I have a '97. So far the blend door is hanging in there; but lot's of complaints. So with this gentleman's vid and assistance I'll be ready. One of the best parts of the vid is the technical terms for the related parts: "Remove this crap; the air something or other round thing; vacuum thing; chunks of broken-ness. Terms we do-it-yourselfers can relate to. Thank you for taking the time to post this saving US hundreds!!

I just finished replacing the blend door via this video. I am an avid DIYer but this process seemed a little beyond what I normally would attempt. My 1998 F 150 has 314,000+ miles but was blowing out hot air only. The biggest trouble spots for me were locating the back screw on the air duct and getting the new door lined up. Taking the vacuum part loose helped to locate the back screw. I purchased the new Dorman blend door from Amazon at half the price the auto store was asking and it came with the foil tape. I did check the gears in the actuator and it was functioning properly. When I took the actuator off, I could feel pieces of broken plastic in the hole. I cut the glove box backing and the heater box with a Dremel. Just like the video says, it took a little coaxing to get the old door our. The most difficult part of the job was lining up the new door post to the upper hole and the getting the lower hole to line up. Don't worry about indexing as the parts can only go in one way. I wound up taking the new metal piece out of the new door (being very careful not to move the door), inserting it into the actuator and then inserting it back into the new door. It takes some patiences and did walk away a few times to regain my cool. Greg - thanks for taking the time to make this video almost 7 years ago - it is still helping people like me!

I've seen a lot of videos on this process and yours is absolutely the best. The diagnostic on watching the actuator move is really helpful. Gluing the cut airbox door back on and covering with thermal tape is super professional.

just finished 20 minutes ago. 98 f150. today is the first really bitter cold day of the year. i had no heat, now i do. thanks too tall. thank you thank you thank you! imo, if you can change your own oil, you can manage this fix, in case some folks were wondering... btw- dorman and the "help" products at auto stores have saved my ass more than once, this is yet another example. the older i get the less shiny stuff has to be. it just needs to work.

Just did this over the weekend. Took some time but with a little patience I was able to get it all done! Thanks for the video!!

hell yea! I didn't know they made a part like that......when mine first went bad it was cold and I didn't have time to work on it so I used a hole saw and cut hole through both pieces and just used a screw driver to flip back and forth. Tore into mine last night and was going to fabricate a screw with a lever onto the one I had so I could manually switch back and forth from the bottom of the blend door by removing the motor. I already cut into my box last night just like you did, but you just made my life easier with that part number Thanks man!!!!

Did mine today, it went perfectly. Before you start, put your thermostat in the full COLD position. This will allow you to put the door in and close it tight against the heater core opening and the actuator will slide right into the new insert that comes with the door. If it doesn't, just remove the insert, rotate it 180 degrees and re-insert it and try again. The motor spline and the insert are keyed. Make your cuts exactly where they are shown and you will be fine. The vent at the bottom that covers the actuator motor is a pain to get out, just remove it enough to allow the actuator motor to be removed. You will have to pull the carpet back some to get room for the vent to be moved out of the way. It goes right back into place no problem. It seems ridiculous to remove the entire dash on a 17 year old truck to replace a 25 dollar part that is prone to failure in its stock form. The plenum comes apart right there if the dash was out, all you are doing is adding a removable cover in a strategic spot to allow for a quick repair and Dorman has designed an excellent part for just this method.

Greg, awesome video. Thanks for showing me how to save $1000. If I had to do this myself it would be a disaster. You are making the world a better place, my friend!

I do not have this problem was just looking thru the net and found you.. I think it is very nice when someone like you takes the time to show other people that has this kind of problems.. WE can all learn for other people no matter who they are. Its a damn shame company's build automobiles like that ,stack it on top of everything. Thanks my friend, I subscribed,See Ya

Dude! You were right on the money. My mechanic thought it was the thermostat, I didn't know, then unheard the rumbling like the for was was just spinning on actuator. Cut it out with Dremel and viola, broken door. Your the man. But my local advance auto didn't have part in stock. 70 bucks and it'll be here Wednesday. All good though, least I know it was that! Thanks man!

Just got done installing this door on my son's 1999 f150. It's a bit of a pain, but much better than $1000.00 to the dealer. Took me a few hours, but was well worth it! Thanks for a good video.

Answering my own question. The round thing is attached and moves just enough to access plenum's rear screw. Took me less then 2 hours to watch video and get all steps complete up to the reinstall of the new door. This video rocks, thank you, you saved me over $500...

Thanks for making the video. Just replaced mine using your video as a guide. Hardest part for me was getting the floor vent unit out of the way. Once that was done, the rest was easy. Used a Dremel and small cutting wheel attachment and it cut through the plastic like butter. Used jb weld to seal up the cut and everything is working again. 5 minute Jb weld is pretty thick and was able to fill 1/8" gaps easily. As stated in the video, be sure to get the door with the removable peg that attaches to the motor. I had to return the door I bought to get the correct one with the removable part.

Excellent video tutorial. Best cutting tool for that is an oscillating multi-tool...cuts like butter!

Man what a life saver. Watched a video where expert showed how to remove dash to get to heater core.blend door. No way I'd try that. Yours was way to go. My blend door was OK but AC coil full of dust/dirt restricting air flow & cooling. Just cut opening in heat/AC box a little larger & took coil cleaner, water, & air to it. All kinks of dirt came out. Works great now.

Greatd video. Thanks. I just ordered the blend door kit after checking that the actuator still worked.

I used a $5 30W SOLDERING IRON to cut into my box. It works well if you can stand the smell. Didn't take long at all.

Buddy just did this to my 1998 f150 and Boom saved me a lot of money I used a Dremal to cut open the Hole .. but since I live in lower Texas and never get Cold Weather I just glued the Door and used some gorilla tape for door problem , solved worked perfectly oh and did it in like 20 minutes

This video was very helpful. My issue is hot air constantly blows out the vent. That does not work when you live in the desert. If I was way up north, then it would probably be stuck on cold. Lol. Anyways, very clear instructions and video. If our paths ever cross, I'll buy you a drink since you saved me the money.

Thank you very much. Local shop wanted $850 to fix this. I am mechanically inclined but I had no time to take my work truck completely apart. Thank you very much for showing how to do this with light. Not knocking other videos but you can’t see anything. Thank you again

I recently removed the blend door actuator to see if it was functional. It was unfortunately, I didn’t see any chunks of plastic falling out of the black box. I’m going to have to revisit it. Thanks for sharing.

Excellent tutorial. I have the problem of too much heat and had to install a valve under the hood and it is a pain. Too much heat, too little heat. Not enough AC in the summer. Now I know what to do. Thank you.

Dude, you are the man. I couldn't find this info on any of the ford forums and happend to stumble across your video. Thanks for sharing it.

You covered everything very well. Really excellent video for when i have a day to do this. Thank you.

thank you sir, I have a 98f150 and don't what I would do with wonderful people like you. i'm not much of a mechanic and don't have a lot of money so its people like on that keep me on the road. Bless you all.

Good job Greg and Thank You for sharing your info to fellow F150 owners

WARNINGS AND TIPS Did this yesterday and it was a PAIN. Take my advice and it should go much more smoothly for you. At the end of the day - still well worth it. Electronic module with the green screws comes out first, then vent, then actuator The vacuum cylinder above the vent makes a hissing sound when you start to pull off the connectors. This scared me so I tried to do the job leaving it connected and it made life miserable. Go ahead and unplug it and remove it (It's easy to put back later) I didn't take the vent completely out, I slid it about halfway out and then turned it enough to get access to the actuator. It helped to remove the little crossbar going between the bottom left corner of the glovebox panel and the floor of the truck. I found it easiest to position the door in the compartment, then put the silver shaft on the actuator, and then push the actuator up into the door that is already in place. Use your finger from underneath to make sure that the door and the hole are aligned. Warning - the new door simply has a post at the top that slides into the PLASTIC retaining ring, but the old door has a tab at the top of that post to keep it from sliding out. I broke the retaining ring with not much force, just jiggling the door trying to get it out. So just reach in there with some needle nose pliers and break off that tab on the old door, and it should come right out. I do think my repair will be fine because of the solid construction of the new door, and the fact that the shaft below is tight enough to handle most of the stress, but I thought I'd share since nobody likes breaking things unnecessarily. Good luck!

i cant pay the 800 for the repair! but i can do the work, soooo happy you made this video! my truck is the same year, make and model. so i should not have any surprises! this saved my butt! i can do this, i thought it was going to be a nightmare, but i can do it. thanks again,

Thank You. I just performed this myself...What a chore...Once I learned how to do it I could do it again, but the first time is very lengthy. The fancy gear to give heat in the truck isnt really an improvement....more things to go wrong. The old way with cables and vales were less trouble. Good advice and you helped a lot.

Great fix- I ordered the Dorman part from Amazon, delivered to the door for $30.They even included the metal tape for the air box repair in the kit!Thanks for posting this, and great job filming the repair.

I just did this job today, it took me about five hours. Big hands in tight places . I was successful though! Thank you.

Thanks for the video- did it today in about an hour! Great shortcut and it’s nice to have air conditioning in my truck again

You are the man you saved me $500 took 2 hours video was extremely helpful

THANK YOU!! my heater core took 12hrs over two days. Great video!

Thanks for going slow and doing great camera work. Mine box is cut now and door is out. Waiting on the door and should be here tomorrow morning. The replacement door is not $25 anymore, its $66. Thanks for the video 😊

You are the man! This is the best DIY video for us poor folks 🤷‍♂️

This was a great help.Now I have heat for winter. To keep the blend door open. I took a small piece of metal with a bend in it which I slid over the blend door and the other end was bent and slipped over the edge of the cut in the box. I then squeezed it tight and pushed the plastic opening closed. Like a big paper clip. I then put heating tape around the cuts

good god! thank you for posting this. i just purchased a 97 f150 that has this problem was about to have it fixed at the dealer till i found your video! thanks for saving me a ton of$$$$$$ bless you my friend.

Hello from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada just wanted to say thanks for the awesome video because my door broke the same as your did. So I ordered the same door followed your video and voila now I have heat thanks for saving me a lot of money 😊

Dude that's awesome!!!! Dreaded having to remove my entire dash. This way is much simpler. Thanks

This is an easier repair. I have the 2001 f150 lariat and there's more vents attached on the flooring that feed the rear seats. I had to cut some of the vents to access it and epoxy them back. good video!

Fantastic video, and thanks for posting it. I'm in the middle of this now. I had a hard time getting that floor duct out but then realized that you have to pull the carpet & pad out from under it just for that bit of vertical clearance, and remove the tubular brace attached to the floor on the right side (10mm) so that the duct can move forward (well, toward the back of the truck). Mine was still a PITA to get out and I'm worried about getting it back in. Also people, be sure to read the notes before diving into this - you have to have the Dorman 902-220! Dorman makes it specifically for this through-the-glovebox replacement. Update - finally got mine done. It took the better part of 2 days, the hardest job I've done in some time. There are a few things that can complicate this job, for example the outer ring from the base of the old door was still attached to the pedestal on mine. I wound up having to lay a flashlight in the bottom of the plenum box, hold a mechanic's mirror in one hand, and manipulate a pair of side cutters (in reverse of course!) with the other to cut that ring loose. That alone took a good two hours. I also was not able to get the ductwork back in until I used a hacksaw to cut the top 1/4" or so off the top of the threaded stud that comes up out of the transmission tunnel toward the right side (which is the mount point for that short tubular brace). Finally - although my actuator was still working fine, I replaced it anyway. I don't ever want to have to take all that crap apart again. Thanks again for a great video!

Thank you so much. My 98 expedition has been at the shop for 3 days and they couldn't fix it. I know that one of these 2 issues is my problem and I am ready for my hubby to get home from a trip so he can follow your steps. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for the video! Save me a bundle of money. Went ahead and replaced the motor while everything was torn apart. My motor still worked, but it was on its last leg.

Thanks for sharing install video for blend door replacement on my 98 Ford F-150. A few glitches but got er done. Nice cool air out of AC vents now. Paid about $80 for the replacement kit at Oreillys! Then after the fact found it online for around $30! Oreillys wouldn't price match on any online quote has to be a store.

Best video yet just what I needed to see thank you very much

good video. thanx for the info, i did'nt know where the blend door was. i'am going to try this this week.hopefully i'll have good luck

Same thing just happen to my 1998 ford f150,the local shop told me they would have to remove the whole dash in order to fix it.Thanks for the info.i know what I will be doing tomorrow.

Excelente video. Thanks for share all those details about this saving money trick.👍👍👍

Thank you.your way is the best.i had plenty of heat but with the door broken I could not get the air conditioning to blow in my face just at the top in the defrost area.

Thank you a thousand times over. Great video!

I just got done putting in my new heater core. Wasnt as bad as I thought. Took me over 3 days to do it cause I took my time. And I also cleaned everything i removed really good and also behind the dash had like a inch of dust on everything. Lol. But i have good heat now. I am happy!

I just drill a hole angled directly at the closed damper large enough for a welding rod to pass through then slid the rod up against the damper and bent the exterior part of the rod to where it's under tension positioned behind the aesthetic plastic behind the glove box. When I want heat I just slide the rod out. Took five minutes.

Wow.... you are the best step by step explainer. .. In the world... lol i had like 10 question that you answer because you take time to explain every set..... and my hat goes off to you.... Thanks so so much

Thank you..your video was very informative and cost effective for me..I to am a hands on guy and would rather fix things myself. Keep up the good videoing.

Great video and thanks for sharing! Hey everyone, before you start taking everything apart, be sure it's just not a stripped knob! That's what it was for me. I pulled the control knob off and used pliers to shift from hot to cold and that did the trick. Might add a dab of super glue and place the knob back on there.

Great video it helped me a lot. It saved me a lot of money and time.

Best video ever for this. Great job! Great video!

Thank You! I've spent HOURS looking for someone who can show how to diagnose this without first tearing into it! From a guy who could be called "TooTallSteve". Here's to our knots and dings on top of our heads.

You save me a lot of money thanks so much!!!

Super helpful video. THANK YOU!!!

Wow, ten years ago. Just getting to mine, 2024 . My 2002 F-150 at 265,000. Not sure yet if its the blend door or actuator. Guess i better look soon to see if i need to order one. Good video, thanks sir. Much appreciated.

Great tip! Although, I've put 3 heater cores and a blend door in my '99 F150 (Same setup). It's really not too bad to loosen the dash and pull it away far enough to get to the box. I never pull it completely out, just loosen it and pull it back just enough to access the heater core box. Yes, it is time consuming (Can have it done in 4-5 hrs), but it isn't very labor intensive and it's honestly fun taking things apart lol these trucks are notorious for heater core failures, which sucks because I love mine.

Thanks soooo much for your help!!!!!!!!! Works great 😁👍

Thanks so much this really saved me!

it would be cool if Dorman would manufacture a piece of plastic that can replace the airbox and be tight and removable in the future

Thanks Dude it worked saved me lots $$$

To TheMisterP... Replacing a $35 part and charging $500 for labor is not a good deal for most of us. I will stick with this method.

Well done. My blender door works fine so I'm not there yet. But was thinking about using this procedure to clean the A/C Evaporator. Thanks!

Awesome! Thanks for the post!

Thanks for the video 📹 I have a 98 Ford Expedition With the same problem Now I know how to fix it

Great job. Since the 2004 Expedition is much different, sure wish someone had experience with a similar repair. My door must be shot too.

Great job! I will give it a try.

You just saved me $1100.00 had same problem did what you did works great than you sir!

wow finally a video for this fix that you didnt use tape or a t shirt and have to remove the t shirt and tape to change from heat to ac...they are crazy to make you spend the time and cash for this issue...ford if you know this an ongoing issue fix the crap damn...good job man...nice n clean...not rigged completely !

I was able to do it with the one piece blend door it just takes a little finesse and a medium size pry bar :) just take your time and you can wiggle it in. Or you can just pre order the correct door and have an easier install. Just saying anything that "impossible" can be done. Good luck!

This also works for late 90's Expedition, same style console.

Very helpful video!!

Great instructional video

Great video, thanks 💪🏼💯

same happened to my truck 99 f150 thx , im going try fix it myself

It worked thanks for posting

Good job.. Good job.. 👍

if there's a problem,there's always a solution tnx Bro....

Is there a way to take the ac evaporator out by cutting more of that plastic housing. I did it on my tahoe by another video and I'm trying to do the same on my sister's 01 f150.

Does cutting out the black plastic like this give you enough room to clean the ac evaporator? Or can you cut it out bigger, more to the right? Thanks

@TooTallGreg So it looks like the Cut on the Air Plenum needs to be just to the left of the peg sticking up and just to the right of the screw holding it down and of course across the top. what tool did you use to cut yours? I saw one video where the guy said he almost cut too far to the left where the outside edge of the blend door is located when it is fully open. I also like the comment about setting the thermostat knob to full cold and placing the new blend door against the heater core during installation and that the metal peg is indexed to fit the actuator and the blend door in this position...any tips on this? will be doing this soon. Thanks.

Good job thanks for the video

You kick ass man! Thank you

Great Video

The first item removed was a round component with 2 screws. Does this just pull down and out straight out after removing screws?

Dude thanks for the idea

Thank you. Good video.

Thank for learning video I will try that

great video: in my case I was not getting heat but AC worked fine-had coolant flushed, thermostat changed, still no heat so I checked blend door via your method and blend door works so does that mean I need new heater core and if so do you think its possible to change it with your method of getting into the air box or do I need to take dash apart ?

Thanks, I'm hoping this matches my 99 Expedition.

What if the actuator and the blend door are both working? What could be the next issue?

My 2001 Ford Expedition heat and a/c cold air work good but I have a problem with the outside air coming in when I'm driving even with the a/c turned off or even on max. Is it the blend door or something else?

Hey TooTallGreg , so will this fix my rear AC from not blowing cold in the summer?

Thanks for this video,do you know the location of ac cabin filter?