Has anyone from an automotive school called and asked you to speak yet? Following you through the heater box was the most straightforward I've ever seen it explained. Best real world mechanic channel on UA-cam. Keep it up!
I agree with you it reminded me of when I was in college and learning algebra Until I had someone explain it so I could understand it I could understand the words that the prof keep saying so after failing the class two times the third I had a prof that could it explain it in more simple terms so I could understand it better. I finally passed it and it sure help with other classes as in Statistics which came naturally after that.
Watching you patiently and systematically work, helps me feel more confident about completing my projects. Your daughter is getting close to the age of teaching her how to identify tools. Never hurts to have an extra pair of hands to pass you tools. She is just adorable. You are so blessed
I have done one dash out heater core replacement on my 02 Dodge 1500 a number of years ago that I bought new and still have in decent shape at 250k miles. Since I live in SW Florida I just froze the blend door in the AC position a number of years ago and get along fine. Am now faced with a blend door problem on my grandson's 08 Dodge Dakota which has 4 actuators that I have found and the bad one is the one in the middle. So glad I ran across your post on access via radio removal. As a large not too flexible 78-year-old that will be my route. Thanks
I gotta say you sure took the dash apart a lot more than I ever did. Don't think I have pulled the dash completely out for an evap on a Mopar veh. That may have to do with working in the dealership so mostly all under warranty. I do pull the carpet all the way out and pressure wash, with soap, it for a heater core leak that has saturated the carpet. I did that for warranty or customer pay even though I didn't get to flag hours for it under warranty and never gouged a customer for it. The good thing about working at the dealership is I can make up the loss hrs on electrical warranty jobs. I'm good at sticking it a little to the manufacture rather than to a customer. Again loving your videos. Keep it up.
I had to laugh when you smirked and said "there's not much to it". Of courser that's after the entire dash, computer and accumulator are removed so you can get access. This is the best video I've found of this procedure. I think people get tired of trying to video everything, so most heater core videos are clipped by frustrated mechanics trying to get finished. It's so nice to see it wide open where you can see everything. If this was my truck I'd invest in long underwear and put up with a door that doesn't work, ha ha. But if the core starts leaking, you either fix it or bypass the core entirely.
I've seen many of your videos when after market stuff got in your way. Point well taken. Somebody did a lot of work to repair the heater box so you could do a lot of work to make it right. That was the best demonstration of a heater system I've seen. Those TV auto shows have nothing compared to what we can see here.
When I find a problem that I haven't been into before, I generally look to your video channel first. I like how you get right down to it and explain what you have encountered in the past on different vehicles. I appreciate how you talk in a straight forward fashion and try your best to get everything you're doing included on the video. I also like how you give any extra advice on your past experiences and try to help your followers save money and time and get it fixed right the first time, thank you.
Eric, I would like to say thanks for your "If I can do this, you can do this" encouragement. Having the defrost mode fail on my ram, I was in need of this repair being done. At 65, I wasn't sure if I should attempt repair myself or take to a local repair shop; I decide to do the job. During research, I came across a firm called Blend Door USA that makes & sells aluminum replacement doors for Dodge ram pick ups only, The instrument panel (dash board) on this year ram model tend to crack & fall apart, so I replaced the dash top while removed from truck. I also spent much time replacing the foam missing between the air duct joints. Thanks again for your swell troubleshooting videos.
This is another great video, 7 years ago remains relevant as I get ready to do this over my Christmas break.. That "home made" door is from HeaterTreater it looks like, but BlendDoorUSA is a good option for all aluminum blend doors.. thanks for this Mr O
Eric, this is a very informative post. Most people will just throw out a car if it has serious HVAC issues, at least here in N.Y.S., so you don’t see this done much at all. Thank you for continuing to share your excellent work with us.
Holy smokes! Your tips and tricks. Using an air blower through over flow hose! I've always used a pressure tester devise. Wow, was I wasting my efforts and time. We all look past the obvious simple solutions. You are the man! Though you think some 9f your videos aren't interesting I ALWAYS learn something. Keep up the good work
I'm a new fan....but just completed the replacement of all 5 blend doors and heater core on my 05 Ram with no issues or 'you didn't show THAT in the video!" moments. Eric, you're the man! Thanks for making these videos.
I just kept thinking, "Eric, just take the dang air intake tube off!" it was so in the way. Hats off to you for working through all this and filming it for us... I have this job in front of me so was good to see from your video what I have coming. So a BIG THANK YOU for this. What did all this cost the customer? Just round numbers... Thanks, Clay
I will be rebuilding my hvac box with the blenddoorusa kit. They have all aluminum doors and is 100% better than the oem plastic junk. Also changing heater core and evaporator on my 03 ram
Excellent, very informative video. Make no apologies for anything you did, it is all great. Many, many thanks from many people. It is guys like you that renew my faith inhumanity.
This year, 2021 I did a heater core replacement on my 2001 Jimmy. I sympathize with your dilemma. I didn't have the debacle you have but I still had to take the whole dash out. I had no idea what I was getting into, but it all came out okay, much to my amazement.
Beautiful work! Love the testing and verification process. I have had the displeasure of installing "cut-in" blend doors a couple times. Difference is, I made nice cuts with a Dremel. Also threw away the foil tape junk, used Gorilla tape and heat treated it.
I'm glad you did not close with "if I can do it, you can do it", because you would never catch me doing that,, for sure and for certain! Great job Eric keeping the Hargrave's piggies warm. :)
Trinity's TOO CUTE, pantomiming you in the opening scene, monkeying around, and climbing on the stool. I'm sure that since she spends a lot of time in the shop, she's aware of avoiding nasty things on the floor or in all those drawers. Accidents will happen, but you can't protect the kids from every eventuality. EXCELLENT Job, sir! You turned a sow's ear back into a silk purse.
Is it just me or do most people find screwing with this interior stuff a lot more intimidating than working on an engine. This interior stuff just scares the crap out of me as it's all fragile plastic held together with apparently chewing gum and bailing wire. Don't like messing with dash boards. Amazing job Eric, I'm sure I'd have broken something. I'm really busy preparing my car for it's latest, and hopefully last, paint job which will happen post SEMA. Rather paint a car any day than screw with a dash. I know sandpaper, paint and spray guns. I know nothing about dashboards.
I agree completely. I tried to do some work on my Hyundai, and despite being careful, many of the clips fell inside the dash panel, and could not be retrieved, so I had to buy new ones. It appears that everything was designed for quick assembly, and not intended to be taken apart later.
I did that similar thing in my 99 ford f150. The blend door snapped of course. 10 hours of labor to pull the dash. Bought the new redesigned blend door, two piece METAL pin instead if plastic. Cut a hole in my heater box via the glove box took me around 1 and half hours and the heater box doesnt leak or nothing after taping with that foil tape. I wouldnt do that on a customers car but my own helll ya!
Amazing, fabulous brain you have... and awesome patience. I've done a couple of heater cores and it is a whole new world behind that dash board... thumbs up to you.
I think you were very proficient and professional. I did the same change out on my 1995 dodge intrepid. It was well worth it. I'm thinking about doing the same to my ram. Thanks for good work. I'd refer you.
It is such a pleasure to see a real mechanic do something right they are very far and few between these days, there is no such person around Where I live . I need a heater core put in my '96 trooper I have had to park it just because I can't find anyone to take the job.
I'm sure you know that 86 Ford pickups blend doors are one peice contruction meaning the door and hinge is all made together and when the door moves it's bending the plastic tabs that are riveted to the heater box. One super cold day I put the heater setting on defrost when I did there was this loud bang and after that it wouldn't switch the air flow to the different positions those blasted plastic flexible hinges broke . So I gave it a good looking over and thought I bet I can use some really small metal hinges and drill a couple holes in the blend door at its edge and bolt the hinge to the blend door while bolting the other side of the hinge to the heater box where those blasted flexible hinges were mounted. It's lasted now for the past 5 years or so and still working great. If you ever run across an 80--86 F-150 that the blend door flexiable hinges are broke, by using metal hinges that old blend door can be reused and it's a quick and easy fix 😁
If I understand you correctly, You recommend the recirculation door, upper blend door and defroster door from Dorman. the other two at the AC evaporator go with OEM.I am in the process of doing this job before a Canadian winter arrives...
I understand what your saying Eric. It’s not the aftermarket parts, it’s the dodos that install them. They don’t install wires, tubes, or the part clean and tidy. They don’t use any wire loom zip ties electrical tape. I like when they try to Connect wires together they use butt connectors and they don’t even heat shrink them or they tie the ends of the wire together and put a little bit of electrical tape around them. Then they just leave a rats nest of wires under the dash, or running along the floor. The ones I can’t stand the out of any of them are the young kids that install subwoofers and amps, it’s always a mess.
LOL on the Power Probes getting bigger every year...so true! And where's the bonus material where the old heater box gets "Eric's aftermarket treatment"?
+South Main Auto Repair -- Oh Baby Now You Know For Sure that I'm reserving couch time for this one's final tribute to Hack n Lack of Sanity!! The only real way to pass any sanity meter - Blow the Booger Up!
Great job. Great explanation. I think Ford Escort had the easiest heater core to replace with the 2 screw access door, and the Dodge Ram has the most difficult. Although I seem to remember an old Buick or Cutlass required pulling the passenger fender out to access the heater hose connections. I like a challenge but I hate desigh stupidity. Thanks for the video. Cheers
My lower jaw hit the floor when you said the Dorman instructions actually said to cut the heater box and then tape the holes. Now I _have_ heard it all! Well done as usual, thanks for the video.
I know it's much too late now, but im about to do the blend doors on my 06 1500. Those blend doors you said looked home made, were actually the ones that are sold from a company called "Heater Treater". I did some watching around in the past few weeks and found a company called "Blend Door USA" which makes aluminum ones that are machined to 1 solid piece.
0:13 Got the supervisor looking over your shoulder this morning, I see. Priceless. That was an excellent overview on how air flows through the HVAC system and how to test the pressure lines before re installing the dash.
It’s true, aftermarket isn’t always the way to go. Budget wise/band aid fix. Manufacturers have strict quality control with applications on hand. If anything remanufactured. Aftermarket seems to be made with dimensions in mind without yet real world RnD
Wow, great job Eric. I don't know how you keep your cool with some of that stuff. I would have used up my vocabulary of swear words. Whatever you charge for that job, it's worth every penny.
Proof that newer cars/trucks are designed to be assembled, not to be serviced (after the warranty) without great labor expenses. Vehicles with "dual heat & a/c" are even worse as they usually have two heater cores and evaporators which combined with, in most cases, the entire dash assembly has to be removed. For those folks who have an older vehicle, say 5 or 6 years, run the risk and likeliness that more than one plastic retainer or clip will break which leaves the owner with a less secure/mounted dash and other equipment. And depending on how much finesse your mechanic exerts in care to avoid breaking plastics etc. you could be buying parts that were perfectly fine before the elephant entered the cabin area. From what I see here, SMAR LLC does not rush it in attempts to avoid collateral damage due to brittle plastic from age and COLD weather. One reason why I won't let just any shop work on my older vehicles, they need tender gloves or I'm going to be stuck looking for parts that are no longer made or no longer available. Good job on this one.
Wel well very good job there wheel done am struggling with diagnostics on my mom RAM it makes a lot noise under the dust but thanks to your video I kind have an idea what’s going on in there but am afraid all have to come down to make sure are the blend doors but the low side in the Infineon compartment frost while the a/c is running I would very much like to hear what you think thanks for been there for us and do what you do Jahovah bless your every day and family what is really important
I agree I can not stand how some people install aftermarket accessories!! Just because it’s not OEM doesn’t mean you shouldn’t install it like it’s OEM! Every aftermarket accessory that I install, I install it like it would be if it came from the factory that way. That means connectors everywhere that things come apart etc. VERY little to NO zip ties, I use conduit clips instead everywhere possible just like the factory wiring. Every single wire is ran inside conduit, not only that but if there’s an existing OEM wiring harness where my wires need to run then I will run them inside of the existing wire loom, no random wires hanging out but at the same time no more wire loom then there needs to be. Because 3-4-5 strips of conduit ran side by side in my opinion almost looks as bad as a bundle of wires ran beside one strip of conduit. I keep things as clean and as OEM looking as physically possible👌🏻 And for anyone else out there that installs aftermarket accessories if you don’t already I highly suggest you do the same! If your a business owner and/or installing aftermarket accessories is your job your customers will GREATLY appreciate it, trust me. But even if your installing something on your own vehicle you should still take the time to do it right, you’ll be SO much happier with the end result!
I had to do something similar. My 2011 f350 had a clogged evaporator so I had the pleasure of removing my interior and dash to replace it. I took my time about 12 hours and channeled my inner Eric O. Saved myself over $1500!
thanks for the informative video. I have to tackle this on my 1997, 2006 and 2007 Dodge trucks. All have really crappy AC and heat and broken blend doors. I like the trucks, but HVAC is killing me - too cold now, too hot in the summer.
great info, I just replaced the blower motor resistor, but found out that there is a lot of debris in the heating element while at it. I'm not a mechanic, but definitely willing to try to change it all myself, only things is I will need to know all the names of the parts you are changing here so when I go out and get them they don't look at me like "wtf!"
Great demonstration of how the blend doors work. I was always curious as to how they worked. I have a Chevy Silverado and have been having problems with heat coming out of the dash vents when the blower is turned off.
The c&c aluminum blend doors are the way to go if you are going keep the truck for a long time . The aluminum blend doors are absolutely the best way to go and mine were $315 bucks but high quality piece .
You have a talent for the visual arts that is wasted on motor vehicles I hope someone in the documentary film business sees your videos until then keep them coming
+South Main Auto Repair - They told Walt Disney that he wasn't special. He dropped out of school. In fact you join an elite list of movers and shakers. Me as well. Failed the 10th grade after parents split up. Went back for a couple months and said nah i can do more working and did. Started at 14 and just stopped now. I've retired from 3 places and own a home in Hawaii. Two great kids and 3 great Grandbabies. I did OK not graduating. Got my GED off the coast of Russia in a US Navy Destroyer in 1984. If I've learned anything important it is that when the wife and I are in an elevator, I fart and blame the wife. Never fails.
Hahaha love the story man! In 10th grade when they kicked me out they said NEVER COME BACK lol. My mom and dad made me continue on at a school for trouble makers and that is where I finally ended up with a diploma... I think I was 20 when I finally finished lol. I hated school... still do I guess. Never thought I was learning stuff that I needed to know to survive. Now I am married , wonderful wife , 3 babies and who knows what the future holds!
Great video. Love how your daughter was trying to photo-bomb you during your intro. Adorable. Surprised she's walking around the shop barefoot though. I did that once... once... as a kid in my dads garage and got a nice big metal splinter in my foot. Needless to say I was none too happy. Neither was my mom who gave my dad a nice big earful about it. I've never had a problem with Dorman stuff, but if they give instructions like that then the problem is two fold. 1) Dorman giving those instructions. 2) the installer actually following the instructions and punching hole in the box like that. Maybe Duck/Gaffers Tape would be better since it can withstand 200mph winds (so says Nascar at least).
I've had my dash out twice now to repair the hvac doors and once to replace the evaporator coil. Hope to never have to mess with it again. Plus, after 19 years, my dash has gotten too brittle to mess with.
I would pay good money to see the cursing and tool throwing that resulted from your discovery of that 4th rate hack job. hahaha I would have gone absolutely thermonuclear if i found a hack job like that on my vehicle.
That hack job is encouraged by Dorman. The only doors I could find at my local parts stores were "repair kits", which each contain the door you need, a length of aluminum duct tape, and some absolutely miserable instructions that tell you the go in through the dashboard and cut a hole in your HVAC box. While it's certainly true that this repair is a pain, it's not so bad that it's worth sliding in to this box, in my opinion.
As others have said, this video is amazing. My plan, until a half hour ago or so, was to just put the whole box back in the dash, put the whole truck back together, and take my chances. What could go wrong, right? I had just replaced my condenser and heater core, by the way. Anyway, I pushed one last time on the doors on the top, and something snapped. The doors fell down, still attached, but they weren't being held up anymore. It's possible that they just came dislodged from a gear in the motor, and they'll go the back up when the motor is engaged. But I did find a broken piece of metal nearby, so I can't be sure. If the heater and A/C weren't important in this truck, I wouldn't be doing this project at all. So now that I've found this video, I think the only thing that makes sense is to take apart the entire box (I had it half apart anyway, to replace the condenser), clean up the leaked antifreeze that's all over the insides, and make sure that every mechanism is in the right place and is properly unit tested. Your attention to detail showed me that's totally doable. I saw you activate the blower and I thought, "Hey, I can go do that right now." And I did. The others are more complex, because my wires and your wires are different colors. But I'll figure the rest out. I want to know that this box is going to work when I put everything back together. Wonderful video. Thanks for taking the time.
It turns out one of my doors broke, and I'm kind of glad it did, because I hear these doors are frail anyway. That just showed how easily a door can fail, and I don't ever want to take this HVAC box out again. So I finally sucked it up and broke it all down. I removed the wiring harness, took out all the doors, bought new doors all around (at vast expense. I bought one on Amazon and the rest were about the same price at the auto parts store. All told, approaching about $270 worth of doors). But once I got everything out of the box, then I was able to clean up all the plastic parts that come off, and I hosed down the top and bottom (after protecting the electrical connectors with some plastic wrap). Now all the old, nasty coolant residue is gone, the whole box is clean, and I know for sure that all the doors are in good shape. I tracked down all the wires and tested every door from the main plug. So NOW I can finally put this stupid thing back in and be reasonable confident it's all going to work. Thanks again for the great video. By the way, for those who are curious, you can also test the actuators with a 9V battery, if you don't want to deal with a full car battery or a jump starter. I can understand the temptation to use these "repair kits" (every door that i bought is actually called a repair kit) and just cut some holes in your HVAC box, instead of doing the job right. But I sure am glad I did the job right. It's a serious pain in the ass, but now that I'm on the downhill side of it, I will treasure my heat and A/C for as long as I have this truck.
I should update. I have everything back together and the truck is doing great. But I should point out that I agree that you should skip the blend doors from Dorman. I know this because I have a weird problem with them. The two doors are EXACTLY the same, and you can only put everything in one way, so what you end up with is the cams that go into the door hinges are pointing in opposite directions, which is WRONG. With the linkage rod connected, it causes the lower door to try to close as the top one is opening, and vice versa. So the strongest heat I had was mid-way. My workaround was to remove the linkage rod completely, for now. That causes the lower door to be in the lower position all the time, due to gravity, which is the heating position. Now when I turn my dial to full-hot, that opens up the air to go into the heater core, and it exits the heater core via that always-open bottom door. Meanwhile, I called Dorman today and tried to ask them what I'm missing about this cam that only goes in one way. We never got to that question, though, because the guy insisted that this particular part number of the defroster door. The problem is... he's wrong. Well, he's just reading off the computer screen. The computer is wrong. I guarantee it. I know what all the doors look like, and this is not a defroster door. So I finally ended the call, telling him that when A/C season comes along, if I'm not getting the air flow I need, then I'll take the thing apart again, buy a lower blend door from one of Dorman's competitors, and install that. He didn't seem to care that much. Then I called Jim from BlendDoorUsa.com. I left him a voice mail and he called me back in a few minutes. We bad-mouthed Dorman for a while, he validated everything I was saying, and I decided that he's the guy I'm going to buy my lower door from. I don't regret picking up the Dorman doors, since that's what was available either same or next day, and the BlendDoorUsa doors are more expensive. But the bottom Dorman door simply does not work. And then they have the nerve to insist that it's actually a defrost door, despite the obvious fact that the defrost door is not shaped like that. Dorman even sells a defrost door. I bought it also. Who knows that they call it. Well, they actually call them all "blend doors." Whatever. By the way, I had the same problem RE-connecting my A/C lines. Mine are still not connected, actually. I guess I may need new spring locks also, though I'm not finding them on the auto parts website at the moment. I'm not SUPER worried about it, because I guess whatever moisture they collect in the meantime will be be removed when I pull vacuum on it to charge it back up. Worst case scenario I'll have to replace that line because this does some damage to it. But since it's mid-winter, fixing that problem is not a super priority to me.
@@johningram2153 ONCE YOU SEE BLEND DOOR USA PRODUCT YOU'LL BE SOLD. THE WHOLE KIT FOR AN 06 RAM 3500 I'M DOING TODAY IS ONLY 375.00. IT HAS REAR HEAT. W/O REAR HEAT THE KIT IS ONLY 325.00. SCOPE IT OUT SINCE YOU'RE PULLING IT BACK APART.
I'm working on an '04 Ram 1500 with weak heater mojo. First I'm gonna blow out the heater core. If that doesn't work -- I'm gonna wear wool socks and long johns 'cause I sure don't want to tear out the friggin' dashboard. Jeez Louise.
I have said the exact same thing about cutting up the dash and HVAC plenum amd the Whole Dash has to come out scare tactics so i agree with you totally. I use Blend door usa on all of the one's i fix they are expensive to the tune of $300 a complete set but are a lifetime repair
I know that Dorman is a hated brand name here, but I have to give credit where credit is due, especially with the Coolant Crossover Pipe and the Oil Cooler adapter for the 3.6 (2nd Gen) Pentastar Engines such as on my 2014 Grand Caravan. Dorman has OE Fix replacement parts that are made of aluminum instead of plastic (OEM).
Some after market parts are pretty good. I recently installed two blend door actuators on my 2005 F150. The little card that they give you telling you not to plug it in with the key in the on position is only helpful if you read it. 🤔 both were dorman.
ahh, wish I would have seen this last spring. those doors are called heater treater doors, and I replaced all mine with them because I liked the metal keyways. except I did not follow their goofy instructions and cut up my HVAC unit box. I removed my whole dash and installed them. been working for a year so far.
I'm in possession of three of these Ram trucks. 2006 1500 mega cab bad rear sliding electric window cost $1,100 to repair. 1700 to fix a bad sunroof. Heater motor went bad .truck has less than a100 thousand miles on it. Now we seem to have an issue with one of our blower doors not putting the cold air or hot air where it belongs . Our next vehicle is probably going to be a Toyota. 140000 miles on Toyota minivan 2004 model so far only needed an EGR and a alternator belt. Did a water pump and timing belt as the same time for preventive maintenance. Only thing that impresses me on the Ram trucks is the Cummins motor and the mega cab. Our 2014 mega cab 3500 Dually had a list of 7 recalls performed recently and had a hard time getting it to pass smog after replacing the scr system. Only 30,000 miles on that truck and the dome lights which are LED both quit working almost in the first week. Ram needs to take a lesson from Toyota and up the quality of their parts
For as much as they want to fix your Dodge, it may be worth a road trip to go see Eric! Maybe go up during deer season if you like to hunt. Personally I'm not a hunter I would take a camera. I have no problem with people hunting it's just not for me. Friend of mine had a Dodge pickup truck I can't remember the year it was before Mercedes-Benz got in there. It had a 318 with throttle body injection. The damn thing never did idle smoothly from the day he bought it. Power brake booster went out when I was like 6 years old. He had two Transmissions put in it. I just was never impressed with the truck obviously. He had a Suburban and he went through three rear ends on it and 135 hundred forty thousand miles and then the transmission went out completely. He had some other issues with it and it was just a pain in the ass to work on it. I have a 99 Ford E150 it's got a hundred and thirty-eight thousand miles on it. It needs a new AC compressor and seals on the rear end. I did have to replace the mass air flow sensor about 10 years ago but that may have been my fault with a K&N Filter. I may have oiled it a little too heavy.
You have to do the same thing on the grand Cherokees. 04 and earlier . not sure on the newer models. cut into the side of box and replace the doors. saves $1,200 at the shop.
would have liked to see the removal of the whole dash.... I have heard the first challengers had blend door problems and to fix those requires removal of not only the whole dash , but the windshield as well....
Great video and excellent work as always. I did my 99 Grand Cherokee Limited...good times. I could juuust about lift the whole dash on and off by myself..haha
Ok, that MB ML, out there looks interesting, did buy a broken one 3 years ago, mine was a ML320, issue was that: if you rev. it over 3000 rpm then it did not shift to next gear ( automatic gearbox ) and start to misfire like hell. Did run perfect on idle and low rev. The FIX was the MAF. Cost in sweden at dealer 550$ From USA 180$. (same bosch number, not MB number) I know there is many MAF copy crap. Run like a dream after that new MAF like 50 new HP to. No problem with gearbox. Had a pretty long common problem list on this car, wounder why. ITs Mexico made, guess they sniff alot of coca cola on the assembly.
Just stumbled across your video, I'm getting ready to do this to my wife's 05 Ram 1500. Awesome video. Now I just need to figure out how to get the dash out. Not looking forward to that!
I used to be a small engine mechanic. We would find the funniest things the good ol boys would do to get the job done! 🤣😂🤣 Many cases they make cheap fixes much more expensive. I enjoy good and bad ingenuity.
As I understand it, little tabs on the case hit tabs on the white couplers, to limit travel. Apparently the tabs could break, allowing the motor to push the blend door until it stalls, and there was supposed to be an updated case?
Has anyone from an automotive school called and asked you to speak yet? Following you through the heater box was the most straightforward I've ever seen it explained. Best real world mechanic channel on UA-cam. Keep it up!
+TheBurnout Haha no... when they kicked me out in 10th grade they said never come back so I don't expect a call any time soon lol
He would be a great teacher
You are the coworker everyone wants.
Take notes kids this is a flawless execution from the mechanical and production side!
I agree with you it reminded me of when I was in college and learning algebra Until I had someone explain it so I could understand it I could understand the words that the prof keep saying so after failing the class two times the third I had a prof that could it explain it in more simple terms so I could understand it better. I finally passed it and it sure help with other classes as in Statistics which came naturally after that.
Watching you patiently and systematically work, helps me feel more confident about completing my projects. Your daughter is getting close to the age of teaching her how to identify tools. Never hurts to have an extra pair of hands to pass you tools. She is just adorable. You are so blessed
I have done one dash out heater core replacement on my 02 Dodge 1500 a number of years ago that I bought new and still have in decent shape at 250k miles. Since I live in SW Florida I just froze the blend door in the AC position a number of years ago and get along fine. Am now faced with a blend door problem on my grandson's 08 Dodge Dakota which has 4 actuators that I have found and the bad one is the one in the middle. So glad I ran across your post on access via radio removal. As a large not too flexible 78-year-old that will be my route. Thanks
I gotta say you sure took the dash apart a lot more than I ever did. Don't think I have pulled the dash completely out for an evap on a Mopar veh. That may have to do with working in the dealership so mostly all under warranty. I do pull the carpet all the way out and pressure wash, with soap, it for a heater core leak that has saturated the carpet. I did that for warranty or customer pay even though I didn't get to flag hours for it under warranty and never gouged a customer for it. The good thing about working at the dealership is I can make up the loss hrs on electrical warranty jobs. I'm good at sticking it a little to the manufacture rather than to a customer. Again loving your videos. Keep it up.
I had to laugh when you smirked and said "there's not much to it". Of courser that's after the entire dash, computer and accumulator are removed so you can get access. This is the best video I've found of this procedure. I think people get tired of trying to video everything, so most heater core videos are clipped by frustrated mechanics trying to get finished. It's so nice to see it wide open where you can see everything. If this was my truck I'd invest in long underwear and put up with a door that doesn't work, ha ha. But if the core starts leaking, you either fix it or bypass the core entirely.
Haha come on man ... nothing to it!
I've seen many of your videos when after market stuff got in your way. Point well taken. Somebody did a lot of work to repair the heater box so you could do a lot of work to make it right. That was the best demonstration of a heater system I've seen. Those TV auto shows have nothing compared to what we can see here.
+wyattoneable Thanks Wyatt!
When I find a problem that I haven't been into before, I generally look to your video channel first. I like how you get right down to it and explain what you have encountered in the past on different vehicles. I appreciate how you talk in a straight forward fashion and try your best to get everything you're doing included on the video. I also like how you give any extra advice on your past experiences and try to help your followers save money and time and get it fixed right the first time, thank you.
Eric, I would like to say thanks for your "If I can do this, you can do this" encouragement. Having the defrost mode fail on my ram, I was in need of this repair being done. At 65, I wasn't sure if I should attempt repair myself or take to a local repair shop; I decide to do the job. During research, I came across a firm called Blend Door USA that makes & sells aluminum replacement doors for Dodge ram pick ups only, The instrument panel (dash board) on this year ram model tend to crack & fall apart, so I replaced the dash top while removed from truck. I also spent much time replacing the foam missing between the air duct joints. Thanks again for your swell troubleshooting videos.
This is another great video, 7 years ago remains relevant as I get ready to do this over my Christmas break..
That "home made" door is from HeaterTreater it looks like, but BlendDoorUSA is a good option for all aluminum blend doors..
thanks for this Mr O
you are a true pro, camera action and small children in back ground. keep up the good work ERIC.
+android nexus Thank you!
I need to find someone who is as professional and caring about the car your working on by me. I wish all mechanics were like you.
Eric, this is a very informative post. Most people will just throw out a car if it has serious HVAC issues, at least here in N.Y.S., so you don’t see this done much at all. Thank you for continuing to share your excellent work with us.
Holy smokes! Your tips and tricks. Using an air blower through over flow hose! I've always used a pressure tester devise. Wow, was I wasting my efforts and time. We all look past the obvious simple solutions. You are the man! Though you think some 9f your videos aren't interesting I ALWAYS learn something. Keep up the good work
I'm a new fan....but just completed the replacement of all 5 blend doors and heater core on my 05 Ram with no issues or 'you didn't show THAT in the video!" moments. Eric, you're the man! Thanks for making these videos.
I just kept thinking, "Eric, just take the dang air intake tube off!" it was so in the way. Hats off to you for working through all this and filming it for us... I have this job in front of me so was good to see from your video what I have coming. So a BIG THANK YOU for this. What did all this cost the customer? Just round numbers... Thanks, Clay
I will be rebuilding my hvac box with the blenddoorusa kit. They have all aluminum doors and is 100% better than the oem plastic junk. Also changing heater core and evaporator on my 03 ram
Excellent, very informative video. Make no apologies for anything you did, it is all great. Many, many thanks from many people. It is guys like you that renew my faith inhumanity.
+LILIANA HENRY Thanks :)
This year, 2021 I did a heater core replacement on my 2001 Jimmy. I sympathize with your dilemma. I didn't have the debacle you have but I still had to take the whole dash out. I had no idea what I was getting into, but it all came out okay, much to my amazement.
Beautiful work! Love the testing and verification process.
I have had the displeasure of installing "cut-in" blend doors a couple times. Difference is, I made nice cuts with a Dremel. Also threw away the foil tape junk, used Gorilla tape and heat treated it.
I'm glad you did not close with "if I can do it, you can do it", because you would never catch me doing that,, for sure and for certain! Great job Eric keeping the Hargrave's piggies warm. :)
Trinity's TOO CUTE, pantomiming you in the opening scene, monkeying around, and climbing on the stool.
I'm sure that since she spends a lot of time in the shop, she's aware of avoiding nasty things on the floor or in all those drawers. Accidents will happen, but you can't protect the kids from every eventuality.
EXCELLENT Job, sir! You turned a sow's ear back into a silk purse.
Is it just me or do most people find screwing with this interior stuff a lot more intimidating than working on an engine. This interior stuff just scares the crap out of me as it's all fragile plastic held together with apparently chewing gum and bailing wire. Don't like messing with dash boards. Amazing job Eric, I'm sure I'd have broken something. I'm really busy preparing my car for it's latest, and hopefully last, paint job which will happen post SEMA. Rather paint a car any day than screw with a dash. I know sandpaper, paint and spray guns. I know nothing about dashboards.
I agree completely. I tried to do some work on my Hyundai, and despite being careful, many of the clips fell inside the dash panel, and could not be retrieved, so I had to buy new ones. It appears that everything was designed for quick assembly, and not intended to be taken apart later.
Nope! You are not alone brother.
Great video Eric, only thing I missed was the brake clean :}}
Thanks Eric, I never thought of pressurizing the coolant system in that way. That's a quick way to do it.
+Garrett McEwen quick and easy
Your little daughter is absolutely the cutest little thing I've ever seen!
Very interesting. Well done explanation. In your future you should be teaching. You have a gift.
Great video Eric with tips sprinkled throughout and lots of attention to detail. Try not working too hard and stay relaxed....
+stuzman52 Work hard!? Me... nahhhh haha thanks Terry
+stuzman52 everythings easy when your a master tech like eric o
Gotta love HVAC work. Lots of great tips and humor in this episode. Thank you sir.
I did that similar thing in my 99 ford f150. The blend door snapped of course. 10 hours of labor to pull the dash. Bought the new redesigned blend door, two piece METAL pin instead if plastic. Cut a hole in my heater box via the glove box took me around 1 and half hours and the heater box doesnt leak or nothing after taping with that foil tape. I wouldnt do that on a customers car but my own helll ya!
Awesome walk through! I'm about to try this myself and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. This definitely helps!
Amazing, fabulous brain you have... and awesome patience. I've done a couple of heater cores and it is a whole new world behind that dash board... thumbs up to you.
Although this video is somewhat dated, it has helped me a great deal. Very informative and well done, thank you.
This is what I needed to see! I have an 03 Dodge 1500, and my heater has been out for two winters! Good to finally see what the issue is.
+Jason McCoy Cool! You will like part 2!
I think you were very proficient and professional. I did the same change out on my 1995 dodge intrepid. It was well worth it. I'm thinking about doing the same to my ram. Thanks for good work. I'd refer you.
It is such a pleasure to see a real mechanic do something right they are very far and few between these days, there is no such person around Where I live . I need a heater core put in my '96 trooper I have had to park it just because I can't find anyone to take the job.
I'm sure you know that 86 Ford pickups blend doors are one peice contruction meaning the door and hinge is all made together and when the door moves it's bending the plastic tabs that are riveted to the heater box. One super cold day I put the heater setting on defrost when I did there was this loud bang and after that it wouldn't switch the air flow to the different positions those blasted plastic flexible hinges broke . So I gave it a good looking over and thought I bet I can use some really small metal hinges and drill a couple holes in the blend door at its edge and bolt the hinge to the blend door while bolting the other side of the hinge to the heater box where those blasted flexible hinges were mounted. It's lasted now for the past 5 years or so and still working great. If you ever run across an 80--86 F-150 that the blend door flexiable hinges are broke, by using metal hinges that old blend door can be reused and it's a quick and easy fix 😁
Watching old videos
Today..
Great vid !
But without a doubt the star of the show is I am sure your assistant !
If I understand you correctly, You recommend the recirculation door, upper blend door and defroster door from Dorman. the other two at the AC evaporator go with OEM.I am in the process of doing this job before a Canadian winter arrives...
Holding my breath at around 5:18 that she doesn't flip the stool over lol
We can edit the trip to the first aid kit out.
I understand what your saying Eric. It’s not the aftermarket parts, it’s the dodos that install them. They don’t install wires, tubes, or the part clean and tidy. They don’t use any wire loom zip ties electrical tape. I like when they try to Connect wires together they use butt connectors and they don’t even heat shrink them or they tie the ends of the wire together and put a little bit of electrical tape around them. Then they just leave a rats nest of wires under the dash, or running along the floor. The ones I can’t stand the out of any of them are the young kids that install subwoofers and amps, it’s always a mess.
LOL on the Power Probes getting bigger every year...so true! And where's the bonus material where the old heater box gets "Eric's aftermarket treatment"?
I was thinking the same thing, only needs one round from his 500 S&W magnum pistola :)
+Steve Rob Oh Ivan is spoiling the grand finally lol
+South Main Auto Repair You should take that old busted heater box to the firing range
+South Main Auto Repair -- Oh Baby Now You Know For Sure that I'm reserving couch time for this one's final tribute to Hack n Lack of Sanity!! The only real way to pass any sanity meter - Blow the Booger Up!
+Hawaiian F150 LMAO I'm with ya :)
Great job. Great explanation. I think Ford Escort had the easiest heater core to replace with the 2 screw access door, and the Dodge Ram has the most difficult. Although I seem to remember an old Buick or Cutlass required pulling the passenger fender out to access the heater hose connections. I like a challenge but I hate desigh stupidity. Thanks for the video. Cheers
My lower jaw hit the floor when you said the Dorman instructions actually said to cut the heater box and then tape the holes. Now I _have_ heard it all! Well done as usual, thanks for the video.
I know it's much too late now, but im about to do the blend doors on my 06 1500. Those blend doors you said looked home made, were actually the ones that are sold from a company called "Heater Treater". I did some watching around in the past few weeks and found a company called "Blend Door USA" which makes aluminum ones that are machined to 1 solid piece.
All similar problems in the 2001 (and latter) Grand Cherokee. I amazed how Jeep could get a bad idea and then never correct it. I have felt your pain.
0:13 Got the supervisor looking over your shoulder this morning, I see. Priceless. That was an excellent overview on how air flows through the HVAC system and how to test the pressure lines before re installing the dash.
+Sandbag1300 Yeah she was keepin an eye on me :) Glad you liked the demo
It’s true, aftermarket isn’t always the way to go. Budget wise/band aid fix. Manufacturers have strict quality control with applications on hand. If anything remanufactured. Aftermarket seems to be made with dimensions in mind without yet real world RnD
Wow, great job Eric. I don't know how you keep your cool with some of that stuff. I would have used up my vocabulary of swear words. Whatever you charge for that job, it's worth every penny.
Proof that newer cars/trucks are designed to be assembled, not to be serviced (after the warranty) without great labor expenses. Vehicles with "dual heat & a/c" are even worse as they usually have two heater cores and evaporators which combined with, in most cases, the entire dash assembly has to be removed. For those folks who have an older vehicle, say 5 or 6 years, run the risk and likeliness that more than one plastic retainer or clip will break which leaves the owner with a less secure/mounted dash and other equipment. And depending on how much finesse your mechanic exerts in care to avoid breaking plastics etc. you could be buying parts that were perfectly fine before the elephant entered the cabin area. From what I see here, SMAR LLC does not rush it in attempts to avoid collateral damage due to brittle plastic from age and COLD weather. One reason why I won't let just any shop work on my older vehicles, they need tender gloves or I'm going to be stuck looking for parts that are no longer made or no longer available. Good job on this one.
Great video, I finally get to see the guts of the HVAC box, thank you for your explanation and video.
she's an angel straight from heaven..thanks Dr O
Wel well very good job there wheel done am struggling with diagnostics on my mom RAM it makes a lot noise under the dust but thanks to your video I kind have an idea what’s going on in there but am afraid all have to come down to make sure are the blend doors but the low side in the Infineon compartment frost while the a/c is running I would very much like to hear what you think thanks for been there for us and do what you do Jahovah bless your every day and family what is really important
I know I'm late to the party but what a great, informative video, he's so good at explaining everything he's doing, my new favorite channel
Wow you do good work! My 04 Ram has the same problem but I might need the Meat Wagon after I try to tackle this job with having a bad back.
Thanks for taking the time to explain the air flow through the heater box and showing how the blend doors work.
Well I enjoyed it lots of good info. Your little girl stole the show, for a little while anyway.
+Eric Corse She is a show stealer every time!
Not very good, imagine something sharp or glas on the floor.
Thank you Mr. NEGATIVE!! Lets all live in a bubble so nothing can happen to us.
pcuser80 imagine a person who maintains a clean shop where broken glass, etc are swept up and tossed in the garbage
I thought the vent on the end with the holes went to defroster and mode 1 door went to panel?
Great Video!! Like the added humor to the "Butchers Repair" previously done. Very informative! THX!!
Great video. You have unlimited patience. I like your attention to detail.
+Dennis Wilkinson unlimited patienceHAHA My wife laughed when she read this
Love your videos ! The best part is to include your family... it's a bowl of fresh air.
I just noticed an antifreeze smell in my dodge.Thanks for the video!!!
+Stiles S Well there ya go!
I agree I can not stand how some people install aftermarket accessories!! Just because it’s not OEM doesn’t mean you shouldn’t install it like it’s OEM! Every aftermarket accessory that I install, I install it like it would be if it came from the factory that way. That means connectors everywhere that things come apart etc. VERY little to NO zip ties, I use conduit clips instead everywhere possible just like the factory wiring. Every single wire is ran inside conduit, not only that but if there’s an existing OEM wiring harness where my wires need to run then I will run them inside of the existing wire loom, no random wires hanging out but at the same time no more wire loom then there needs to be. Because 3-4-5 strips of conduit ran side by side in my opinion almost looks as bad as a bundle of wires ran beside one strip of conduit. I keep things as clean and as OEM looking as physically possible👌🏻 And for anyone else out there that installs aftermarket accessories if you don’t already I highly suggest you do the same! If your a business owner and/or installing aftermarket accessories is your job your customers will GREATLY appreciate it, trust me. But even if your installing something on your own vehicle you should still take the time to do it right, you’ll be SO much happier with the end result!
Thanks Eric for your excellent videos, the best on You Tube. I always enjoy and learn a lot watching them.
I had to do something similar. My 2011 f350 had a clogged evaporator so I had the pleasure of removing my interior and dash to replace it. I took my time about 12 hours and channeled my inner Eric O. Saved myself over $1500!
Nice! i hope you get a 98' Dodge 3500 5.9 liter dually in there.
Great information as I am a RAM owner. Looking forward to "Part too". But wait a minute...what no brake cleaner, say it ain't so.
I loved that top at the end. Eric learned me a new fact. Thanks buddy
+Jason Curry That is what I try to do
thanks for the informative video.
I have to tackle this on my 1997, 2006 and 2007 Dodge trucks.
All have really crappy AC and heat and broken blend doors.
I like the trucks, but HVAC is killing me - too cold now, too hot in the summer.
great info, I just replaced the blower motor resistor, but found out that there is a lot of debris in the heating element while at it. I'm not a mechanic, but definitely willing to try to change it all myself, only things is I will need to know all the names of the parts you are changing here so when I go out and get them they don't look at me like "wtf!"
at the job right now... oh well glad I will have a video to watch tonight, thanks Eric!
Great demonstration of how the blend doors work. I was always curious as to how they worked. I have a Chevy Silverado and have been having problems with heat coming out of the dash vents when the blower is turned off.
The c&c aluminum blend doors are the way to go if you are going keep the truck for a long time . The aluminum blend doors are absolutely the best way to go and mine were $315 bucks but high quality piece .
To South main auto repair : Excellent video’s thanks for taking time to make them all.
You have a talent for the visual arts that is wasted on motor vehicles I hope someone in the documentary film business sees your videos until then keep them coming
+Colin McGregor We're keeping that a secret ;)
+Colin McGregor Oh man I could hit it big! :) Haha prolly not, just a plain old mechanic is all
+South Main Auto Repair - They told Walt Disney that he wasn't special. He dropped out of school. In fact you join an elite list of movers and shakers. Me as well. Failed the 10th grade after parents split up. Went back for a couple months and said nah i can do more working and did. Started at 14 and just stopped now. I've retired from 3 places and own a home in Hawaii. Two great kids and 3 great Grandbabies. I did OK not graduating. Got my GED off the coast of Russia in a US Navy Destroyer in 1984. If I've learned anything important it is that when the wife and I are in an elevator, I fart and blame the wife. Never fails.
Hahaha love the story man! In 10th grade when they kicked me out they said NEVER COME BACK lol. My mom and dad made me continue on at a school for trouble makers and that is where I finally ended up with a diploma... I think I was 20 when I finally finished lol. I hated school... still do I guess. Never thought I was learning stuff that I needed to know to survive. Now I am married , wonderful wife , 3 babies and who knows what the future holds!
Great video. Love how your daughter was trying to photo-bomb you during your intro. Adorable. Surprised she's walking around the shop barefoot though. I did that once... once... as a kid in my dads garage and got a nice big metal splinter in my foot. Needless to say I was none too happy. Neither was my mom who gave my dad a nice big earful about it.
I've never had a problem with Dorman stuff, but if they give instructions like that then the problem is two fold. 1) Dorman giving those instructions. 2) the installer actually following the instructions and punching hole in the box like that. Maybe Duck/Gaffers Tape would be better since it can withstand 200mph winds (so says Nascar at least).
Handy test for leaks.Need to be tweak savvy with them there hoses.Plenty of detailed info and demos.Should be of mighty help to any interested doers.
Hey there SMA, glad to be back. Glad every time you upload a new vid haha
Always enjoy watching your work. Along with always learning keep up the good work man! Peace from Australia! :)
I've had my dash out twice now to repair the hvac doors and once to replace the evaporator coil. Hope to never have to mess with it again. Plus, after 19 years, my dash has gotten too brittle to mess with.
I would pay good money to see the cursing and tool throwing that resulted from your discovery of that 4th rate hack job. hahaha
I would have gone absolutely thermonuclear if i found a hack job like that on my vehicle.
+zoidberg444 it was a mess let me tell ya
Looks like you got the boss with you
That hack job is encouraged by Dorman. The only doors I could find at my local parts stores were "repair kits", which each contain the door you need, a length of aluminum duct tape, and some absolutely miserable instructions that tell you the go in through the dashboard and cut a hole in your HVAC box. While it's certainly true that this repair is a pain, it's not so bad that it's worth sliding in to this box, in my opinion.
That dash install was awesome. Couldn't nh have fallen more into place like you said
Pretty good demonstration brother
As others have said, this video is amazing. My plan, until a half hour ago or so, was to just put the whole box back in the dash, put the whole truck back together, and take my chances. What could go wrong, right? I had just replaced my condenser and heater core, by the way. Anyway, I pushed one last time on the doors on the top, and something snapped. The doors fell down, still attached, but they weren't being held up anymore. It's possible that they just came dislodged from a gear in the motor, and they'll go the back up when the motor is engaged. But I did find a broken piece of metal nearby, so I can't be sure. If the heater and A/C weren't important in this truck, I wouldn't be doing this project at all. So now that I've found this video, I think the only thing that makes sense is to take apart the entire box (I had it half apart anyway, to replace the condenser), clean up the leaked antifreeze that's all over the insides, and make sure that every mechanism is in the right place and is properly unit tested. Your attention to detail showed me that's totally doable. I saw you activate the blower and I thought, "Hey, I can go do that right now." And I did. The others are more complex, because my wires and your wires are different colors. But I'll figure the rest out. I want to know that this box is going to work when I put everything back together. Wonderful video. Thanks for taking the time.
It turns out one of my doors broke, and I'm kind of glad it did, because I hear these doors are frail anyway. That just showed how easily a door can fail, and I don't ever want to take this HVAC box out again. So I finally sucked it up and broke it all down. I removed the wiring harness, took out all the doors, bought new doors all around (at vast expense. I bought one on Amazon and the rest were about the same price at the auto parts store. All told, approaching about $270 worth of doors). But once I got everything out of the box, then I was able to clean up all the plastic parts that come off, and I hosed down the top and bottom (after protecting the electrical connectors with some plastic wrap). Now all the old, nasty coolant residue is gone, the whole box is clean, and I know for sure that all the doors are in good shape. I tracked down all the wires and tested every door from the main plug. So NOW I can finally put this stupid thing back in and be reasonable confident it's all going to work. Thanks again for the great video. By the way, for those who are curious, you can also test the actuators with a 9V battery, if you don't want to deal with a full car battery or a jump starter.
I can understand the temptation to use these "repair kits" (every door that i bought is actually called a repair kit) and just cut some holes in your HVAC box, instead of doing the job right. But I sure am glad I did the job right. It's a serious pain in the ass, but now that I'm on the downhill side of it, I will treasure my heat and A/C for as long as I have this truck.
I should update. I have everything back together and the truck is doing great. But I should point out that I agree that you should skip the blend doors from Dorman. I know this because I have a weird problem with them. The two doors are EXACTLY the same, and you can only put everything in one way, so what you end up with is the cams that go into the door hinges are pointing in opposite directions, which is WRONG. With the linkage rod connected, it causes the lower door to try to close as the top one is opening, and vice versa. So the strongest heat I had was mid-way.
My workaround was to remove the linkage rod completely, for now. That causes the lower door to be in the lower position all the time, due to gravity, which is the heating position. Now when I turn my dial to full-hot, that opens up the air to go into the heater core, and it exits the heater core via that always-open bottom door.
Meanwhile, I called Dorman today and tried to ask them what I'm missing about this cam that only goes in one way. We never got to that question, though, because the guy insisted that this particular part number of the defroster door. The problem is... he's wrong. Well, he's just reading off the computer screen. The computer is wrong. I guarantee it. I know what all the doors look like, and this is not a defroster door. So I finally ended the call, telling him that when A/C season comes along, if I'm not getting the air flow I need, then I'll take the thing apart again, buy a lower blend door from one of Dorman's competitors, and install that. He didn't seem to care that much.
Then I called Jim from BlendDoorUsa.com. I left him a voice mail and he called me back in a few minutes. We bad-mouthed Dorman for a while, he validated everything I was saying, and I decided that he's the guy I'm going to buy my lower door from. I don't regret picking up the Dorman doors, since that's what was available either same or next day, and the BlendDoorUsa doors are more expensive. But the bottom Dorman door simply does not work. And then they have the nerve to insist that it's actually a defrost door, despite the obvious fact that the defrost door is not shaped like that. Dorman even sells a defrost door. I bought it also. Who knows that they call it. Well, they actually call them all "blend doors." Whatever.
By the way, I had the same problem RE-connecting my A/C lines. Mine are still not connected, actually. I guess I may need new spring locks also, though I'm not finding them on the auto parts website at the moment. I'm not SUPER worried about it, because I guess whatever moisture they collect in the meantime will be be removed when I pull vacuum on it to charge it back up. Worst case scenario I'll have to replace that line because this does some damage to it. But since it's mid-winter, fixing that problem is not a super priority to me.
@@johningram2153 ONCE YOU SEE BLEND DOOR USA PRODUCT YOU'LL BE SOLD. THE WHOLE KIT FOR AN 06 RAM 3500 I'M DOING TODAY IS ONLY 375.00. IT HAS REAR HEAT. W/O REAR HEAT THE KIT IS ONLY 325.00. SCOPE IT OUT SINCE YOU'RE PULLING IT BACK APART.
I find your videos better than the last two movies I've seen on the big screen, I think I'll make make some popcorn next time I view. :)
+Mike Kaminski Hey Mike I appreciate that! We try to keep them fresh and informative! Thanks for the support!!
I'm working on an '04 Ram 1500 with weak heater mojo. First I'm gonna blow out the heater core. If that doesn't work -- I'm gonna wear wool socks and long johns 'cause I sure don't want to tear out the friggin' dashboard. Jeez Louise.
Electric hunting socks?
localcrew it’s what u pay a mechanic for.......my 04 actuator is acting unruly too, so back to the shop she goes
I have said the exact same thing about cutting up the dash and HVAC plenum amd the Whole Dash has to come out scare tactics so i agree with you totally. I use Blend door usa on all of the one's i fix they are expensive to the tune of $300 a complete set but are a lifetime repair
I know that Dorman is a hated brand name here, but I have to give credit where credit is due, especially with the Coolant Crossover Pipe and the Oil Cooler adapter for the 3.6 (2nd Gen) Pentastar Engines such as on my 2014 Grand Caravan. Dorman has OE Fix replacement parts that are made of aluminum instead of plastic (OEM).
Some after market parts are pretty good. I recently installed two blend door actuators on my 2005 F150. The little card that they give you telling you not to plug it in with the key in the on position is only helpful if you read it. 🤔 both were dorman.
ahh, wish I would have seen this last spring. those doors are called heater treater doors, and I replaced all mine with them because I liked the metal keyways. except I did not follow their goofy instructions and cut up my HVAC unit box. I removed my whole dash and installed them. been working for a year so far.
I'm in possession of three of these Ram trucks. 2006 1500 mega cab bad rear sliding electric window cost $1,100 to repair. 1700 to fix a bad sunroof. Heater motor went bad .truck has less than a100 thousand miles on it. Now we seem to have an issue with one of our blower doors not putting the cold air or hot air where it belongs . Our next vehicle is probably going to be a Toyota. 140000 miles on Toyota minivan 2004 model so far only needed an EGR and a alternator belt. Did a water pump and timing belt as the same time for preventive maintenance. Only thing that impresses me on the Ram trucks is the Cummins motor and the mega cab. Our 2014 mega cab 3500 Dually had a list of 7 recalls performed recently and had a hard time getting it to pass smog after replacing the scr system. Only 30,000 miles on that truck and the dome lights which are LED both quit working almost in the first week. Ram needs to take a lesson from Toyota and up the quality of their parts
For as much as they want to fix your Dodge, it may be worth a road trip to go see Eric! Maybe go up during deer season if you like to hunt. Personally I'm not a hunter I would take a camera. I have no problem with people hunting it's just not for me. Friend of mine had a Dodge pickup truck I can't remember the year it was before Mercedes-Benz got in there. It had a 318 with throttle body injection. The damn thing never did idle smoothly from the day he bought it. Power brake booster went out when I was like 6 years old. He had two Transmissions put in it. I just was never impressed with the truck obviously. He had a Suburban and he went through three rear ends on it and 135 hundred forty thousand miles and then the transmission went out completely. He had some other issues with it and it was just a pain in the ass to work on it. I have a 99 Ford E150 it's got a hundred and thirty-eight thousand miles on it. It needs a new AC compressor and seals on the rear end. I did have to replace the mass air flow sensor about 10 years ago but that may have been my fault with a K&N Filter. I may have oiled it a little too heavy.
I missed the step where you put the mice in the heater box. Do you prefer oem mice or will dorman mice suffice?
Nice work Eric and Merry Christmas to you and your family
Disappointment at epic level! No break clean
*throws tools, kicks rocks, shrugs in disgust*
I will have nightmares for weeks!
+ibbeach09 Haha I'll try better
+South Main Auto Repair I have no doubt. Happy Halloween. Lol
You have to do the same thing on the grand Cherokees. 04 and earlier . not sure on the newer models. cut into the side of box and replace the doors. saves $1,200 at the shop.
would have liked to see the removal of the whole dash.... I have heard the first challengers had blend door problems and to fix those requires removal of not only the whole dash , but the windshield as well....
Great video and excellent work as always. I did my 99 Grand Cherokee Limited...good times. I could juuust about lift the whole dash on and off by myself..haha
Ok, that MB ML, out there looks interesting, did buy a broken one 3 years ago, mine was a ML320, issue was that: if you rev. it over 3000 rpm then it did not shift to next gear ( automatic gearbox ) and start to misfire like hell.
Did run perfect on idle and low rev.
The FIX was the MAF.
Cost in sweden at dealer 550$
From USA 180$. (same bosch number, not MB number)
I know there is many MAF copy crap.
Run like a dream after that new MAF like 50 new HP to. No problem with gearbox.
Had a pretty long common problem list on this car, wounder why.
ITs Mexico made, guess they sniff alot of coca cola on the assembly.
Just stumbled across your video, I'm getting ready to do this to my wife's 05 Ram 1500. Awesome video. Now I just need to figure out how to get the dash out. Not looking forward to that!
Thanks for this video!!! Wow I’ll need get second car fix before do this big job!!! Haha!!!
I used to be a small engine mechanic. We would find the funniest things the good ol boys would do to get the job done! 🤣😂🤣 Many cases they make cheap fixes much more expensive. I enjoy good and bad ingenuity.
As I understand it, little tabs on the case hit tabs on the white couplers, to limit travel. Apparently the tabs could break, allowing the motor to push the blend door until it stalls, and there was supposed to be an updated case?