have to do it again, it's still not a super fun job, even with your great instructions. 👍🏼 up from me!
So glad it helped! Thanks so much for the comment!
Nicely done!! When the part broke on mine and fell down into the squirrel cage/fan, it seemed to have shorted out the resistor as well. I had to replace the resistor because it would only run full blast from that point forward. Just replaced the resistor last week and working fine now. Just be sure to disconnect the battery while you replace the resistor and it resets the system. Went through 2 resistors before we figured that out. Thank you Lord! The third time worked. Now my variable speed control on the fan is back. :)
This video helped me as well as the next one I will post too…
th-cam.com/video/3hHxAiKvw2o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ZeeelcgnrCsKQV9H
Here’s the other one on the resistor…. th-cam.com/video/xTHebIIlGyc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=W1i3Gc0w9QE1HQSK
I have the same problem and I'm going to attempt it this coming spring. I wish you showed how to take out the air bag since I've never messed with one before. Thanks for the rest of the information though, it will defiantly come in handy when I attempt to do this myself.
We hear ya, airbags are tricky and they can blow up lol. Check out a more detailed description at 4:00 minutes in this video. th-cam.com/video/L5-lesrpeHI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=MotorsandMischief
Don't have to say this was the most useful video I've seen in a very long time. And saved me a bunch of time and help me maximize my income on this repaired
Outstanding!! Thats what makes it worth it right there, thank you for letting us know!
Just did this repair! Thanks for the good video. Took about 3 hours. I didn't remove the airbag.
Nice work! Appreciate the note as well 🙏
Just pulled this same broken part out of the blower housing today and hopped on TH-cam to see what's involved. Seeing the amount of work required, I can live with it for a while. Right now it's too hot to be doing it. Thanks for the video!
Glad it was helpful and we don't blame you lol. Thanks for commenting!
In the meantime you can just affix the broken flap with a screw and leave it in re-circ all the time. Worked for me with basic tools. @MotorsandMischief video helped me out big time!
I fixed mine today (2010 F150) that was broken for about 2 years. I'm in South Texas, so the early summer heat finally made me get off my butt and fix it! I went the Southern Engineering way - took off the blower motor, rotated the door to recirculate, then fashioned a piece of 1/2" x 1/2" wood dowel to jamb the door in permanent recirculate. Down here, I run the AC about 10 months out of the year, the rest of the time it's heat or windows down. I don't mind recirculate 100% of the time.
I cannot believe Ford has not engineered a better fix for the door, either a better plastic, a metal connector (that will not break over time), or some type of "stop" for the actuator motor to minimize stress on the door.
Right? Someone else posted that they use the same system on Explorers and other vehicles and its been breaking these parts for a loooooong tome. What the heck Ford? Anyway, good job and thanks for commenting!
I might do the same Corpus Christi TX SUMMERS are brutally hot 🥵
This is my plan. Here in Phoenix, if we want outside air, we use the windows. Will tackle it this weekend.
You are AWESOME for posting this SUPER informative video! Not many people would help the Ford community with the level of detail that you provided. Just yesterday I started hearing a noise in the fan of my 2003 F150 that sounds like something has fallen into it. Gonna pull the blower motor fan assembly out and see if that's what is happening. If so, I am saving your video for sure!
Man great comment, thank you so much! Glad it was helpful!
JUST had that problem today!!. It seems straight forward :).. question about how to zero the actuator. I don't follow that part. can you elaborate some more?
Haha great timing then! That's a great question and we can for sure elaborate. Jake simply meant that you need to make sure the motor is in the same position as the door. The easiest way to do that is disconnect the motor, put it in the closed (recirc) position using the switch on the dash, and then put the door in the closed (recirc) position and attach the motor (or put everything in the open (fresh) position, it doesn't matter, as long as the door and the motor are the same). The reason this is necessary is because you have no way of knowing which position the door broke in, so its easiest to just "reset" it by removing it, putting it into a known position and then matching the door to it. Good luck with when you do it and keep us posted!
Thanks for the video! Very informative! Huge headache of a problem but got it fixed. The part cost me $145 from the Ford dealer so basically saved $1,500.
That's awesome! So glad it helped, thanks for commenting!
SUCCESS on a 2011 F-150 Raptor! (But wow, what a 4-day struggle in the driveway, but that's DIY-life)
1. I found six air inlet housing mounting screws to remove, instead of four in the video. Damn you, Ford! I had to sit down for an hour (with the wifey) and spatially work out how to get to the last screw directly behind the inlet cage. It was not possible to get to it via a bendy wrench or a lot of extensions. The only way I could reach the screw in the back was with a small Kobalt ratcheting wrench I had in a mini-toolkit. (That little kit has proven to work wonders on many projects. I highly recommend it for tight spaces). Anyway, I managed to figure out I could reach up into the cage, through where the fan motor/squirrel cage are mounted and get to the rear screw that way. Friggin' Genius.
2. I removed just about everything, Carpet, seats, passenger airbag, console, Sony amp, EVERYTHING! The only way I could successfully reach up into the housing correctly was lying across the center console with my feet to the driver's side so I could lie on my back and jam my right arm into the housing to get the damn screw out. That mini ratchet made it happen. It also got many other tightly-seated HVAC screws out. One side is 1/4" and the other side is 8mm... The larger 8mm side is perfect for this project.
3. That screw in the back did not go back in, along with another pesky one. Four screws is enough... give me a break! After screwing down the mounting screws, it didn't move from rocking it back and forth. It's in there good!
4. Magnetic tools recommended as well. They help for guiding screws back to their mounting holes upon assembly. (And also if you happen to drop a screw... or all of them)
I managed to get this project done and the center console blend door actuator replaced (Thanks to YT channel: FordTechMakuloco)
Thanks again for the great video and enthusiasm to get this baby fixed!
-- Below is the Kobalt toolkit that has paid for itself at least 10 times by now.
www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-35-Piece-Standard-SAE-and-Metric-Polished-Chrome-Mechanics-Tool-Set/3387640 $19.98 in FL
Way to not give up! Great info and tool link. We should all get a trophy for this one lol 🏆
Awesome video! I just took off the squirrel cage fan and removed the broken gear and reinstalled original fan. I prefer the recirculating position and don't want to spend extra $$ to replace door. Will it stay in the recirculating position if manually put in that position while reinstalling squirrel cage fan? TIA
So glad it helped you! When we were messing with our door, it seems like it flopped around fairly easily without the gear on there. It *may* stay if you put it in recirc and then button it back up, but it might bounce open when you hit a bump, not sure. To be sure it stays closed you might want to tape it shut or something so it can't move. Warning, tho, some manufacturers, like Mercedes and some other Fords, will automatically limit the amount of recirc time and forces a switch to fresh air. We don't know if this is a safety item and we'd hate anyone to have an issue off of something we recommended, especially someone who liked one of our videos! So just keep that in mind if you decide to keep it closed.
There’s TH-cam video where a guy shows how/what he did to keep the door in the recirc position. “2014 Ford F150 Air Recirculating issue” Basically, he used a very long extension on his screw gun, and coming in from the side of the dash, put a screw through the housing which kept the door from moving.
@@mrkellysalinas please post the link for easy access. TIA
th-cam.com/video/dFZ7iGWghiI/w-d-xo.html&feature=share
Very good video. Fixed mine today on my 09. I was wondering why my a/c wasnt working good this last summer. Also why air was coming through the vents when the controls were off. I just ran a screw through the door to lock it in the closed position. If i need fresh air ill roll the window down before i suffocate 😅
Haha! We hear ya!
hell yea brother! i dont want to take my whole dash apart in my raptor to fix this. YOU KNOW THE WAY!
Hah! Thats exactly right about the whole dash, we find a better way!
Every Ford truck and Explorer we have ever owned has had this problem. Thanks for the video
That's good info, it helps show this problem is for sure rampant. Thanks so much for commenting!
Just found out this is the same problem on my 2016 Lariat. Think we should all send the broken part to Ford! Thanks for the video.
Thank you for this awesome video. My recirculating does not work on 2012 f150 fx4. I replaced the actuator, and it is still not working (it worked 2 times) after the replacement of a brand-new actuator, and then stopped. The flap door is perfectly fine and moves freely with NO broken parts. The recirculating button on the front control panel lights up when you push it, but I'm not sure if it actually works properly or not or sends proper voltage to the actuator. Right now the flap and actuator stuck on "Fresh Air" and will not go back to recirculating. Any suggestion how to check the connector power into the actuator pins with a meter when pushing the recirculation button? Another words what pin powers up when Circulation is on and what pins powers on when its on off position (5 wire pin connector that goes to the actuator, not sure what each wire/pin does and what voltage goes through each pin when its on or off position). Any help or sugestion, I greatly appreciate. I honestly think the actuator is not getting any power or gets some power but stops....not 100% sure tho.
This looks amazing! The recirc door on my 2014 F-150 broke and I have been looking for a fix like this. I am going to purchase the parts and give it a shot! Thank you for the video
Awesome! Let us know how it goes. Thanks for commenting!
Worked! Lowe’s in WA doesn’t carry that tool but Amazon had an extension that was a must. You are a money saver. Took about 4-5 hours because, well, beer. Now please figure out how to replace the rear backup camera and get zoom working again without paying for a $300 Ford camera. Very happy subscriber.
Wow !! Great job sir. You guys are very good at these projects.
will this also make your heater only work in half the cab my truck blows hot air on driver side but still blows cold air on passenger side my truck? makes the same noise with the rattling
Great video! I decided to give it a try yesterday on my F150. Unfortunately, I decided to stop and I wanted to share why so those of you considering this can decide for yourselves. Based on the good suggestions from the video, I didn't really have much trouble getting all the bolts and screws out using a flexible driver, 1/4" ratchet with u-joint, and a couple of other tools. In the video Uncle Jake commented you might want to take out the airbag and I would strongly recommend that you do as the visibility it provides is pretty important. So, why didn't I succeed? A couple of reasons.
First, at the top of the plastic assembly (the assembly he purchased), there wasn't a screw holding it in place. Instead it was a metal bracket with a bolt welded onto it. The bolt stuck through the hole in the top of the plastic assembly. I tried to push the bolt through the hole in the plastic assembly by deflecting the metal bracket (flexing the metal bracket but, not permanently bending it) but, it stopped moving with probably 1/4" of the bolt not through the plastic assembly. I looked closer and saw that when I pushed the bolt through the hole, it hit against another part and stopped moving. So, why is this important? If you purchased the new assembly as I did, look at the bottom of it and notice the lip on the bottom. You have to push the unit up the height of this lip before you can begin prying it apart. So, back to the metal tab and bolt. The bolt wouldn't allow me to push up on the assembly. However, even if there wasn't a bolt welded to the metal bracket and it instead used a screw like all the others, the bracket itself would prevent the required vertical movement. It looked to me like you would have to bend the tab and twist it out of the way to allow the vertical movement. My truck is not a Raptor, so this might be different on the regular F150s.
Back to the vertical movement necessary to allow you to begin prying open the plastic assembly. You can only move 1/2 of the plastic assembly as described in the video - basically opening it like a clamshell. The other half of the assembly is still bolted/screwed in and won’t move. Also, keep in mind that the back of the assembly is still screwed in. So, if you are able to achieve the vertical movement to free the front of the clamshell to pry it open, the lip on backside of the clamshell will still be in the piece below. So, when you pry it open, it looks like you’ll be prying it open against the lip at the back.
Finally, you have pry the clamshell open a fair amount. I didn’t measure how much I had to open the new assembly to remove the flap however, it was probably 1 1/2”. I tore the foam on the new assembly when I opened it up to remove the flap. When you’re doing it in the truck, keep in mind you have to move it up and then pry it open as well. When practicing, you only have to pry it open. So, now I have a new part with torn foam. Do, I replace it to be safe or have it installed anyway - TBD.
The dealership said they were doing this on a truck now. They had a good suggestion - they are replacing all 3 actuators under the dash since they will have it out. $1750 including the 3 actuators and the new assembly. Lot of money to replace a simple plastic part!
So, Uncle Jake rocks! He did accomplish a very impressive thing in my view. He might have additional input or suggestions on the issues I faced. Success on these type of projects depend on the details and knowing what you are going to face. If you’re like me, you have a limited time to spend. I wish everyone luck and success!!
Tim this is an awesome comment, and thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Thanks also for giving it a shot; we're sorry it didn't work out for you. What year F-150 do you have? We're still trying to document differences between the model years as well as between the F-150 and the Raptor. Uncle Jake did want to pass on to you that when he did his, he really had to crank on that part, as he says there is a lip there that he had to get over (he said to push down with your fingers and up with your thumb, if that makes any sense to you). He said "you can't be afraid to break the piece" and clarified that he doesn't feel like it will break, it's pretty tough plastic, but it *could* and, at least for him, he was going to replace it no matter what so if it did break he'd have to figure out another way. So not sure if that helps you or others who may be searching the comments but Uncle Jake does confirm it needs quite a lot of force to get it out. Keep us posted on how the repair goes with your rig and thanks again for commenting!
Also, in thinking about this, if anyone does take it to the dealer/ pull the dash themselves, we'd recommend changing not just the actuators but the doors as well. Our actuator was working fine with the broken door.
@@MotorsandMischief My truck is a 2014.
Hello, I have a 2014 F-150, non-raptor version, too. I was able to get past the bracket problem after I noticed that the top of the metal bracket bolts on to the underside of the dash with just one nut. Because there's only one on each end of the metal bracket, it's not a permanent part of the dash. In fact, it could be removed if you could get to the top nut. However, that's not possible without taking the dash out, because it's blocked by the plastic tube that feeds the far right vent. Alternatively, I was able to push the stud with bracket through the hole and then swivel the entire bracket to the right, up and out of the way. Because there's only one nut holding the metal bracket at the top, you can swivel it with a little force.
Could there be any electrical issues that could also cause the flap to stay in fresh air? My 2012 XLT is stuck in fresh air, the button lights up for recirc, and my fan doesn’t vibrate. It blows fine, it’s just stuck in fresh air.
Or could it just be that the broken piece hasn’t fallen into the squirrel cage yet? I’m in southern Louisiana and I break a sweat just from walking out my front door to the truck!
Exact same problem on my ‘14 F-150 XLT…. Great video and narrative. You guys ROCK!
How were you able to push that bottom lip up? I’m having the same problem and I’m not able to get open due to that bottom lip I believe.
Success! Thank you Sir! 2013 lariat Couldn't find the flex driver but a reversible ratchet 15° wrench worked inverted there was just enough to get 2 clicks out of the 72 tooth but it would have been so much easier with the flex screwdriver. That screwed was an hour out and 45 min back in.
Man good job making it work anyway! That silly little flex driver is gold for this project but if anyone is doing it unexpectedly, good to know there's a ratchet combo that will work. Thanks for posting!
The same exact thing happened to me with my 2013 FX4, 3 days after I had the whole dash removed to replace the evaporator core assembly, how could that have caused this recirc door to break the drive hub off. Meeting with the manager this morning and could use some opinions regarding what they owe me if anything. Thx for the great video!
This video was super instructional and saved me some $$$. I just replaced my door today and it took some time and patience. I ended up using screwdrivers to pry the two halves of the housing apart. The back screws are the worst.
Thanks guys for the informative video.
That's awesome, so glad to hear it! And yeah the back screws are horrible, we're not sure how to do it without that tool but some viewers have figured out how, so its not mandatory but man it almost is. Thanks for commenting!
Success for a 2006 Charger too. Thank you. This saved a lot of time by just repacing the actuator, and recerculation door. Tip, 10mm deep socket on the top nut. They used lock tight, making it tougher. Went back together very nicely. Again, thanks.
I have a stuck recirculator actuator. Can I replace it without removing the dash?
Thanks for the solution. I fixed mine today. A couple thoughts for the next folks. First I bought a 90 degree drive adaptor that really helped with a couple screws. Second I really had to pull hard on the housing. I ended up removing completely the screw towards the cowl behind the motor. This enabled me to open it further. I had to open it about 1.5”. Practicing with the new part really helped. Thanks again.
That's awesome advice! We're really glad the video helped and thanks so much for commenting what you learned!
Nice work! Do you have the part number for the new assembly?
Thanks so much! And you bet, its DL3Z*19A618*A
Very nice work around. Same problem with a 2014 F150 Raptor. We were driving down a dirt road and my GF said what is that noise? Is there someone in the forest driving a motorcycle we cant see. Nope it was that fresh air door that broke. I like the work around, now I just have to do it!! I will!! Thanks to your video. The plastic pieces nowadays, ugh.... I might try something different like somehow locking the door into the recirculation position and calling it a day. Either way, thank you for this video and all your other ones too.
Thanks so much for the kind comments, we really appreciate them! If you decide to lock it into recirc (as a bunch of viewers have said they're going to do), just remember a lot of manufacturers have the computer switch out of recirc after a while to get fresh air into the cabin. We have no idea how well sealed a typical F-150 is, but we can't afford to lose any viewers so please be careful!!
success here too,
Getting to the 2 screws on the front edge almost stopped the repair but I cheated by cutting out some of the grille to get to them through the fan hole,a hack I know, but its just pulling inside air into the fan. and there is a 10 mm nut on a strap on the top edge, so, 4 screws for the "clamshell",4 screws hold the assy. on top of the "fan box", and the 10 mm nut .sound right?
Great video!!! So helpful without a doubt BUT can you LINK the part Recir/Fresh Air door or did you just get it from a dealership
thanks to your video i was able to track down this problem on my 1999,the flap had come loose and fallen down blocking the blower motor resulting in low air flow through the vents of course the local shop wanted 1500 to replace the evaporator
That's awesome! So glad we could help! Thanks for commenting
Nice Job man !!! One step for man and one step for mankind !!!! You the man , thank you for making video ...
Hey thanks so much for commenting! We're really glad we could help!
Awesome work! I'm not ready to tackle this as so far I don't seem to mind fresh air all the time but I also haven't hit summer yet... One question I have though....
When the part broke off and I pulled it out of the fan and replaced the fan the recirc motor seems to CONSTANTLY run even when the truck is turned off and key is out. Seems to be slowly draining the battery which is becoming a real problem in the winter. Would you think disconnecting the actuator motor would solve this so the motor just can't run? Did you notice if the wire harness to it was "easily" accessible while you were in there? Thank you for the great video!!
Interesting question! Since the computer is looking for a certain amount of resistance in that motor, it makes sense that it would run it until it found that resistance, unless Ford programmed it to stop trying after a certain amount of time (which would make sense, but, well, Ford). It certainly shouldn't be running after the key is turned off, but unplugging it won't hurt anything and will for sure keep it from hunting for the resistance value its looking for when the truck is on. We're not aware of any errors or codes that would bother you or interfere with normal function if that's unplugged. Uncle Jake does mention that connector in the video, we'll figure out what the time stamp is and edit this comment so you can find it easily. Thanks for commenting!
@@MotorsandMischief I got to it from underneath. Little red safety tab and then depress black tab and wiggle free. Not the easiest to get at but no removals needed beyond trim and glovebox. At this point with this 2013 I'm beyond wanting to do the full Uncle Jake fix. Just screwed it in the recirc position and voila. We'll see if unplugging it causes anything else to go wonky. I'll update if so. Thank you again!
@@brodiebirkel I am having the same thoughts. I have not had battery issues like Brodie, but I can hear the actuator running when you put the key on in the car and when leaving. I have a 2013 F-150 XLT 4x4. I have previously removed the broken plastic piece in the squirrel cage. But now thanks to the video and comments, I think I will disconnect the actuator and screw the door permanently in the recirculating position. If I want fresh air, I have 5 windows I can open.
@@m.g.1784 so I screwed mine open and I’m curious about it effects on my defrost in Wisconsin in January. When I have kids in the car we start to fog up even with the defrost running 🤦🏼♂️. I’ve since removed the screw I put in but can’t be sure the flap dropped back to vent. Time to take it apart again and test it out. It seems the only time recirc is used automatically by the truck is Max AC so shutting it for the winter may have been a mistake….
On a positive note I got a new battery and my truck is starting in the cold again!!! I can’t be certain it was the constant cycle of the damper motor but it certainly can’t help matters.
@@brodiebirkel how did you screw the door shut so it's in recirc? I don't think I want to go through the trouble of this even though its way easier than pulling the dash. I'm not pulling the dash unless I lose the evap or heater core, and with 237 on it I might toss the keys in it and call it a day.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I was wondering if when 'spreading open' the housing, one of the small Air Wedge Bags would work. I have used them for other projects and they allow you to precisely spread an assembly open with a simple hand pump. You can purchase a set of 3 for around $20.
That's a really good idea! We're gonna order some up and do a video showing how the Air Wedge Bags can work. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for commenting!
For what it is worth, spreading the cage was not hard to do by hand or stressful on the part. If you remove the 5 screws and stud nut, it is pretty easy to separate. It doesn't spread immediately sideways...you need to pull while lifting to get the lip to pop up. Once mine was spread initially to remove the broken door, it stayed that way more or less until I closed it up again.
Wowza! You da man! I found you after replacing fan and finding this piece. I’m wondering if the recirculating door would be up or down for recirculating? I’m going to try and screw, wedge or just tape it for always recirculating. Thanks again one day when my son comes to visit we may tackle ur way.
Really glad the video was helpful. We always recommending fixing it into the fresh air setting rather than the recirc because modern designers will turn off recirc after a certain amount of time to prevent asphyxiation. We don't know if this is strictly necessary or is just the lawyers being overly cautious but we like to err on the side of caution. Thanks for commenting!
using your camera view up into the blower compartment, the exterior intake screen had all kinds of JUNK stuck in it. Would an air nozzle eject that debris back out the exterior intake?
I saw your video on how to clean this out.... thanks
You are welcome! Mine sure needed it lol
Very nice video and commentary. History made and now you can set up shop and fix these all day every day based on the number of people who have complained about the 'fan noise'.
Haha right? And other viewers have noted that this goofy system is used in Explorers, Rangers and a bunch of other Ford vehicles. Crazy! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for the R&D. Excited to tackle this project. Good job.
Great video. I appreciate your help. I am having trouble “zeroing out” the actuator motor, I can’t get the motor shaft to go in the grooves of the door on that side. Any suggestions or help?
Man that's irritating for you. No, ours just slid on with a minimum of fuss. Let us know if you figure it out!
Hello,
Thank you so much for your effort!
Instead of doing all that can I just disconnect it? Is it possible or can I just take the fuse out? Thank in advance!
You can definitely disconnect it! Just watch up to the point where I pull that motor out, just before I do that I disconnect it.
Also, if you want you can decide what position you want to blend door to be in, recirc or fresh. You will have to remove the fan, hold the door in position, and drive a small screw threw the case and into the door. If you dont care that its fresh, just leave it as is.
One other note, if you have anything that has broken loose and fallin into the fan, you can just take that out and clean the broken parts and you are good to go!
@@MotorsandMischief
Thank you for replying back! My is not broken, I'm just want to disconnect before it breaks... Since I still have that options to keep it close, I just don't know where to disconnect it!?
Oh gotcha. The video will show you where the connector is, and we'd recommend disconnecting it when the door is open, allowing fresh air in. Some viewers have jammed it in the closed position, and this may be fine, but we do know some manufacturers force a switch to fresh air after a certain amount of time to prevent potential asphyxiation problems, so we'd err on the side of caution and go with the fresh air rather than the recycled. Good luck!
@@MotorsandMischief
Thank you for taking the time to explain it!
So what port needs to be changed? Is it the whole air duct or is it just the flap? And would you have the part number available? Thank you for this video.
You can change just the flap. And the part number and a link to the part are posted in the description. Thanks so much for the question!
What about all the leafs and stuff that was behind the blower motor does that not affect how hard the ac blows?
It sure does, great question. We took that head on in this video on how to clean that out. th-cam.com/video/yj3Qv5QR-xQ/w-d-xo.html
My 2011 recirc button no worky. at around 128k.. just took the acuator off and found the broken door piece (which fell into the housing). This is my near future! Great video!
Man that's awesome we could help, thanks so much for commenting! Good luck when you do yours and let us know how it goes!
@@MotorsandMischief Will do... currently locked the door into "summer recirc only" mode via painter's tape, and once it cools down here in FL ... NEW DOOR GOING IN!
Thank you greatly for this video. Exactly what I needed to do to my vehicle.
Man I'm going to hate doing mine but I'm glad I don't have to take the dash out thanks for the good video
Thanks for the comment, good luck on yours!
When you showed th part that moves to recirculation (when we went up side down) wich position would be recirc and would it stay.
?
Hi Curtis! It falls down into the open position. So, if you wanted to be recirculated it would need to be in the up position. Unfortunately it wont stay up on its own, but some have used a small screw to hold it in the up position. Thats if the part I fixed is broken on the flap itself. If its the motor thats broke, its possible it might stay in the up position. Good luck and come back and tell us how it went!
I have a 2002 but I was able to get an idea of the fan and all from your video thank you very much
So glad it was helpful, thank you for commenting!
If resistance is what stops the gate motor, does it still need to be set at a certain starting/stopping point at installation of the new gate? 2013 F150
You are 100% correct! So no… it doesn’t. We weren’t positive when we filmed the video but have since confirmed it works exactly as you say. So it can safely just be stuffed in there and it will adjust itself. Thanks for the comment!
So I have a question, do I need to remove the green screws from the back that hold the assembly together? I know I have to remove the one that is towards the rear that bolts it down. Prepping to do this on a 2014 ford f150. So far I have all the screws out except for the two in the rear that hold the assembly together. Thanks.
Sounds like you have it about ready! Take a look at 12:20, thats a great spot in the video to see what screws I take out and where they are at. You basically have to take out the screws on the right side, including two lower ones, so you can pull it apart. That spot in the video shows the locations. Good luck and tell us how it goes!!
Did you put new motor for door on old piece
Great question. The motor is not to difficult to change out, so if the part that inserts into the door looks good you are probably fine to use the old one, and it quits working its way easier to change than the door. Its also not a super expensive part, so it might be worth just swapping it for a new one.
I have a 2015 Ford F150 twin Turbo 3.5 my AC actuator's stop working how can I get them open without opening the hole taking the whole - off just to open them up or which ones are the ones that really go out instead of changing them all out and wasting money
Great video! I have this issue on my 2014 F150. If the door motor uses press to stop it would it matter if you didn’t clock it?
Thank you! Based on the comment discussions here we’re of the opinion that no, you don’t need to clock it like we did. However, no one has reported back to confirm this yet so if you do it, let us know if it works. Thanks for the question!
I didn't clock mine. It auto located once everything was reinstalled and I reconnected battery. Battery was disconnected for airbag removal.
Thanks for the video! I recently removed the broken recirculation door gear from the blower motor and fixed the really loud noise. I left the recirculation door as it was and put everything back together. I now have a faint buzzing noise that is present for the first few minutes of starting the truck and again after I turn off the truck. Is this the recirculation door actuator that is still trying to open/close the recirculation door? If so, is there a way to unplug the recirculation door actuator or a fuse to disable it? Thank you for the help!
I figured it out. The buzzing noise was the recirculation door actuator that was continuing to turn. I was able to unplug it by just reaching up from the bottom (next to the blower motor) with my left arm. To unplug it, you have to first pull out the red tang, then depress the flange on the connector with one finger, then pull out the connector. After unplugging, no more buzzing sounds! Note, I also took off the small side panel between the glove box/air bag and the passenger door so I could see what I was doing back there. Hope this helps someone.
Great reply @thailey3 thanks! That buzzing is something I didnt think about, without resistance that gear will just keep turning for a period of time. Great input.
Great video. I'm getting ready to tackle same project on 2014 Raptor. "Thought" WRT installing the door open or closed dependent of the Switch... What difference does it make? If I understand correctly, the door motor stops (open and closing) when it reaches preset tension controlled probably by a potentiometer. If I'm correct then it doesn't matter which position the door is installed in or which position the Recirculation switch is in? Does this make since?
Also, does it make since that the door motor could be the root cause of the door spline breaking: e.g. if the motor doesn't turn off then will continually apply pressure to the spline... With this thought in mind, and assuming I successfully change out the door I'll check the motor operation before reinstalling the blower.
One more question: from the video I see there are 4 screws (2 front/2 back) holding the housing together. Do/did you remove all 4 screws or just the 2 at the rear of the assembly?
We believe you're absolutely correct. In an abundance of caution we put it back the way it was as you saw us do in the video, but we think you're right on both counts: the motor just spins until it gets enough resistance so it doesn't matter where it is in the cycle and also, its probably putting too much force on that door and its what's causing this (very) common problem. Indexing the motor so it "knew" where the door was and then using a pre-determined arc (90 degrees or so) would eliminate the too much force problem but then would require the motor to be properly indexed to the door, something that is (probably) not necessary now and (probably) speeds assembly for Ford. Let us know what you find and thanks for the comment!
@@MotorsandMischief Can you answer my question WRT removing all 4 screws from the housing. I'm pretty sure I just have to remove the 2 clamshell screws on the rear side. BTW, I just picked up the housing from the Ford Dealer and removed the blend door. Upon inspecting door end where the motor attaches the splines will only align in one way. There's definitely no need to worry about the switch and/or door position when reinstalling the blend door motor (it only goes on one way.)
Do you have a video on how to remove the passenger airbag? I believe I know how just want to make sure.
Check out our video on the SYNC upgrade for this truck, we give detailed instructions on pulling the airbag in that video (you can search the channel content for SYNC). We really need to make a standalone video from that footage but we haven’t yet. We’ll post here when we do. Thanks for the question!
My dog fell into The control dial and drove it to the full on setting. The dial is above the normal range and the blower motor is in constant full speed. How can I reset the dial to get the full range of fan speed
Does this effect the cooling affect during Hot Texas Summer; I was thinking I had a low charge and had the evacuated the system and recharged it; but remembered that I had that issue and removed the broken piece out of the blower a couple of summers back; but do notice when I lower the speed it feels cooler but that outside hot air is coming through due to the flapper/ damper being in the fresh air position I would suspect
Its sure possible, when this is broke it usually breaks, or falls, into the fresh air setting. So its always pulling in the hot outside air. You can take out the fan and manually put it into the recycled position, but something will need to hold it there. Some guys are running a small screw through the housing into the door to hold it in that recycled position. Funny enough, a lot of them commenting are in Texas lol.
I have this problem and have yet another idea! The actual switch that moves the “door”. Could that possibly be replaced and attached to the existing door inside? Since all of those can be accessed in this video, I’m wondering if that’s possible… Please please let me know if you think it is possible.
The typical problem is that the door snaps in two, and the little stub area that sits inside the housing and connects to the motor breaks off. That's the little piece we found rattling around in the blower housing. So yes, your idea would work, but would be a great fix for if the door actuator motor was broken and not the door itself. But we love the ideas, thanks for sharing!!
Everyone should know before attempting this task, check you wiring diagrams in the section of the dash. There is a connection for the airbags and when disconnecting that harness you can potentially cause a electrical discharge and ignite that air bag. The emergency room is not fun. Thanks for the video bud. Helped me a bit.
Thank you for the comment. In case we weren't clear in the video, air bags can kill you if they go off next to your head. ALWAYS disconnect the battery and then give the capacitor time to discharge before messing with the airbag. Capacitors are designed to hold power long enough to fire the airbag in an accident if the crash severs the power supply before the airbags can go off, so typically they only hold a charge for about 30 seconds. Err on the side of extreme caution and let them sit for 10 minutes after the power is disconnected. Every manufacturer we're familiar with gives times less than 10 minutes, but check the manufacturer's recommendations on your own vehicle to be sure.
Hay I have a question do you know where the cylinder head sensor is on the 6.2?
Cylinder head temperature sensor? Its screwed into the drivers side cylinder head... under the intake manifold in the valley next to the knock sensors.
When you talk about the motor, just to be clear, are you speaking about the blend door actuator? In other words, would I need to replace the blend door actuator AND the door itself?
In my case I have the broken piece in the squirrel cage... there is no mistaking that noise. But I also have a little noise that persists after the truck is off. I thought actuator hunting but all the examples have a clicking noise. This is more of buzzing. Another video claims it's the ecoboost vacuum pump failing. it's right against the firewall. I'll see if the actuator has a fuse I can pull. This video is a big deal BTW. Thank you for doing it.
Oh, never mind. I see in another video. The housing for the flap has a female end for the actuator. That is what breaks off. Oh my sweet plastic nightmare.
I recently removed the broken gear from the blower motor to fix the really loud noise. I left the recirculation door as it was and put everything back together. I now have a buzzing noise (like you said) that is present for the first few minutes of starting the truck and even after I turn off the truck. Did you figure out what this was?
@@thailey3 I parked the truck for now. Monday I will decide the plan of attack (and see if parts are available). Everyplace was closed for the holiday.
@@briangregus5225 I figured it out. The buzzing noise was the recirculation door actuator that was continuing to turn. I was able to unplug it by just reaching up from the bottom (next to the blower motor) with my left arm. To unplug it, you have to first pull out the red tang, then depress the flange on the connector with one finger, then pull out the connector. After unplugging, no more buzzing sounds! Note, I also took off the small side panel between the glove box/air bag and the passenger door so I could see what I was doing back there. Hope this helps someone.
@@thailey3 That gives me a little happiness actually. Most of the noises people have posted related to the actuator is a ticking (from missing teeth). The only buzzing videos were related to the vacuum pump (which on the ecoboost is also responsible for braking assist if I am not mistaken). If you're getting a buzzing from it that is good news for me. If it's just the actuator... that at least has no safety concerns associated. I think I'll be doing the full fix, jamming a new blend gate in there.
(ORIGINAL) I'm in the process of doing this repair on my 2014 F-150. I can't figure out how to open the 'cage' enough to get the door out. It moves freely upwards (compressing the foam), but I can't get the two half to separate enough to get the door out. Is there a trick? or just brute force...?
EDIT: I got it done! I'll be honest, it was a pain in the butt. Yes, saved me a good bit of money. But ... it was frustrating. Total time ... maybe 4-5 hours with an overnight break.
An important note - I did this when it was about 45 deg outside. This probably contributed to the frustration -- cold/dry hands, stiff parts, etc. I suggest doing this (as previously suggested) in a warm garage or in the summer.
I followed the steps in the video and comments below, with a few key learnings:
1) There are various wires/pins that I undid to make it easier to navigate. I did NOT remove the airbag, but I imagine it may have made a couple steps a bit easier had I done that.
2) I removed 5 screws (the two visible screws connecting the two halves of the clamshell, and three around the bottom of clamshell connecting to the base). I couldn't find the suggested Kobalt tool in Canada, so I settled for a flexible extension on my 1/4" drive.
3) I also removed the top nut (not a bolt) connecting the clamshell to a metal connecting flange. Loosening the second nut on the top of the flange makes it easier to get the bolt out of the top of the clamshell by swinging the flange out of the way.
3) Getting the clamshell opened enough to get the old flap/door out was a major(!!) pain. I eventually used a tip from the comments: wedge a trim remover (about 3/8 thick by 1.5" wide) between the two halves through the glove box opening. Then, I attached vice grips at a 90-deg angle to serve as a handle. I twisted the trim remover 90-deg which pried the two halves apart. I then used a mini quik-grip clamp to hold the vice grips in place and prevent the trim puller from slipping out.
4) Even so, the old door was a pain to get out. Once I got a good grip on the non-gear side, I pulled until ... and it broke. It came out pretty easy when 1/4 of it was busted off :)
5) I used the hot water heating method to warm the new door before installing. Even so, it was a bit of a trick convincing it to go into the clamshell. It finally went, and after re-seating the clamshell, I had a problem: the new door wouldn't freely move back and forth. The two ends were seated correctly in their respective pivot points, but I figured the new door became disfigured from heating -> forcing into position -> cooling in the 45-deg weather. If I pulled down on the door from inside, it would move without catching on the inside of the cage. Letting go caused the door to catch.
So ... I got the heat gun out and heated the door from underneath. After heating for a bit, I use vice grips to pull the door downward, effectively molding it back into its 'correct' shape (or at least one that allowed free movement).
6) I put the actuator and fan back in place (no special actions done to reconfigure/cycle the motor). Then I buttoned everything back up, which proved difficult without a magnet -- but we got the job done.
7) Fired up the truck - worked like a charm!
As mentioned -- it was an exercise in frustration, but having saved money, I'm quite pleased!
This is a great right up, thank you! Yes, we agree, the cold really makes it a lot harder. Doing it in the heat (or having a heat gun as as you and some other viewers have suggested) really makes a difference. Good job getting it done, 4-5 hours is still a respectable time! Thanks for the in-depth comments, they'll be really helpful to other viewers!
How did you get that door out of
Mine has a bunch of leaves above the air inlet duct like yours did, he leaves probably block a lot of the fresh air from coming in. Do you know how to get the leaves out? I don't see how they got in there.
We do! In fact, we did a whole video on it, check it out here: th-cam.com/video/yj3Qv5QR-xQ/w-d-xo.html Thanks for commenting!
Where did you find just the new door and not the whole shroud assembly for sale? I’ve looked everywhere online.
Apologies for any confusion, we did buy the whole assembly, about $90 when we did this and the part number from Ford is listed in the description. We pulled the door out of the new assembly and saved the housing in case we need it in the future. Thanks for the question!
Welp think im going to take a self tapping screw and put that POS blend door in recirculation position. Great Vid! 👍
😄
What is the flexible Kobalt tool called? Cant find it on Lowes!
They call it a Kobalt 1/4-in Spinner Handle with Flexible Shaft. It should be listed in the description but here's the link to make it easy for you. www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-1-4-in-Spinner-Handle-with-Flexible-Shaft/3382208 Thanks for the question!
Great video, thanks for sharing. I think I will order up the part and go to Lowes for the Dec tool and hopefully will have the same success. Better than smelling exhaust all summer long! Thanks again.
Awesome, so glad we could help, good luck on it!
On my way in to the office the other day, the HVAC intake flap broke (a known F150 issue) in my truck. Scared the crap out of me because I had the fan on medium, and I was on the freeway and the whole inside cab began vibrating violently. I thought I had a blown tire or I was about to lose my transmission! I started changing lanes, getting over to the far right lane to get myself on the shoulder. I noticed that my speed decrease didn't change the pitch of the shaking, and I thought that maybe it was something else.
I continued on to work and as I drove, the engineer mindset kicked in. To listen better to what was going on, I turned my fan speed down...and the vibrating decreased!
I researched it (gotta live Google), and realized the the end of the HVAC flap that was driven by the actuator (to open and close the flap- fresh air versus recycled air) had sheered off, and the broken piece was now in the squirrel cage beneath it, throwing the fan off balance.
Today's project was to get in the squirrel cage and remove it. The complete fix whould be to remove the piece, and replace the flap ($2400 at the dealership, because they have to remove the whole dash and center console to do it), but I just wanted that broken piece out so my fan would balance and I would have no more vibration. I don't use the 'recycled air' setting anyway, so...
Today, having learned I could get to the squirrel cage without removing the dash and whatnot (because I was small and had small hands), I went under my dash (after removing the glove box and pulling back the carpet along the firewall), and removed the squirrel cage and got the busted piece out and put everything back together. 1.5 hours, and tore up my right forearm a bit, but that fixed it!!!
All thanks to Motors and Mischief up on TH-cam... (th-cam.com/video/aop-XfuFqFM/w-d-xo.html). That dude rocks!
Now its time for a shower and breakfast for sure! Happy Sunday peeps!
Happy to have run into this video..I tried to get mine replaced but was unsuccessful to do because I couldn't get those 2 screws all the way in the back loose. How were you able to accomplish that as it seems almost impossible to reach them. Appreciate any more advice
For the screws on the back, Jake had to go with reaching up behind and going by feel. He says its actually not too difficult once you figure out how it has to go on. There is a shot that shows the piece out of the vehicle so you can see where those screws are, which should hopefully make it easier to go by feel. And of course the horizontal (back right) uses the flex tool we linked in the description; from what we can tell the job pretty much can't be done without it (also available at Lowes if you need it fast). Good luck!
So when buying the part are we just switching the door? The whole housing is the part that can’t be removed without removing the dash right?
Correct! Just swap out the door, your existing housing is perfectly reusable. Thanks for the question!
@@MotorsandMischief ok just checking because you have to buy the whole housing just for the door so I wasn’t sure
Totally, it’s a good question! Hopefully as word of this repair gets out someone will start selling just the door
Does this being broken affect your ac? This happened to me over the winter and now summer is here my ac isn't working well. Iv recharged it says it's full. I have the door zip tied to one side
If it breaks, but doesnt fall into the fan you will still be ok, you just cant choose recycle or fresh. If broken it almost always falls open to fresh air only. If that little tab falls into the fan, it will give you a really bad shaking when the fan gets turned up.
You’re a lifesaver! I’m having difficulty getting the front right screw in front of the grate that you used the flexible attachment to get. I have the flex screwdriver but can’t get it. Did you go through the small gap between the door and the dash to get it?
What up Conner! I went in with my right arm through the little access between the door and dash, and my left arm going in through the opening behind the air bag. You could try tying a string onto the lower part by the socket and using it to "bow" the flexible attachment. Thats the hardest part, getting that to flex over the screw. If you made it this far you can totally get this last screw!
So I bought a used 2018 F150 and i noticed when i turn on recycled air I still get smell from outside etc but everything else like air speeds up and colder works. So, i take it my fresh to recycle door is broke too?
Thanks
Welcome. Thats exactly how I noticed mine. I was behind a stinky vehicle and it still smelled the same no matter what I selected, fresh or rec.
Were you able to hear the motor trying to open and close the flap before you did this repair? I’m not so sure that my flap door is broken. Im thinking it’s one of the actuators. When I turn mine to recirc I don’t hear anything happening. I also don’t have any broken pieces in my blower
Yes you can hear it but its not very loud. If you lay down under the dash and have someone change it from fresh to recirculation you should be able to hear it. you can even put you hand on the recirc motor and feel it humming open and closed.
Another way you could check is to unplug it under there and see if it makes a difference. If you are not getting that motor to move and thats all you need to change that would be a way easier fix.
@@MotorsandMischief ya I unplugged my fan and can actually hear the actuator trying to move so I guess my door is also broken
I have the same issue! Can you tell me what’s the part # or name of the part that houses the recirculating gate?
Yeah you bet, the part number is DL3Z*19A618*A from Ford. Thanks for commenting, let us know how it goes!
Also check out our video on cleaning the fresh air grate, it'll give you some more insight before you dive into this! th-cam.com/video/yj3Qv5QR-xQ/w-d-xo.html
Got this same issue on my 2013 3.5 EcoBoost. Gonna save this and show to my mechanic!
So I just bought a newused 2014 F150 yesterday and noticed this problem today, I was like WTF? So I called the dealer and of course I bought as is. This noise only happens on high speed. Is it possible to just leave the damper on closed position and just have recirculating air? Not a big fan of fresh air coming into the cab. I live in Texas and its rarely has awesome weather. Its either hot or cold. Also is the damper forward or up to be in the recirculating air? Also thank you for an awesome video
Absolutely! You might need to put a screw through the box and into the door to hold it in place. Just use a really small one. For the sound, I would drop the blower down and see if you have pieces in the fan, thats probably making the noise. That where all the broken pieces go lol.
Wow, I think I'll leave mine in recirculation in cab max a/c for June through September and just open windows October through May, I'm not turning it off in cab circulation
I have a 2015 Ford truck my Bluetooth stop working but everything else works how do I fix it
I cannot get the new door in. Not able to get the housing separated far enough. I'm soon close. Any suggestions.
We see you got it in right after this post, but we'll comment anyway in case others run into the same problem. Further down in the comments, one of the viewers gives instructions for how to heat it up to get it to give enough to get in there, scroll down for that. Other than that, it seems to help a lot to do it on either a warm day or in a heated garage if possible. We've gotten a lot of feedback, plus our own experience, it can be a pistol, but just keep working it and it will go. Thanks for the question!
The actuator was in the way. Tried positioning it leaving the one screw. I ended up just removing it. The actuator was bad as well. Once I did that I was able to move it enough to get it in. Again, thanks for the R&D.
I've been listening to your video and watching it trying to figure out how to get the
My initial issue was the extreme vibration of my 2014 F150 fx2 when AC was running on high. I watched the fan motor video and pulled it myself (note: you definitely want a 90 degree/flex screwdriver or ratchet for the bolt in the back. I got it out with a small 5/16 box wrench. Dropped the Fan motor and poof there is the little gear/cap. Got the fan motor back in and all is fine. So i have a couple questions, clearly this is an issue in these vehicles with so many people reporting it, why isn't it a recall/defect through Ford? Second, what impact / danger/damage could it have if you don't fix the recirc/fresh air door? Will heat / defrost still work?
Nice! Ford is very aware of the problem, as they use the same setup in Rangers/Explorers/etc going back to the late 90s from what we can tell. Ford says they exceed their design specification for service life, so no need for a recall. Or even an improvement to the design, apparently. As to the safety question, the door fails in the "fresh" configuration, so all HVAC functions remain intact. The two main issues with having it always in fresh is no ability to not pull bad smells from outside the vehicle and the inability to use pre-cooled air from the cabin when the A/C is set to Max. A few other viewers have jammed the door in the always-closed position but we don't know if this is a safety concern or not, as some manufacturers, Ford included, will override owner settings to bring fresh air into the cabin, which seems like a safety concern on their part. But we are not aware of any issues going the other way, hence why the system breaks into always fresh. Thanks for the comment!
@@MotorsandMischief thanks for the quick reply! Looks like I’ll be using this video in the fall to replace the vent door. 105 is too hot to do that now lol thanks for the great videos!
I went even cheaper. In South Florida, you want that door closed all the time anyway, so after removing the blower, I used zip ties to secure the door into the circulate mode and just left the actuator off/unplugged.
For sure! If you dont need to change between fresh and recycled its really not necessary unless the tab falls into the fan. If that happens, you can just drop the fan and clean it out. Thanks for posting a comment!
Does that signal a check engine light if you leave it unplugged ?
@@Kk-iw4ck it hasn't so far. It may throw an error code that will show up on a scanner, but I'm not too worried about that.
Will it still defrost the windshield unplugging and zip
@@gamalielgarciasigala5177 I can't guarantee that since defrost isn't needed in South Florida. I wouldn't think that it would cause any problems in that area though. When I lived in cold climates, I used the defrost with the vent closed and it worked okay.
Can I just tape it or glue it closed ?😅
The door is balanced to move easily so once the unit breaks, it doesn't want to stay put, even with tape. That said, you certainly can glue it open if you are determined. Like we've mentioned to other viewers, we recommend putting it in the fresh air position if you're going to lock it into one or the other; depending on how good your seals are, you can potential asphyxiate yourself if you leave it locked into recirc mode (or at least that's what Ford's lawyers think since the factory unit will turn off the recirc after a certain amount of time). Good luck!
And how much do I need to pry it open to remove and insert the new flap?
Its a decent amount of force. You don't want to put a bunch of ugga-duggas on the pry bar, but you do need to distort the housing a fair amount to get the flap out to get the new flap in. It works better when its hot, which is, happily, when most people are working on this problem. Thanks for the question!
If you had to guesstimate, how many inches and did you take the green screws from the back that hold the assembly together. Thank you so much for your video and time.
Perfect thank you my EcoBeast just did this exact thing! And I didn’t know what it was at first after digging under the dash I found that plastic nub in the blower motor just like this… and then I was like “Oh Sh*t” how in the world do I fix this? But @Motors and Mischief for the WIN!!! Thank you!
That's awesome! So glad we could help, thanks for commenting!
THANKS A MILLION . JOB DONE IN AN HOUR !!!!!
Man that's a new world record, nice job!!!!
Is that a flexible screwdriver?
Its a flexible ratchet. There's a link in the description to see exactly what the tool is. We don't feel you can do the job without it. Thanks for the question!
Awesome video. But i have a question. I believe in my case, the recirc motor just stopped working and its permanently open. I just want to have my recirc permanently closed. Any suggestions on how to best do that after taking out the blower motor?
So if your motor is busted, you could remove the motor to disengage it from the gears, then flip the door to the position you want and then reinstall the motor so the broken motor will hold the door in the closed position. Just a heads up tho, many auto manufacturers will not allow the HVAC system to stay in recirc mode for more than a certain amount of time so that the air you've been breathing in the truck gets replaced with fresh air (and oxygen). New cars are pretty well sealed. We have no idea if they're sealed well enough to cause a health risk, but we'd hate to not say anything if it is an issue. Thanks for the question!