2020 ford ranger door blend replacement

[infinit.joe3]

hey guys. I know i should just search this thread. I just did a quick one.

Been blowing hot air the past year and finally told my mechanic to write up an estimate for blend door replacement.

Can yall tell me the part numbers i will need? I wanna order them asap since they will prolly take a week.
Apartently this is a " 10 hour " job. and im debating just renting a garage and tryna do it myself within 4 days of no work.
Im at the point where 2-3 grand to get me AC back is fine. I run lawncare landscape in texas so im at my breaking point.

If anyone could let me know what parts to look up or parts number that would be great.

2020 ranger sxt , extended cab
80,000 miles

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[ScarzRanger21(2.0)]

Before you start throwing parts at it, are you sure that’s even the issue? The blend door actuator is a common culprit but it could be a number of other things too.

Ford issued a TSB for the HVAC distribution box. It can become warped and cause the actuator to stick.

Have you checked the compressor clutch? If that’s not engaging, you won’t get cold air.

Also check the evap temp sensor. If that sensor goes out, the truck won’t know if it’s blowing hot or cold air.

Could be an issue with the climate control system software as well.

Unless you’ve already diagnosed the problem and that’s what needs to be replaced, I’d investigate it more. Check your cabin air filter and make sure your condensate drain isn’t clogged. Those can also cause the AC to not work.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Keep in mind that’s 10 hours with all the right tools, resources, expertise, manuals, and training. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do but pulling the dash completely out and flipping it upside down onto the seats is a daunting task.

If you do it yourself, I hope it all goes well.

Best of luck with this.

 

[NotBudule2]

You can manually move the door and get some relief... and since your in Texas, probably not have to move it to heat for quite some time...save a pile of cash also...
@AzScorpion did his that way...

 

[infinit.joe3]

thanks guys. i can send that check list to my guy. The pic of the removal is deff worth a 1000 words. Deff cant afford to try and do that on my weekend due to using the truck for work.

 

[Friday yet?]

Keep in mind that’s 10 hours with all the right tools, resources, expertise, manuals, and training. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do but pulling the dash completely out and flipping it upside down onto the seats is a daunting task.

If you do it yourself, I hope it all goes well.

Best of luck with this.

Not me! No way in hell would I tackle that job. Way way way beyond my skill set.

“A man’s got to know his limitations.”

 

[Dr. Zaius]

User @quangdog replaced his and documented a lot of the process, along with some gotchas to watch out for.

I completed the job of replacing my heater box this past weekend. Earlier in this thread someone (@airline tech ?) asked for a video showing the operation of the blend doors - once I had my old one out, I removed the motors from it and shot this video:



A few tips for anyone who attempts this job:

It's a pretty big one. I set aside both Sat and Sun to get it done. I started around noon on Sat, and worked for about 6 hours on it that day. Stopped after removal of the old blend box and install of new one, but left dash removed. On Sunday I started up around 10 am, and was completely finished with all the tools cleaned up before 3:30. I was not in a particular rush, and ran in to a few tricky complications due to some custom wiring I've added to this truck (trailer brake controller, amp power steps, dash cam, auto-fold mirrors, etc etc) that all have wiring running in and around the driver side footwell/dash... as a result, I could not easily completely remove the dashboard from the truck, and had to leave the driver side pretty close to the firewall. I was able to swing the passenger side all the way out far enough to give plenty of access, but it was a little tight sliding the old blend box off the AC condenser as a result.

Take LOTS of pictures with your cell phone as you go. Especially useful were the photos I took of specific wiring loom routing. When you pull the dash off, all the factory looms attached to the dash will be unplugged and all the routing will be changed up when you go to re-install. Having reference photos for what went where saved me a lot of frustration and time.

All the electrical connectors from the factory have some sort of release mechanism that should be *easy* to use...i.e, very little actual force is required. Sometimes though, it's really difficult to tell where the release tab is, or what direction to move it. My rule of thumb was if it took more than a little pressure from 1 finger, I was not doing it right, and should re-think how the connector worked. I did not break any electrical connectors during this entire job.



If you don't own a headlamp, buy 2 rechargeable ones before you start this job. Keep one charging while you use the other one. You'll need extra light basically the entire time.

You do NOT have to drain coolant or evacuate the A/C to complete this repair.

Chock the tires, and put the truck in neutral *before* you disconnect the battery. You have to chock the tires because you will have to release the parking brake to remove the center console and to make clearance to put the dash on the seats when you get to that point. If the truck is left in park, you'll have a really hard time getting the center console out...but there is a secret release mechanism:



There are 2 screws on the blend box itself that have to be both removed and re-installed by feel - they are on the firewall side of the box, sandwiched between the box and the firewall. There is *just* enough space to get a super stubby screwdriver back there, or, if you have a mini ratchet with a phillips bit, that will work well (and is what I used):



The single bolt that is located near where the dashboard meets the windshield on the passenger side was the single biggest pain-in-the-neck fastener in the entire project. I recommend just using an allen wrench/key to back the bolt out a half turn at a time until you are about to hit the windshield with the wrench, then switch to a pair of pliers to just grab the head of the bolt and spin.

You WILL need another set of hands to both remove the dash and re-install it. It's heavy, it's awkward, and lining things up on re-install was especially challenging. My wife helped me, and I'm happy to report that in spite of the experience we are still married.

I'm also pleased to report that the new blend box is working perfectly, and my truck's climate control is back to doing what it's supposed to.

There are no new rattles, and the only casualties were a couple of broken clips on the door sill plastic plates that sit at the bottom of the doors next to the seats, and a small piece broke off a light pipe on the passenger-side footwell for the interior ambient lighting. You can tell I'm all broken up about this horrible damage. ;-)

All in all, I'm VERY glad I did this job myself instead of both trusting and paying a dealer to do it. If you are at all handy, have some time and patience, you can do this job too.

 

[FerdRanger]

funny he mentions the fastener near the windshield…….

apparently Porsche Macans or Cayennes have similar heater box issues and removing the windshield by a third party is SOP

my late build 2020 Lariat has been tickin for several years

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I took my truck in several times for the HVAC issue always to get a No Problem Found result.

I took a video of the system set at 70 degrees, with air on the driver side coming out at 72 degrees and coming out the passenger side at 120 degrees, and then contacted Ford directly.

They opened a case and when I took it back to the dealer again I gave them the case number and the video.

They magically found it that time, thankfully just before my extended warranty ran out.

They also magically found my transmission issues that time too, so warranty saved me there as well.

I had already determined that this was going to be the LAST time I took it in because if it had come back with another No Problem Found it would've been traded the same week.

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