Bullrich

My wife's 1998 Exploder has no heat, although it did last week. Here are the particulars:

4.0L EFI SOHC V6. Vehicle operates at proper temp. Coolant level is correct. When the controls are turned to "heat", the hoses into the core heat up. But the heater blows only cold air.

My basic question is this: What could be causing this?

My specific questions are these: Possible hot air blend door actuator? Possible blend door? Is there any way to distinguish between the two (given the HELL required to go through to replace the blend door)? Is the actuator on the Explorer XLT electric or vaccuum actuated?

Thanks!

Brian

LunaticSVT

Is the engine heating up to the correct operating temperature? Is the coolant at the correct level? Are both hoses to the heater core hot to the touch? If so, I would suggest having the hot air blend door and actuator in the heater box inspected. If you're lucky the actuator will be broken or it will not be receiving a signal to alter the position of the blend door. The fix will be a replacement actuator or heater control module. If automotive deities are out for fun at your expense, the blend door will be cracked. A broken blend door doesn't sound like much, but that blend door comes with a whole lot of luggage. A replacement blend door, which is new and improved, has a redesigned heater box with it. It takes about 6 hours to install the replacement heater box assembly. The costs of both are not cheap.

jaskel

Hey lunatick...read the post first properly m8 just teasing..haha

Id say it is the temp dial arm m8...pull the unit out, it is very easy to do...just check all arms are connected etc...

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Im Selling 2x 3rd Row Seats for a Ford Explorer...as new condition, all mounting hardware including seatbelts..email me jaskel@iinet.net.au

LunaticSVT

Just because it says one thing does not mean that it is true. I have had enough posts on this site to understand that. Someone says one thing and then when you start to go through the trouble shooting with them it is another or what they said is not true. So that is why I put down everything that it could be.

Experience has taught me to read past what people INITIALLY type and forego that in the TS of the problem. 95% of the time it was a wise move to do that. And in most cases with the 98s it is the actual blend door that will be broken. But in some cases I have seen it be the actuators that have failed. in very rare instances it has been a disconnected/broken rod on the dial arm.

Bullrich

OK. Definitely is the blend door. I have removed the actuator, and found that it does indeed operate properly. I used a makeshift dental mirror (as recommended by this site: http://home.earthlink.net/~kandc1/fo...nddoorfix.html), and found that my blend door is broken where the actuator's D-pin inserts into the blend doors' D-sleeve. So the actuator pin moves when the temp dial is turned, but the blend door does not move because it is "wallowed out" (pronounced "wallered out" by us Texans).

So, now I am weighing my repair options:

1. I could use the fix recommended in the link above, where I place a pin into the actuator's D-pin, which will push the blend door around, but may not work for long.

2. R&R the entire dash as recommended by Ford to get into the plenum to remove the blend door, then replace with a new one. A 6.5 hour fix for a $17 part. Sucks.

3. Cut a hole into the plenum, R&R the blend door, then repair the hole somehow. I have read somewhere that someone did this type of repair. As I remember, he used silicone RTV to repair the hole. This seems to be the way I am going to invesigate further.

So, M8s, I'll send more info on the developments as they occur. Now it's time for some watered-down US beer. :-)

Cheers from Texas. Thanks for everybody's input.

Brian