My 01 marquis went 9 years with no a.c. after watching this video I spent $55 on blend door actuator. I did exactly as this man said. I left one screw actually holding the actuator on. A year later my a.c. is still working as it should. Mechanic shops quoted the job at about $1000. I did it for $55! Haters can eat that!

Man this is what KZfaq is ALL about. My friend you definitely just saved me hundreds of dollars if not more!!! Found the vacuum pump at harbor freight just like you said, tested all my actuators easy peasy. Found no pressure in the vacuum line and now I’m on to the next step. Thanks my friend, will definitely subscribe

You are a Benefit to Humanity - I had the exact same issue with the etac line leaking in the firewall. You saved me a ton of work! Used a loaner vacuum pump from AutoZone. I took the unused white parking brake vacuum line and spliced it into the etac line inside the passenger compartment - Thanks!

Changing out the actuator is no piece of cake. This is one of the hardest jobs I can remember and I have done a lot of work on cars. Prying the actuator can result in other broken parts. I surgically removed the part piece by piece then removed the screws. There should be special tools made for this job instead of removing the dash. Did it once but never again.

Thank you so much for a very informative and explanatory video! I am about to own a 2009 Grand Marquis and there are a couple codes on the EATC. I hope so bad that the issue is a defective EATC or vacuum leak like this and I don't have to mess with the actuator. But if I must, this video showed me how! Thanks again!

thanks. I have one half apart and was watching 5 other videos to find out what to do. yours is the only one that actually explains it.

3 years without a/c found out a bad accumulator. Replaced and now after this video I will fix the actuator and I’ll be cool this summer. Thanks

Worked for me though I recommend carefully removing or breaking out the old blend door module. I ended up cracking the box underneath and had to repair that too. But ...was worth it for the overall ease of repair. Thanks

Thanks for taking your time to preparing issue video! Very informative

Excellent work I'm about to tackle a very similar job very hot air blowing in car the shop wanted $1000.00 to do the job.I've taken these dashes out before no fun at all I'll try your method thank you

I took the dash screws out of the top by the Glass and all of the passenger side nuts and bolts from the bottom and removed the trim to get to hidden screws. I opened the door and wedged a short 2x4 and another small piece wood on the outside edge to pull out the dash a good 5 inches. You will have plenty of room to work from there, and for the ductwork, there's two small screws on each side, you can remove them with a ratchet with a phillips bit or use a $20 harbor freight saw zaw and cut it down the middle, then just use aluminum tape to hold it back together permanently.

Thank you! Great video, saved me hours of tracing the vacuum leak!!

Very good video, You are a good instructor and I know that helped a lot of people save a lot of money. good Job!!!!!!! God Bless

And this helped me out tremendously I do there was a vacuum leak but every time I looked it up couldn't find anyting I'm glad I found your video now I know how to fix it

Appreciate you taking your time in making this video. Thanks man

Awesome. I have been having issues with AC blowing out defrosters for years. Now the blend door actuator just failed so blows hot air only. I will do both these fixes. Thanks for making video.

Thanks for the video. Buddy of mine was having this exact same problem with his 2003 Mercury.

just did today in 35C heat, and it was a bugger. I think the heat made the plastic tabs more flexible as they resisted breaking. Might have been better in brittle cold. Anyways the furthest bolt came out with the pedastal still attached and left a whole the size of a loonie. I put some duct tape over it. AC works now so that is good. The trick to get that one far back on the right is get a tire iron and make sure the force is going up on the screw and not down. Easier said than done. If it breaks, don't sweat it. The actuator door is easily moveable and you don't need all those bolts torqued right down to operate it.

Great Video!!! I have a 2003 Grand Marquis, that has the same issue! . I am going to take all your tips and roll up my sleeves and get to work. Thank you!!! And Marry X Mass

Thank sir, just did mine. Tip for others. To tighten 2 back bolts 1/4 drive 8mm 12 point socket cut about 1/4 inch off now get 11mm 12 point wrench and press it in with vise. Its easier to get back there than with a ratchet.

Thank you brother! I have a 2004 crown Vic police interceptor ! And that’s what my air-conditioning was doing blowing from the top it was the falcon broke right at the garnish

Found my broken vac line and saved a lot of bucks... thanks.

lol "just break all this shit off, i'm trying to sell it anyway." Nice. I hate shit like that, if it's your car and you plan on keeping it and don't mind it being broken, that's fine and dandy, but cutting corners like that just for a quick sale is shitty. I also hate people who go to the pick n pull and break absolutely everything in sight just so they can get to that one part they want.. well now that's a dozen perfectly usable parts out the window. People are just great. I've personally gotten that bolt out for the air vent duct myself, it's not that hard. I watched this video for the EATC vacuum leak, insightful information there. having this issue myself, Thanks for the tips.

Good job man, and thank you for the info.

Thanks. Its always good to see what other people see. The vacuum hoses have always looked like spaghetti to me. I thank god my temperature control is not the automatic type. Perhaps the most informative piece of this video is that you are trying to sell it -probably the best example of what to do with a ford on youtube, Hah! All kidding aside, there is always something to work on with Fords and always something to make you scratch your head and wonder why they design things the way they do. I recently changed a window regulator which required half a dozen rivets. Luckily, I am familiar with pop rivets and have a big daddy rivet gun, but the rivets cost a damn fortune at the parts store. Anyway, thanks for the vid.

Perfect! This is a perfect video on this NIGHTMARE SUBJECT.. As I've been thru this 3 times on two vehicles by complete dashboard removal - I can tell you this guy has a GREAT answer for this hideous problem.. follow it. If you have one of these vehicles, The Crown Vic or the Marquis 2000 up (mine are both 2005) you WILL HAVE THIS PROBLEM .. as certain as night turns to day. At the 3rd iteration I got smart too but my solution was much easier. The trade off is that I have just full hot or full cold when I want it - in Arizona you just need those two choices. Pop the control bezel, pull the eatc panel and clip the wire to the junk motor actuator and power it with a SPDT switch from the 12v cigarette lighter. The blend door will run full either way or in between as you like. DONE. The problem is the feedback resistor for motor position, it goes open circuit - GARBAGE - the motor is fine and can be run back and forth like I just explained. (That is why you hear the clack clack clack of death when it goes bad) Mount the switch under the dash or let it hang.. I will post a follow up on the wire color involved as I don't recall exactly but it was I believe purple or purple with a stripe.. will follow up.. Don't bother replacing motor it just goes bad again and you will revisit this nightmare in an endless cycle.

Thank you very much for posting this.

You also helped me fix my own problems. Thanks!

Brilliant! 03 Cr. Vic with same issue on head unit. Thank you sir!

Some of this video was very informative, some of it is half assed. The top duct screw on the back side is a piece of cake to get to on my 2003 Grand Marquis, I fit a standard 3/8" ratchet in there with a 1/4" attachment and my 7mm socket. There is no need to cut the top duct tab or break it off whatsoever, there is plenty of room. Also, you can actually get to that 3rd bolt/screw on the back side of actuator with a U shaped wrench. It is time consuming but you can get it in there and pull that bolt/screw out. I don't have fat hands but they are large and I was able to do it. I used a screw driver to wedge the sound deadening material up and out of the way about 4-5 inches to the right of the actuator to make room for the wrench. I wore a headlamp so I could see the top of the bolt/screw and simply slipped the U shaped wrench over the top of the actuator and used a finger from my left hand to position the wrench on the bolt/screw. Now, you can only get about an 1/8 turn per go but if you are good with your hands you can lift the wrench slightly to reset and push it back on the bolt/screw with your finger. It took me about 30 minutes to get the bolt/screw out but it only took me about 5 to reinstall it. The whole job took me about 2.5 hours. Tools I used: 3/8" ratchet with 1/4"attachment, 1/4" extension, 7mm socket, 8mm socket, Duralast 8mm U-Shaped Wrench from Autozone, 8mm ratchet wrench, flat head screw driver.

Fantastic video, thank you.

My blend door stopped clicking about a year and just locked up on my 1996 with EATC. I used to stick my hand in the dash and manually move the lever but couldn't anymore. So I found a way to loosen the passenger side dash and wedge in a block on the side with the door open to remove the blend door actuator easier. I plugged the new one in and selected heat and ac and I wasn't getting any power to the terminals with a multimeter, that the little electrical motor in the actuator uses. So now I'm not sure what to do or where to test to see why I'm not getting power to the blend door actuator. Also my ac pulley is squealing, so I have to take that all apart before it locks up. I really want to keep this car but the electrical problems driving me crazy. Just about every switch goes bad and old plastic crumbles with age. .. anyways. Is there a fuse for the blend door actuator under the hood? So many little problems happening. Fan only works at full speed now, headlights dim just turning the fan on or putting up a window. Guess I need a better alt too. Smh.

may be a dumb question but is it the actuator that controls where the air blows out of or is it the vacuum system...my issue is that it only blows out on the floors thanks!

Thank you ian youre a lifesaver I swapped the main vacumm (black line from eatc) to get supplied vacuum from one way check valve. Its works beautifully. Also replaced the actuator. Rebuild price on the eatc is about 200.00 on ebay with a 60 day warranty. I spent 26.48$ on supplies at my local oreily. Im a ase certified technician and have been performing week's worth of research on this matter to determine whether Identifix was indeed correct on the removal and reinstallation procedure and the labor hours allotted for it. The reason every shop wants to charge you a thousand to $1,500 is because the labor book calls for 10.5 manual hours and the description of the labor entails the removal and reinstallation of the entire dashboard including the radio and in some cases the steering column or shaft This was definitely not a bite in the ass it was so much easier to perform it this way and I've been looking for a video to really go in-depth to see if anybody had been successful thank you

I have the same Automatic Climate System and for nearly to past year, each time I park the car and shut off the ignition I could hear what sounded like a door shutting, kinda hard. Now I no longer have heat coming out of the vents, only cold or cool air, no heated air, but I no longer can hear that door shutting like before, any suggestions?

Im getting a squeak from the eatc unit when starting or when switching from defrost to vent. Any ideas?

Just did one, and the plastic broke right under the actuator. I actually was able to get to ALL 3 bolts on it by using an extra long ratcheting wrench on the bolt closest to the radio, and was able to use a socket wrench 8mm on the back bolt closest to the engine. You don't need to break anything...

I have a 2004 G. Marquis. NO problem with the actuator yet, but the temperature control module on your 03" is different than the 04's. I curently have the car at the Ford Dealer. I noticed smoke coming from the hood on the passenger side. I raise the hood, and smell what I believe to be electrical. On the back of the fan motor on the left side of the fire wall, looking at this with the hood raised, there are two electrical connectors. I disconnected the top one, and did not see any smoke after that. BTW, the temperature controls were not on when I noticed the smoke. The Ford service rep says he thinks the smoke is coming from the valve cover gasket being old, and oil is dripping onto the manifold. I told him I saw no smoke coming off the exhaust manifold, and the smell didn't smell like burning oil. He says that Ford no longer carries the valve cover gaskets so he can't replace them. I told him I don't buy that this smoke is coming from an oil leak. I'd like to know what electrical would cause that smell ? I did notice that the speedometer did not work when I had the connector disconnected. There is also a connector below the top one, which apparently has nothing to do with the burning smell; when that lower one was disconnected, the power steering stopped working. I plugged it back in and the PS worked again. If you still have your marquis, let me know. I will tell you something about why the engine light will come on after you've replaced plugs and coils, which will save you hundreds of dollars and a lot of aggravation.

Good method on the actuator. I did one a couple years ago on an 03 Crown Vic Sport by pulling the dash back. Went ok. Now I have to do an 02 CV Sport and an 04 Marauder. I guess they ALL break eventually. I'll try your method this time. I also did the o-rings on the control head once too. Good information you provide here. thanks.

Any guess as to what size hose we need??

Question for the 08 grand marquis lovers. My AC went out; I changed the blend door actuator & main control module. When I change the settings you can hear a click.. but no AC, no heat or cool. Almost like the blower motor isn’t going on. Any ideas? Any fuses to check? Again.. lol. I am getting error code 25 in the dash.

Thanks man very helpful 👍🏻

I changed my blend door actuator but the blend door is not opening from heat to cool when I changed the temp

A temp fix I found out on a another video was to go up behind the glove box and using pliers turn the white piece on top of the blend door actuator. This will turn the bottom piece that moves the rod. I started the diagnostic mode and could hear it clicking. I could see it trying to turn the blend door. That's when I reached in with my pliers and gave it some help and was able to move it from cold to hot. In my case at 372K miles I didn't want to spend any money. I have heat now for the winter.

Are all the actuators on vacuum except for the blend door?

great video man.

No link to original video?

THANKS FOR VID---MY FRIENDS JUST ACTDE UP WITH HOT AIR WHEN AC ON AND THE GEAR CLICKING NOISE

Thanks for the great info i bought my blend door for. $15.00 and am going to do the job myself

The white wire coming through the fire wall with the black where does it hook up

My new actuator isn't moving.. I plugged it in and cycled through everything and nothing. Fuses are all good under the dash... Also my ac pump cycles on for a second then off and repeats. I get error code 24, 25. Switching the blender door handle by hand doesn't make cool Air. So even if my ac needs recharged, the replacement blend door isn't moving and I don't want to install it fully until I know why it won't move.

Would you mind posting the original video you watched in the description?

How much would you charge to do my 09 grand marquis

Good job proud of you thanks bottom of my heart good job proud of you thanks

How many broke the cracked the box underneath...I didn't but I removed the screws by hand, painful and time-consuming.

Some of your vacuum motors are visible but not on my 2000 Marquis. I need to replace the defrost vacuum motor. Anyone have any ideas or advice how to get to it and where it is (YELLOW LINE)? Also IMPORTANT- I replaced my blend door actuator but it did not work UNTIL I did a self test on the EATC. It is still throwing a CODE 25 anyone know what that is?? Also, I used a car vacuum hose I had laying around and used couplings for my lawn sprinkler system for micro tubing 1/4" and I was able this jumper to use it to go from the black line (incoming vacuum) and use it as a jumper to test all the vacuum motors and save the vacuum tester purchase.

I've replaced the o rings in my 2008 Merc Marquis and it works for a while and then the same problem occurs. I got the 007 silicone O rings 100 pack but can't figure out why it only last for a day or so. Last time I did the fix I just keep the air condition running cause I know after I turn it off and get in my car later and try to run the AC it's back to hot air/ Floor and Defrost. any advice or help would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Thank you for a good job on your video. Question that pops out: if the final vacuum leak were fixed first, would the other repair be neccessary?

Can you help me please, Ian? I changed my heater core and ever since then the air only blows out of the dash vents. I can hear the duct doors moving when I switch the selector but it still only comes out of the dash vents. Did I do something when I did the heater core job and how can I fix it?

I sure hope this will work on an 1996 lincoln town car. thanks a lot.

Is this related to the outside air coming inside the car? With all the exhaust fumes and shit🤕

What lines should have vacuum? On mine only the black line as vacuum, does the blue line also need to have vacuum?

Ian great job on the replacement. Ford tells me I have 3 of these. I own a 2007 Gr. Marquis which has started to blow hot air everywhere when the appropriate buttons are pushed. How did you determine it was this one?

I'm under the airbag and can see the door actuator and it seems to be working properly. The problem I'm having is when I turn on the a/c it blows hot air from the defrost and floor. When I change it to vent it stays blowing air at defrost and floor. It's somewhat hard to tell if it's hot or regular air bc it's 90 degrees outside. Do you think I have a vacuum leak? Why isn't air coming thru the vents?

Nice video. Most people in America would junk the car or trade it in. I can't live without AC

7:44 ..."they was all functioning" LOL

"Make money and rip us off" AMEN!! Love this ....thank you so much for this VERY informative video!!!

Found out my Vent door is stuck open so I only get air through the dash vents. I do not what to do to free it. All vacuum and controls are good. Any ideas?

Caution!!! I broke the pedestal off instead of the tabs! Fortunately two remained and I cut the other one off. I had to glue the broken ones back in and glue the actuator on the box. Not fun!

I'm having same problem with an 06 cant figure it out. Could you tell me how do you do the smoke test ?

Well done.

Thanks for saving me from the Ford dealership!!!!!!

1:15 he found the guy on youtube, then became the guy on youtube

Wow....Great video.. On my 01 GMQ LSE I pushed the Automatic button just to see how it worked and now it takes turning the A/C off and on to get the A/C to blow out the main vents instead of the floor.But after tuning the A/C on and off a few times it finally switch`s to blowing out the main vents.I don`t know WTF is going on,I guess I shoulda never messed with that Automatic function..

great idea.

Thank you.

drill welds..bracket comes off from around plastic. hooks..

I have change the eatc until three times and no of them have the fan selector working other than full on or off. Is this normal?

One HUGE mistake Ian. I learned about it in a GM Airbag School that a Buick dealership sent me to. When you broke the instrument panel carrier (that's what it's called) to get that air duct out (you showed the world at 2:30 ) you took on any future responsibility for injuries sustained by any passenger should the PS airbag deploy. I know, you're thinking that can't have anything to do with the airbag, and what you did can't disable it or cause it to go in some wild direction and hurt somebody. But that is what the airbag is mounted to, and if there is a future lawsuit, and you are the one being sued, all the plaintiff's lawyer is going to have to say is that you broke the thing the airbag is mounted to. YOU will then have to be the one to prove to the jury that the damage you did to the IPC didn't make a difference. That's a hard row to hoe in a civil trial where only 7 jurors out of 12 need to say "guilty". I used to get the insurance guys on this point all the time. Changing an instrument panel carrier can be a 12 hour labor charge on some cars and the guy would always want to look at how bad it was and try to convince me it would be OK, but all I'd have to do is tell him, "I've written my estimate, and I've said the IPC is broken, you can see it is, and if your refuse the repair, your company just indemnified any future deployment of the new airbag. They would always give up and say do it. BTW, It is possible a mechanic would tell you $1000 to change that blend door motor and would actually do the job by removing the IPC and taking the upper duct out of the way so he could take those screws out normally, but I doubt it. This is the kind of repair a mechanic would call a "Gravy Lick", because he's found a shortcut that works: something that takes him 1/10th of the time he's can charge the customer.

With due respect... this project of replacing a blend door actuator is not for the faint of heart or a novice mechanic. About 8 hours on Sunday just removing it! There is a pile of parts and tools on my passenger seat and the floor. OMG. What a headache! Still have to finagle (is that a word even?) the actuator back into its proper place and re attach it... not easy... today after work... What was I thinking? Want to see out of my windshield in the winter... didn't want to spend a thousand dollars... wish I would have videoed this fiasco from beginning to show what it is REALLy like to replace a blend door actuator... very difficult undertaking... and the part appears to have been in perfect working condition... wonder if it could be a simpler fix... like a switch... guess we'll find out later today or tomorrow... will let you know! Still appreciate you...

Well done I’ve had a ton of these cars and the climate control systems are a huge pain in the ass. Just pulled a blend door actuator out...tested good...think I got same exact problem as you on this particular one...03 marquis...thanks for doing the tracing make it easier on me. Got a video on rebuilding the o-rings on the electronic climate control unit?

TY. Just saved me a lot of money with the vacuum leak issue.

Thank you

Did u have any problems with the air bag?

It was coming from the garnish vacuum leak

Rodent damage is what the gnawing of that wire probably was. increasing number of vehicles end up with mice and squirrels underneath,chewing on the wires,due to auto manufacturers manufacturing eco friendly wires with a Soybean coating.

Good, uhhh, useful video. Saved, uhhh, my butt, uhhhh, also. Thanks fella.

Nice shortcut. I will say the reason the shop requires dash removal is because it is not professional to perform a hack job like this. I'm not saying it's not ok for YOU to do this, but a shop consists of professionals which means they need to conduct themselves as professionals.

I like this method, great idea. But don't use the big screw driver! I ended up busting a 3" hole in my plenum and had to take the dash out, aka the LONG way, and repair my plenum. Not fun. Good idea, just be careful with the screwdriver!

I think the other guy actually got those bolts out, but if this works, I'll do it this way.

Man the right way is to just remove the dash I bet all the time wasted breaking and cutting things the dash would have bin out already 🤷🏽‍♂️

Pressure or vacuum, make up your mind.

I'm all about saving money. Nothing wrong with that, but as a mechanic myself and brother of someone who works on cars, time IS money. We have to follow the factory training they give us and, yes, it is a little more trouble, but you avoid having to "tear up stuff" to get to a part. Just ask yourself: Would you work on a stranger's car and only charge them for the part? Or not charge them at all? Be honest with yourself...you know you wouldn't. And if you did, then that's awesome! But notice I said STRANGER, not a RELATIVE. Of course we would work on a relatives car for free...or virtually free. On the video: As an owner of my 3rd Crown Vic (identical to the Grand Marquis, of course) I have experienced this problem before. I've replaced the control units, both the manual and EATC, and this problem seems to occur again and again. So I'm thinking about ripping everything out and rebuilding the system using old fashioned technology.....cables. Using an old slide switch unit.

Taking the dash out isn't that bad. Had to do on my 99 mgm

"...the actuator is just gonna bust right out." This ain't happening. All the videos show after the fact, with the new actuator installed. I wish somebody could show me how to bust it off the last screw.

Meant white vacuum line

Crazy 1000 dollar repair on a car that might be worth 3000 dollars? I have the same issue with my 1997 lincoln

So if a shop doesn't want to permanently bust the fuck out of a customers dashboard you call that ripping them off.

Breaks 10 things to get it in: "I don't know why they gotta take it dashboard off" 😂

That's also a good way to break the air box prying on the actuator to get it out then you just turned it into a 1500 dollar job doing it the wrong way I get you wanting to save money but trying to do things the wrong way don't always work out those air boxes are plastic and won't take to much abuse I have seen them break a million Times