Heater Blend Door Hack

[drew peacock]

too much cheap plastic on cars today.
check scotty kilmer ranting about BMW 's on you tube lol
got to love ole scotty

[camguynj]

Originally Posted by camguynj

Makes sense. As the blend door fittings in 5th gens are just plastic on plastic I’d really like to know if GM instructions call for them to be lubed when replacing a blend door? If not that implies the fitting stubs aren’t lubed at the factory which maybe the significant factor for door failures if the actuator torque tolerance mechanism starts to fail.

Originally Posted by mikeman

The fitting stubs are probably some type of slippery nylon plastic and they usually don't need any grease or lube. Thinking about it more, any kind of lube could cake up/dry up and make it more resistant to turning which would be a bad thing in an application like this.

Originally Posted by '10CamaroDude

That's what silicone lube is for. No debris or dust catching. There is a dry
silicone too, like a powder.

A dry PTFE lube is was referring to in my post

[ElderJ]

So, just a question (or three).
1. How often does this part fail?
2. What would be the ramifications of not repairing it if it were to fail?
3. Am I stupid for wanting to now enter and exit my car via the passenger side door and never wanting to touch the air control knobs/kanobs again?

[Silveradoss573]

Originally Posted by ElderJ

So, just a question (or three).
1. How often does this part fail?
2. What would be the ramifications of not repairing it if it were to fail?
3. Am I stupid for wanting to now enter and exit my car via the passenger side door and never wanting to touch the air control knobs/kanobs again?

1- no idea?
2- no control of your air flow
3- mine cycles even opening passenger door

I'm still convinced it's the extended range that's breaking them from the video. That and them cycling every time I open and close my doors.

What about just unplugging the actuator? You could set it to say the upper vents only then unplug it? I'm just going to leave mine as is and just limit how far I turn the temperature knob. Hopefully that'll do the trick.

[CHRISCAM]

My '13 has been diagnosed with this blend door breakage issue. From the pics I've seen of other broken blend doors, the breakage always seems to be the same-- the plastic female hex portion on the door where it receives the actuator hex piece breaks off. My thinking is that it's due to a combination of factors:
Fundamentally, that door should have been designed with a metal reinforcement inside the hex receiver cup, with maybe a metal shaft with embedded tabs for added strength all down the length of the door edge.

That said, the blend door is also subject to high heat from the heater core's proximity. Plastics really lose a lot of their mechanical strength at temps above 200F. That, coupled with the thousands of cycles with the actuator (which I've also heard is both too strong a motor for the task at hand AND supposedly also doesn't stop torquing closed right away even when the door is closed)-- it's a perfect storm for failure.
I got an estimate of $800 from a mechanic I trust ( who would do the Dremel cutting hack). I don't have the funds for it right now, so I bypassed my heater core. In SoCal we honestly rarely need heat. I also found out years ago by accident that AC works great as a window defroster. The AC blows nice and cold too, for when it does get warm. I may decide not to fix it. We'll see...

[lemontwist]

Originally Posted by CHRISCAM

My '13 has been diagnosed with this blend door breakage issue. From the pics I've seen of other broken blend doors, the breakage always seems to be the same-- the plastic female hex portion on the door where it receives the actuator hex piece breaks off. My thinking is that it's due to a combination of factors:
Fundamentally, that door should have been designed with a metal reinforcement inside the hex receiver cup, with maybe a metal shaft with embedded tabs for added strength all down the length of the door edge.

That said, the blend door is also subject to high heat from the heater core's proximity. Plastics really lose a lot of their mechanical strength at temps above 200F. That, coupled with the thousands of cycles with the actuator (which I've also heard is both too strong a motor for the task at hand AND supposedly also doesn't stop torquing closed right away even when the door is closed)-- it's a perfect storm for failure.
I got an estimate of $800 from a mechanic I trust ( who would do the Dremel cutting hack). I don't have the funds for it right now, so I bypassed my heater core. In SoCal we honestly rarely need heat. I also found out years ago by accident that AC works great as a window defroster. The AC blows nice and cold too, for when it does get warm. I may decide not to fix it. We'll see...

if you can squeeze in i would do it myself it's to easy to pay someone to do,but if i was going to pay someone to do the hack i wouldn't go over 200 including parts and i think that's generous.

[ariZona28]

How difficult is it to access the actuator plug/connector. Maybe unplug the actuator then reconnect it as needed. This could eliminate the excessive cycling and related stresses. Maybe even install a switch of some type.

[Black 6.2L SS]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

How difficult is it to access the actuator plug/connector. Maybe unplug the actuator then reconnect it as needed. This could eliminate the excessive cycling and related stresses. Maybe even install a switch of some type.

This is a good idea. Does anybody familiar enough know?

[lemontwist]

over 5 pages of posts on this........

[CamaroBarb]

Originally Posted by Black 6.2L SS

This is a good idea. Does anybody familiar enough know?

Try it and tell us.

[Black 6.2L SS]

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

Try it and tell us.

I’m also not here to jab. I simply gave a compliment to ariZona28’s idea and gave a bump to the question he asked. (My first and only appearance in this thread). Why and how would I try his idea if I don’t know myself? Peace.

[CamaroBarb]

Nothing ventured nothing gained I always say.

[ariZona28]

OK, here is my 1st attempt of R and D on this problem. As mentioned earlier by Silverado SS , I removed the HVAC 15 amp fuse located behind the panel next to far left A/C vent. Now, no door cycling or mystery motors buzzing. Big draw back: no heat, defrost, A/C or fan. Going to drive for a week or so and see how it goes. This would be difficult to tolerate for DD's in cold/harsh climates but maybe a good idea on seldom driven hobby cars.

[Silveradoss573]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

OK, here is my 1st attempt of R and D on this problem. As mentioned earlier by Silverado SS , I removed the HVAC 15 amp fuse located behind the panel next to far left A/C vent. Now, no door cycling or mystery motors buzzing. Big draw back: no heat, defrost, A/C or fan. Going to drive for a week or so and see how it goes. This would be difficult to tolerate for DD's in cold/harsh climates but maybe a good idea on seldom driven hobby cars.

Was your side panel a mother to get off like mine was? Yeah you pull that fuse and you have no HVAC system at all as you noticed.