2011-2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Driver Side Blend Door Gear Repair Guide
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
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2011-2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK2 Drivers side Blend Door repair walk through guide.
If you have no heat or AC on one side of the vehicle this is most likely your problem.
Here is the part number for the gear: 68214880AA
Please note. The new gear looks slightly different than the old gear but it is the correct part.
STEP ONE:You need to remove the silencer panel by your knees. Disconnect the hood release and unplug the switch for the lights and gas cap. (6 7MM bolts total )
STEP TWO: Underneath that panel there is a metal plate with four 8MM bolts . Remove those and take off the plate, Remove the bracket that the plate mounts to on the right side (4 bolts, two 8mm two 7mm) The left side can stay.
STEP THREE : Remove lower air duct. There will be a plastic fastener holding it in place. Remove it. It will be no good after you remove it. Replace with zip tie.
STEP FOUR: Make your own tool. You will need a 1/4 wrench link bellow and t20 torx. You could also cut the T20 torx bit in half with a angle grinder, I will show you what it takes to do the job with out cutting it. JB weld it or tape it to the wrench.
STEP FIVE: Completely remove the lower t15 screw on the blend door actuator with your new tool. Simple!
STEP SIX: Remove the upper difficult screw on the blend door actuator.
STEP SEVEN: Replace the gear. When you install the new gear just line up the gear center to center of the blend door gear.
STEP EIGHT. Test your work before you install those difficult screws. Hold the actuator in place with your hand and see if it operates correctly by using Heat and AC.
STEP NINE: Replace the F@$%ING screws.
STEP TEN: Grab a beer and give yourself a pat on the back! You just saved a ton of money.
STEP ELEVEN: Put it all back together!
Tools I use.
12 Point 1/4-Inch Ratcheting Wrench - amzn.to/2XqX0C8
Makita brushles impact driver - amzn.to/39xzWUW
Makita XWT08XVZ 18V LXT Impact wrench- amzn.to/39nhpLc
Magnetic screw driver set 15 pc - amzn.to/39r4h7C
The tip on lining the gears up was so helpful. Only place I’ve seen this explained. Thank you
Got mine done, However I am 6"3'' and have large hands. So I used a step drill and bore a 7/8 diameter hole in the aluminum panel. This allowed me to get top screw out by inserting a 1/4 in ratchet with the torx wrench. I highly recommend this for us larger guys. Made it sooo easy!
You are the man. I'm 6'5" and couldn't have done the job without this video. $16 part and 4 hours total labor and the wife is happy too! Thank you, thank you!
I'm 6'5 too lol! Gotta tackle this tomorrow.
I just got done replacing this part and there are 2 tips to add to this video 1. there is one screw next to the steering column that holds the right silver bracket from above. It's around the right screw for the panel. 2. the duct right across the actuator splits if you squeeze it giving you enough room to reach the one difficult screw for the actuator. That's it. Good luck repairing your jeep.
Hey, today I risk it all and fix my air conditioner, I follow your steps and Danm a was hard at first but I manage to do it all and every step u did I follow and a was hard to put the piece in there but I wanted to give up cause a was hot down there but 100% successful, hahaha I’m so greatful I got it fix I save up $700 hahaha now I know how to fix it without paying a mechanic thanks for your video
Glad that worked out for ya!! Good job, It’s definitely not an easy task to accomplish.
gonna give this a shot this weekend. probably the best in depth video ive seen so far!!
I did this a year ago with written instructions. Boy I wish you uploaded this earlier would have helped me! No worries tho it broke AGAIN so will be using your video as a reference ;) thanks!
Hey you are welcome! Glad I could be of help with this video.
Do you think heat is causing it to break?
Great video! I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee. I replaced the gear and actuator on the passenger side in 2019 and remember watching a video telling me the driver side is much worse. Well the dirver side had no heat 2 weeks ago. I ordered the actuator and the gear and tackled this project over the weekend. I have a couple added tips: 1) Definitely need to take out the upper duct work to get to that upper screw on the acuator. It is hard and seems like it wont come out, but it will. Break the clamshell and take out the rear first and then the front. When you put it back together, put the rear in first and then force the front part of the upper duct in. Then do your best to snap the clamshell together. 2) Reattaching the hood release cable with the kick panel doesn't work. You need to take off the hood release lever from the kick panel and then attach the cable to the handle. Then insert the handle back into the kick panel. Thanks for all your help!
Good video but you did not have to take the actuator apart just turn the HVAC controler on and plug in the actuator it will start turning and when the alignment Mark's line up unplug it. Then install the actuator and plug it back in.
Didn't really think about doing it that way. Thanks that's some good info.
Just done mine today ! 2 hrs works save me lot of money! Thx you
Glad it worked out!
Thanks your video as well as others helped so much. Saved me a lot of money. While I did the drivers side my fried did the passenger on my 2012. Thanks!
This is perfect! Mine is the passenger side. The quoted me 3.2k and said my entire HVAC was damaged. I was like how? So I will be ordering and replacing that piece to try this. I'm 8 months pregnant and cant drive in this heat with no A/C. Thank you so much.
Hi Toni, I’ve heard exact same from my dealer. Decided to do it myself. My motor was good, just shredded plastic gear and stuck blend doors. Apparently you can access that by removing door vent. I ll work on my soon and let you know. We’re you able to fix yours ?
Hey guys actually passenger side is easier than driver side passenger only took me 10 mins to do it the driver took me about 1hr an a half for my durango good luck guys and take your time to get it right the 1st time
Couldn’t have done it without you! Every other video was of the guys but crack doing the job… not as detailed as your video… Thank you.
Do you have a video on replacing the cooling fan
DUDE - you are the man. Looks like I can knock this one out and cool off my wife when she is driving around.
Awesome job dude, Thanks
Very good video brother I don't know what I would have done with out your help
I just got it done on my 2012 the only thing I did was I turned the gear that I replace with the one that was good I alined them I rotated them with air on to find out witch direction cold was lucky that the motor was in that direction also put air on low and installed no calibration I did have trouble with the air vent that I had to move puting it back sucked thanks brother and yes those pipes were HOT
You're welcome man! Glad this was of use.
thanks for showing us how to remove the ducting
I feel the need to pay you something! Thank you so much!
You're welcome!! I'm glad this was useful. 👍
How much would it cost me a a car shop to do this job??
@@kenny9205 shop labor is atleast $200 per hour. So I assume atleast $400. The part is like $10
my hero
This video was the BEST!
Thank you!
Very good video you are the best
Awesome! Thanks for this video, you saved me from paying someone else to get some bloody knuckles 😅 Serious note, did anyone find the missing plastic piece that broke off? I couldn't find it anywhere? Probably tucked away in a corner with my 10mm socket 😂
That upper screw stopped me. I've repaired vehicles and many other things over 40 years. I frequently make my own tools. I rebuild engines, transmissions, you name it. I'm humbled and steamed that this wasn't made from aluminum but I guess it saved a few $.
"DUDE - you are the man. Looks like I can knock this one out and" heat up "my wife when she is driving around." Many thanks!!!!!!
That is awesome! Glad this was useful.
Great tip about opening the actuator motor box and rotating the stem so it aligns! thx for that one.
Also - are you kneeling outside the car or did you ever lay down on your back in the drivers foot area?
Thank You Buddy ;)
Have a wonderful day and holidays season (#)
Live Long and Prosperous :D
Root cause of the problem is the seal in the HVAC distributor. Gets jammed and melted.
You can also access this through the glove department
Your right, on the passenger side and it's allot more simple to swap the gear.
Jeeper Gear I love your work though you’re definitely informative
Excellent video! I started down the path of investigation this evening before taking the drivers side completely apart and I did notice a broken tab off one side of the gear however the actuator moves the gear back and forth but it doesn't seem that the door opens/closes. That leads me to believe that maybe the top portion of the bottom gear isn't moving the top gear and therefore the door but I didn't take it apart enough to see and I didn't see any gear parts come out. Seems like that's the only option that it could be though. Any thoughts before I take it further apart to see the entire gear that the actuator drives?
Thank you! Quick question, would having the actuator disconnected cause the blower motor to turn on and off on it’s own? I have replaced the compressor, expansion valve, blower motor, resistor, and a/c controls module but the blower motor starts at full blast and just drops to low power every 30 seconds.
No that would cause that, have had to replace the blower motor resistor in a 2011 before with similar symptoms and it was back to operating properly.
@@JeeperGear Like I said.... brand new resistor and blower motor. Your response to my question is confusing... Having the actuator disconnected will or won't cause the issue I described?
Awesome video. i think i am half way thru the repair. Found the blend door gear broken. The actuator is out and noticed the internal actuator gears do not turn freely by hand. Wondering if that is normal? i opened the actuator and all gears look good. Realigned so the gear is facing the right way. i would like to be sure so i am only fixing this one time.
Yeah thats normal. Some use 9v to make it turn, I took it apart, realigned it and was good to go. So far not a single issue with it since I made the video.
I would also make sure the blend door moves freely in the heater core. Mine was stuck so i pulled on it and got it unstuck. It's a common cause of these gear failures on the driver side.
@@JeeperGear Huge thanks. Your video was so helpful.
One more question. When i started to take apart the dash i did not disconnect the battery at first. My driver door was open for quite a while. i started removal of the screws for the knee panel and i noticed an electrical smoke burning smell that lasted for a few seconds. To be safe i then disconnected the battery. I don't think i touched anything to make this happen. Any idea what that could be?
@@kevinshellenbarger1877 Yikes, I would look around the areas you worked on and inspect for any wiring that could've been jammed or have the peeling insulation and during the removal process it shorted something. Realistically other than screwing up the programing, or setting off an airbag light if your model came with knee airbag, with battery still being connected. Those things can be corrected and shouldn't cause any type of smoking.
Thanks a lot for video. Planning to do same work tomorrow. Only a little bit confused with gear alignment & why did You open actuator.
It was to point the gear the right way. In my case it was clocked backwards.
There's also other ways. Like hooking up a 9v and use the motor to turn it in to position.
Yesterday completed all installation, understood what You mean during work progress))). Many many thanks for video. All the best to You.
I tried to replace mine but it's still doing the same thing. The ac feels slightly colder on the drivers side but the passenger side is still backwards. I had to set it to cold in the winter and it basically blows neutral now on hot. I tried disconnecting the battery and pulling fuses 3 times. Someone in a Facebook group said sometimes it needs calibrated with a computer but I have no idea. I'm done with it
Sadly, It is possible that the vent it’s self has gotten stuck.
Don’t disassemble the motor
If you have to rotate it plug it in till it’s in the spot then unplug or use test leads to supply power either way to properly orientate it
That works aswel. Thanks .
This one still runs to this day, seems car learns new stops once the actuator motor is in.
The reason gear failed on this one, it had a stuck vent flap in the heater core. Which I was able to pull back in to operational range.
Looks like a some sort of coding glitch, which causes it to push the vent flaps past their stopping point. This is about 4th WK2 I've ran in to with this issue on a drivers side.
1 of them i had to pull the heater out.
How much would it cost to get this job done in a car shop?
great video, i have the exact problem, and then some, when i took the gear and actuator off, the blend door itself seems to be stuck and doesnt move. Should i be able to move it freely? or will it be fine when i put the new gear and actuator on. Thank you for the help
Dan
It means the actuator motor pushed it past its rubber stop and blend door is now stuck. In my case I was able to stick my hand in through the side vent and pull it free, meaning its free to articulate on the axis.
Sometimes if you it got pushed too far and you can't lossen it, sadly the heater core will have to come out.
@@JeeperGear Thank you so much, so cool of you to share your knowledge on here, i will take your advice and work on this some more!
Dan
If the gear breaks it means to door is melted and the housing must be replaced . We replaced them all the time st the dealer. This is not a proper procedure. It's not s big deal to pull the dash board 11 to 14 is a melted box 15 and up actuators go bad
Correct or not, point is it still works. No reason to pay a dealer for something this simple.
if both blend doors are broke does it do the same? just blow hot air?
Yeah it’ll be in whatever position hot/cold it’s stuck in.
Upper gear got stuck on different position what should I do ?? Any tips ?
Hope I understand your issue correctly, I had it where the gear that’s connected to the flap
, was over driven it and it was stuck.
Two options to go from there, reach in through the duct and push it lose or if it’s not coming lose, then the heater box would need to come out, which is a whole other job.
😢good morning teacher I have a question why my grand cherokee 2012 fans air and then turns off, and so on the same
If I understand correctly, could be one of two things. Blower fan motor it’s self is failing, or common issue with blower fan resistor. That resistor controls the speed of the fan, when the system wants to slow down the fan or speed up and that speed bridge is burned, fan will shut off until another speed level is selected by the auto climate system or speed knob.
Hey can someone tell me if this would be covered by warranty
Sir, my 2011 WK2 is blowing hot only on both sides. I checked the obvious R134 and it checked out good. Is it possible I need to replace both drivers side and passenger side blend door actuator’s and or gears? I’m very novice at this game. Thanks for any input in advance:)
I would check on the passenger side first, as it is the easiest to get to that actuator gear for inspection.
JEEPER GEAR is it possible it could only be the passenger side or vice versa? I know during the winter I had the heat on and noticed the passenger side was blowing cold air when the heat was coming from the drivers side. Would replacing just the passenger side fix the drivers side?
Jeret Norris have the same prob hope he answers lol
Do yourself a favor and just replace the the whole thing, Actuator and gear at the same time. Especially on the drivers side
Im close to halfway through the repair. I'd say 35%... The duct, how did you get yours apart? I'm afraid of breaking mine.
I used a 4" long thin flat head screw driver to push the tabs for it to come apart. I did break one of the mid tabs. So i put on a loop of vinyl tape to help keep in place, just for a peace of mind.
@@JeeperGear One more question, Just in case my blend door is stuck, How do I rotate it back to its regular position, and how do I know it's there?
The way I've done and identified the issue, is if the blend door stub out gear on the heater core is fixed in one position and won't freely rotate, it means that it is stuck. I put my hand in there through the vent and applied good amount of force with my fingers to push it back to a free lose moving position. In some cases, the gear motor drives that blend door so far in past its limit stops, that a heater core removal is needed to get better access to loosen it. Also seen it snap the core casing in half, but thats very rare.
@@JeeperGear I hope my blend door isnt stuck.... How would I remove the vent if I need to move the door itself?
@@JeeperGear So how do I remove the vent in case my blend door itself is stuck so I can reach down and move it myself?
I have a similar problem with my jeeps AC,,driver side doesn't throw cool air just passenger side,,but there's also a popping sound coming from underneath the dashboard,,could that be part of the problem???
Most likely, the gear has snaped and actuator motor is trying to engage but keeps skipping
Oh ok..thanks for the reply.
So just buy the small gear ⚙?
@@DavidCastillo-qh6vq If you have another means of transport, I would inspect and determine exact cause.
How did you separate the upper duct for the hvac to get better access?
I used a 4" long thin flat head screw driver. I did break one of the mid tabs. So i put on a loop of vinyl tape to help keep in place just for peace of mind.
Yea, that was really hard. I did a lot of pressing with the flathead and eventually the connection came apart, but there are two on each side.
I have airbag in that area is it same procedure?
Here's a great step by step resource to use for reference on how to do this. It's in pdf format. www.wk2jeeps.com/pdf/WK2_Knee_blocker_airbag_removal.pdf
Also keep in mind, I cannot stress this enough, anytime you are planing to do any work on a srs system, have the battery disconnected at all times and only reconnect it after everything is plugged back in and verified. This will help you stay safe and avoid any srs lights in the process.
My dealership replaced my entire leather dash because it was recalled under warranty for delaminating, after it was replaced my driver side stopped blowing cold air. Could they damaged actuator when replacing the entire dash? I have a feeling they will tell me they couldn't have broken it.
Its possible that the power wire wasn't connected 100% and it lost contact. As far as damaging it, I kinda doubt it. You would need to put an eye on it to tell exactly what's going on.
Ok thanks
@@JeeperGearwhen i change temp.
from Lo to Hi. I don't hear or feel any change at all in the air.
Got it done, talk about contorted getting up in there.
Not my favorite one, but could be worse. Like replacing a starter on a 3.6L v6 model.
Mine blows strong and then cuts off for a minute or so and then blows strong again. Would this be likely the same issue?
I found that exact issue to be the actual blower motor. Swapped 4 of them out from with aftermarket replacements from local autoparts store, till found one that works till this day.
@@JeeperGear so look at replacing the blower motor itself and should take care of my issue? Was it just a bad connection or just the motor itself giving out?
@@tyhodge07 in my case it was a bad motor. Connector wasn’t burned.
This reminds me of a one 2012 wk2 I did, where I had to replace the blower motor resistor to solve a similar issue.
@@JeeperGear ok thanks, whenever it decides to warm up here I’ll pull the glove box out and check over some things. Is there any ohms readings I can do to test the resistor or motor?
I recently replaced the blend door actuator gear on the driver side of a 2011 jeep grand cherokee. Everything seemed to work but now my control for the drivers side is backwards; blows cold when dial is on hot and blows hot when dial is on cold. Any advice on correcting? I've tried some calibration but to no avail.
That is very interesting. I have not come across that yet.
I'm going to speculate here, only thing I could think off is perhaps by some weird chance, the connector is in backwards on the actuator its self. Thus the swapped polarities on the actuator motor. As you seen, logically the gear only allows movement in 30min increment back and fourth.
Did you get an answer to this or figure out this problem??? I’m experiencing the exact same thing!
So I am weighing the cost between me doing this and an auto shop doing it. The part is inexpensive, but the replacement is labor intensive - and I may not have all the right tools. Equally, I may botch the whole thing. I am considering having a shop do this. What would you say it should cost knowing about how long it takes to get to the part and install it? Thanks!!!!
Normally dealer would have the part in stock or have it available the next day. It is about a 2 hour process to do it the way I did it. But if you are unsure in your skill, than I would have someone more mechanically inclined to do it for you. Dealer will quote you about 2 hours as well, but at roughly $80 to $120 per hour.
JEEPER GEAR that is if doors are not stuck. If they are they take entire drum out and it’s 3200$ in Canada :/
@@tomkulikowski Yeah that is also true. Sometimes you can get away with just prying them back from the side. The rubber bump stop is what makes it so difficult to pull back out if you're applying leverage with your hand from the side.
JEEPER GEAR that’s my plan when I get to work on it this weekend 🤞🏻
Jeep Gear, if I can’t stick my hand to reach the door , would cutting a hole in plastic help? Hate to take it all apart or pay that ridicules amount of $ to dealer.
Hey jeep gear. so I've replaced my blend door actuator underneath my steering wheel of my 2011 GC Overland. However, after calibration and when plugged in, it seems like the actuator motor continues to try turn the gear pasts the wall hard stops and so I'm still hearing the gear clicking noise from inside the new actuator. It seems the new actuator doesn't know when to stop turning. Do I have bigger problem like the heater core/blend door traveling too far or could it be that I just got a bad blend door actuator?
I would check to make sure the blend doors are moving freely. If they were pushed past the bump stops, they would need to be returned back to operational position. I've been lucky and have been able to just stick my had through the vent and pull it back, so it can move freely.. But some are not and would need to pull the heater core and do it that way. 😔
@@JeeperGear I can turn the doors freely without the blend door actuator attached to the gear and simulate hot to cold and cold to hot. It’s only when the motor actuator is attached that it seems to not function correctly. I’ve tried unplugging the battery and removing the hvac fuses as well. Calibration seems to happen a few times when I start the car and I can see the gear turning and sensing the stops but when I try to switch from ac to hot and hot to ac from the middle console only the passenger side works, the actuator for the drivers side doesn’t respond turn the gear to open the door. Could it be just bad blend door actuator then? This is the second new one that I’ve tried already.
I did everything as it shows I plugged my actuator and blend door motor up and then reset it by unplugging battery but now my heater cuts on and off and ain’t in auto idk why anyone know?
Do you mean it quits blowing air and then comes back on?
If that’s the case, your blower motor is on its way out. They’re pretty easy to replaced on a passenger side. Removed the kick panel, 3 screws and it’s out. Make sure the new one looks identical to yours. There’s 2 aftermarket variations with different fans on them.
@@JeeperGear I had an issue with my driver side not blowing cold air and only heat and I found out my actuator gear was broke so I replaced it and the motor both and unhooked battery and hooked back up and now the driver side and passenger side cuts on and off
@@rodneyblankenship9490 very curious. There’s nothing that should cause this when this repair is done. Do you hear the motor it’s self cutting off or does the car just change the direction of which way it blows?
Clogged filter, fan over heats, shuts down, when cools off turns back on.
It just kicks on and off and sometimes it’s warm air and sometimes it is cool air. When we first got it in we could hear a clicking when changing and could see it but now it just cuts both sides off and back on every little bit when nothing was wrong with the passenger side the only thing that was wrong was the gear was broke but we went ahead and replaced the motor too
How did you remove the hood release part since mine won't really come out?
I've disconnected the pull wire from the hood release handle. Than put it back on.
@@JeeperGear I did it and it worked Thank you
So I am trying to do your repair on my 2014 Jeep GC Overland. I have an airbag that is under the driver steering wheel. I was able to remove the 4 bolts at bottom of the panel and the 2 at the top next to the steering wheel. When I attempt to take off the full panel. The part with the airbag is staying in place. I am a novice and have no idea if it is smart/safe to continue to try and remove the airbag/metal plate that it is attached to. Would love it you knew how to help me out. Thanks!
I have a 2014 limited that I can look at as well. I'll check it out after work later today. If you don't feel confident or that you are 100% sure you can handle this repair. Please don't do it you self and get someone to do it for you. As you can see some models come with different options. Some come with a kick panel airbag and some don't.
Here's a great resource on how to take it apart and handle it. It is a pdf walk through. On how to remove and handle that particular restraint system component.
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.wk2jeeps.com/pdf/WK2_Knee_blocker_airbag_removal.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjwuqq5pp3pAhWtIjQIHfOHBigQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw2FPq8QxtnOA0dyfD467Hjg
Thank you so much!
Hey Dave, I finally just finished the repair 3 days later (yes, I am a newbie with not much experience on cars). So I will admit that when I took out the lower panel, I “forgot” to loosen the 2 bolts on the back of the KAB. So I ended up pulling off the bottom panel without the airbag. Thankfully I didn’t rip/damage the airbag and it went back together no problem. Which 2nd screw are you referring to? On the blend door actuator?
*upper screw (not 2nd screw)
Great video, but why have the music in the background. You don't speak very clearly to begin with and the music makes it even worse.
Oh well, can’t make everyone happy. To each their own. Thanks for watching.
Followed your advice on removing the duct in order to access the screw and it worked out well. Did you re assemble the duct then put it back in all together or did you leave the one piece hanging and try to reattach the second piece from underneath ? I’m having trouble getting the duct work to sit right after taking it apart
I had to connect them together up in there and fit it on. I basically dove in there with my head resting nearly on a throttle pedal. Sometimes along with patience and colorful few words, I am able to get it to sit right. If you do end up snapping one of the little clip tabs, I used a small piece of electric tape to make a loop and keep it together.
The Driver side is definitely more difficult than passenger side I took everything apart and ended up having to take it to the dealer
No need for music
Very good video you are the best