Fog Runner

My 06 busted 2 days ago with 10,500 miles on the ticker. I pulled the broken flap out yesterday. Can you order the parts from onliine, or do you need to go to the dealer? Also what is the downfall to plugging up the hole and making it only recirculate, if this is done will defrost and all still work right? I don't see why not. Where is the outside intake that you cover to make it only recirculate? Do all of the dealers carry these parts, or are they getting hard to come by?

Great Topic,

Thanks,

FR

ratlratl

The opening is in front of the housing. It will have to be removed to plug it. That won't let in any fresh air. Your defrost may not work properly. You'll only get fresh air from the side windows. Right now it is a dealer only item. You can probably have a dealer send it to you by UPS if you order over the phone. Where are you at? There are plenty in stock in the warehouses. If it is a primary Dodge dealer, they should have this in stock.

Chris

mizzu

My recirc door hinge broke last summer and then fell into the fan. Sounded like you dropped a tin can in a garbage disposal. I simply removed the screws holding the fan in on the passenger side, dropped the fan, removed debris & then reached up and ripped out the recirc door. I reinstalled fan and the A/C finally cools & blows like it should. I was concerned about not being able to control outside air and the effects my actions would have on heat/defrost and other functions. I can truthfully say that I have had no problems with outside air, I simply turn fan off & airflow stops. All "winter" functions work great, plenty of heat through vents or floor, good windshield defrost and great cooling in summer. I see no reason to ever pull my dash to reinstall this useless piece of failure prone plastic.

chucktuna

Awesome write up ratl...
I have been dreading this repair....even under warranty.

And now the time has come.
I put up with weak air flow this summer and now that its turning cold, no heat or air at all!..Just a lot of noise, no flow ;(

I think I'll take in some of your tips to make sure its done right.

chuck

pet05

RatlRatl -

Thanks a ton for the write-up. I had a laptop in the garage and I was using your write-up to guide me along the way.

Where I got stuck was trying to get the old recirc-box out. I was trying to hold the dash up while using my other hand to try and yank the box out. That turned into a 30 minute battle.

Then I had a brilliant idea. Why not just stick a small jack underneath the dash to help keep the dash up. Like this I can use both hands. It worked great! I was able to lift the dash higher and this allowed A LOT more room to navigate to get the box out. I then had both hands free.

Just thought that might be a good addition to the write-up.

Thanks again and I really appreciate it. The old door was broken-off and was blocking the air flow. The new assembly looks beefier and I believe they did something with the stops.

Here comes the snow!! Just in time. My door is fixed and I poured in 5W-40 synthetic Mobil1 in my truck.

megafast

Excellent write-up! Hope I never need it! 20,000 miles on her, but I never use the fresh air, just recirc....hey, I live in Montana! LOL

ratlratl

Hey pet05,
It was almost like me flying to Colorado, except only your hands got the little cuts and dirty.

Chris

pet05

Yeah, those metal plates underneath the steering column and underneath the dash are DANGEROUS. They can be razor sharp in some areas. Four cuts on my left hand and six cuts on my right hand were the end result. Mostly small cuts. Looking out the window here, we have snow.

What does the dealer charge for the swap-out, is it a 3-hour job?

With this new door setup, how did the fix the problem to stop it from breaking?

Maybe you should "advertise" your expertise and you can make some money $$$ swapping out recirc-doors. Or better yet, have DC include your instructions with each recirc door they sell. It would cut-down on warranty work/time.

pet05

I had 10K miles on my truck when it broke. I was always SO CAREFUL in switching from recirc to outside air. I would actually turn the fan off or on low when switching to prevent this. It still broke. It broke the door completely off. It was laying in the vent area blocking air flow.

IMHO, I believe it is only a matter of time that it breaks. The first time can be slow going, RatlRatl's write-up was very well done, it should come included as instructions with each new recirc door DC sells....

ratlratl

It's sunny and 75 here. I believe it's 4-5 hrs labor charge. It looks to me that when I had the two beside each other that they added an extra corner and two little ***** to more effectively "stop" the travel range of the door. About the "ad" thing. I had got my legs streaked earlier over a mistake with placing ads here and I WON'T be doing that again. Just glad my time and many cuts were able to help others.

To all others reading this, Please donate to the site instead...I like it here.


Chris

J BODY

DC cut the labor on this job in about 1/2 over a month ago.

ratlratl

Yeah they say to only change out the door now, by taking out the fan and dropping the door through it. The straight away problem to this is you don't get the updated redesigned housing (w/actuator, new stops and new door $16) you just get the same old defective door for $25 (currently on b/o) and risk damaging the old housing when it is removed. Also this procedure only applies to a truck WITHOUT the infinity system, as the amplifier prevents the access through the glove box.


Chris

Vinceg99

Over 300k on mine no problems with my recir door but I wish I did instead of having the problem I DO have, my Blend door is messed up I have it on floor and it comes out mainly just the defroster which really stinks now that I have been using the heat if I want to warm up my feet the best I can do is turn the heat up higher roll down my window a bit so my face doesnt melt

Stinks though cause in orer to do THAT door coolant, A/C everything has to be messed with not looking forward to that when I finally have it done.

Fog Runner

Ratl,

Just wanted to say thanks agian for all of the help on this one. I found a dealer that had the AB version in stock and picked it up last Friday at a cost of $13.50. I had the day off yesterday so decided to tackle the job. I also had my laptop in the garage with me, worked out great. It took me a little under 2 hours for the whole swap, but I was double and triple checking everything. Awsome Job Ratl, made this whole deal a breeze.
This place is great!

THANKS AGAIN

FR

Bark

Great write up and thanks for all of the work on it. Mine is going to go someday.