ratlratl

WOW, I can't believe this is still going. To all that have said thanks, you are very, very welcome. It's just one of the ways I saw I could help others out. It seems as though the blend doors and possibly the mode doors are requiring some attention now. Well since winter never really got here, and warmer spring is about to arrive, I think it's time to take care of this also. And come to think of it, I just had all the pieces except the dash out recently to add the steering wheel radio controls and overhead gauges, dang it! So like last time I'll get the parts and tear it all down again and take some pictures. Maybe this time I'll use velcro to put it all back.

Stay tuned.

Chris

p.s. If you think I deserve more than a thanks or a handshake, go ahead and DONATE to DTR. Help the guys out who make this place for guys like me and others stay a free site.

txfiremedic

ratlratl ROCKS. Do thank him by DONATING to DTR!!!

97Dually

What is that really loud CLUNK I hear once a week or so when I mess with the selecter switch? I mean a real LOUD-THUNK TOO!

Dukes69

A/C compressor

97Dually

I can feel the thunk! It's not that.............I know an air compressor switching on and off. I fear its one of the doors clunking open or shut..

txfiremedic

It's probably the door clunking into position, mine does it everytime I change the direction of air.

ScotS

Really excellent write up!!! Thanks, Ratlratl!

I just got the new housing assembly, 68004226AB, and was going to ask about just taking the new door and actuator out of it and putting it in my '06 so did a search and found this thread.

Will the new actuator keep the door from breaking again? Will pulling the IOD? fuse possibly risk breaking the door as it cycles through the range of travel? Anything else to watch out for?

Thanks, Scot

justcampin

So if it will not change from vent to defrost will this fix the problem or is it something else?

ratlratl

SCOT-pulling the IOD just cuts out the memory of the actuator. When it repowers it will learn it's range all over. It learns it by resistance to movement. It's not a high torque situation so unlikely that will do it. Once you go through the motions of taking the dash back, you're not going to want to do it again so put the whole assembly in.

JUST-that sounds like the mode door. I am going to do that write-up soon as it seems to be pretty popular now. It's just a little ways down on my list right now. I do apologize, however following the steps on here gets you where you need to be except for pulling the dash further back. You can undo the main wiring connector under the parking brake assy and completely remove the dash if you want. Or just set it back onto the front seats.


Chris

ScotS

Hi Chris,

Thanks, but I'm really lazy, strapped for time, and scared to take too much stuff apart. I'm the kind of person who likes to take things apart but can never remember how to put them back together.

And, since I don't mind doing things twice (some of the time, anyway), I want to try and just swap out the door and actuator. I remember looking in there when I pulled the broken one out and it didn't look that bad to get to. If you can think of anything I need to watch out for, any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Scot

ScotS

Okay, got the recirc door replaced! Here's what I discovered...

I started with the entire new replacement housing. There are two tabs molded into the housing, end stops, that should keep the door from breaking off again. However, even if I moved the door as far as it would go and compressed the foam seal, the door wouldn't move far enough to contact the end stops, at least in one direction (the other direction was fine). So, it looked to me like those stops wouldn't even help.

I removed the white coupler (it goes between the actuator and door) from the stock housing (still in the vehicle). You have to grab it on all sides since it has 3 snap-in retainers (not sure what you call it or how to describe it) spaced 120 degrees around. Easy to do from inside the housing...squeeze and push out.

It was a major pain to get the new door and white coupler out of the new housing! I ended up hacking up the housing so as to remove the parts I needed without damaging them.

Installed the new door and white coupler, along with the new actuator. The actuator had the same part number as the old one but I figured I might as well put the new one in. I pulled the IOD fuse as recommended, waited a while, then plugged it back in and turned on the ignition to test it. No idea how the "calibration" process works, but I saw nothing that would indicate the doors were going through a range of motion by themselves. The only way I could get the door to move was to turn the controls on the dash.

So, it was fairly easy to do...aside from the various tools I used to hack apart the housing, I only needed a couple of screwdrivers to replace the door. Hopefully it will last a while but if it only lasts 6 months I will be totally happy, considering it was less than $14 for the parts and (at least now that I did it once) really easy to change. I took some pictures for the mechanically-uninclined people like myself so if anyone wants to see, just let me know.

Thanks again, guys!

ScotS

Can anyone confirm that the recirc door actuator will automatically calibrate itself? I didn't see it move through it's range of motion by itself and I would hate to break it again if there's something simple I can do.

Also, curious to know how it "senses" when to stop moving? The service manual said something about the calibration process requiring the use of a scan tool and a whole bunch of other way too confusing stuff.

Broncojohnny

Hey guys, long time lurker here, first time poster.

I have a 2005 Quad cab Cummins 4X4 truck with 41,000 miles and this happened to me about two weeks ago. I had the typical problems with the vents not changing to defrost from floor settings and things like that. Then the door finally busted loose and fell into the blower motor. If you turned it on high it vibrated so bad that you could get a massage via the steering wheel.

I took the truck to the dealership since I have the extended warranty (7 yr./ 85K miles from Dodge) and they said it wasn't covered. Once I explained that they could put the truck back together and I would replace it myself, all of a sudden it was covered "due to the low mileage". Not sure if the dealer just wanted to bill the work or if Dodge has maybe changed their tune on this particular issue.

Anywho, thought you guys should know to stick to your guns and raise some hell and they may warranty it. Now I want to see if my dash squeeks like hell when they are done.

8Valve

When doing the door repair as RATLRATL describes, is there any chance of firing the air bag? Of course I would have the batteries disconnected .

Thanks
8Valve

chadder1313

Very good write up Ratl...!!