[Sam1911]

Hi guys!
Our '01 Windstar does not blow hot air at all to the front vents. Plenty of air -- blower motor works well -- and plenty of heat to the REAR HVAC system, but no heat to the front.
Is there a coolant valve that sends hot coolant to the front heater core? I can't seem to find much info in my repair manual.


Is this the famous "blend door actuator" problem?

Many thanks!

-Sam

[Poppy]

Did you check your fuses? I'm thinking that the front and rear may be on different circuits, but yes, it does sound like an issue where the blend door is not moving.

[Skyhawk]

Go to the web site heatertreater.com and it has pictures and other information on the blend air door operations and common failures, as well as a "fix" for a broken blend air door axel. Expose the blend air door motor and you should be able to hear it operate with an automotive stethiscope (or piece of tubing) when you switch from warm air to cold air with the "heater" switch. If the motor is working and the door is not moving then the door axel is mosy likely broken. The axel is plastic and the end where the motor attaches to it breaks (common cause).

[LoneWolf3574]

Not to be a busybody Skyhawk, but it's heatertreater.net

But Skyhawk is correct on all else. Unfortuanately this is a rather common issue when putting plastic in something where even a piece of pot metal would have done a better job. Ahh, to save a few pennies and have the consumer pay for it later.

[windstar02]

I have the same problem now with my 02 Windstar; lots of cold air but no hot air at all.
I found my problem to be the air blend door actuator. Here is what I did:
· Turned the ignition key to the on position, but did not start the engine.
· Moved the air temperature adjust slider slowly to each end a few times while listening to the area behind the radio. You have to get your ear close to that area to hear the actuator move.
· I heard clicking sounds as the actuator moved (or tried to move) from one limit to the other. This is indicative of a problem with the actuator and possibly with the blend door.
· Removed the radio. I made the pullers from some 3/16” rod that I had lying around but you can buy the real pullers from auto parts stores. Insert these into the holes in the radio and push them away from each other. This causes the spring clips on the radio to retract and let you pull the radio out. This can be a little tricky with the homemade pullers since they tend to slip out easily. You may need a second set of helping hands to pull the radio out.
· Removed the lower plastic console piece located under the drink tray. This has 4 plastic screws. 3 of mine backed out easily but the 4th was stripped and would not back out. I pulled on it carefully with increasing force until it popped out.
· Removed the drink tray.
· Now the actuator is accessible from the opening where the radio was and from below where the console and drink tray was. In my case the actuator had 3 screws attaching it to the blower housing.
· Took the actuator apart and found one of the little gears had half the teeth stripped off.
· Took the piece from the actuator that attaches to the blend door. I inserted this piece into the hole in the blower housing to connect to the blend door. I found that I could move the door easily, so no problem with that (phew!!!). The weight of the door keeps it in the “cold” position. I used some wire to tie the door to the “hot” position until I get a chance to get a new actuator.

Here are some pictures of the actuator and of the radio with the removal tool.

[Marktravis]

Windstar 02: You are on the right track. Your experience matches mine on our '99 Windstar. I had to remove the actuator motor and prop open the blend door to have heat throughout the fall, winter, and into spring. The following summer I had to install a new actuator motor and replace the blend door itself since its hinge shattered and would no longer receive the drive shaft of the actuator motor. I followed the procedure given on heatertreater.net. Good Luck!