2000 Ford Taurus, A/C Not Cold

This 2000 Ford Taurus came in with the complaint that the compressor was coming on but the air out of the vents was not cold. In fact it was hot. I checked and the compressor indeed was coming on and the lines were quite cold so I knew the problem was with the blend air door control. The blend air door actuator is located behind the radio and climate control assembly.

There are two holes on either side of the assembly where you have to install a removal tool.

Once the tools are in place the hoops need to be pushed to the outside in order to release the locks.

Then the assembly can be slid out of the dash.

The actuator is hard to distinguish in the picture but the white circle with the square recess that is located just to the left of the orange vacuum line is the actual part that rotates the door on the opposite side of the actuator assembly.

With the controls still connected and the key on I adjusted the temperature from hot to cold and back again. The shaft would just start to turn a little and then it would stop and just tick a little bit. Sounds like a broken gear in the actuator to me. The actuator should move in about a 90 degree arc if it everything is working correctly, when adjusted from full hot to full cold.

I replaced the actuator which simply involved removing a few screws and bracket if I remember correctly. Sorry, I do not seem to be able to find the rest of the pictures right now.

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