I am a newbie who had an issue with my '97 TJ 4 cylinder Wrangler's HVAC system not blowing through the dash vents. It would blow through the floor and defrost at any temperature I wanted but it just wouldn't come out the face vents. I don't know a whole lot about cars but I couldn't find a simple, detailed fix for my problem so I thought I’d create one for other beginners. From my reading, I gather that this forum is oriented more toward the advanced Jeepers so I apologize for the simplistic nature of this post. If any of you pros read this and spot any erroneous info, please correct me.
When I bought my '97, the guy said the AC issue just started happening and his mechanic friend said it was a broken selector switch and it would be cheap to fix. After extensive research on Wrangler forums, i figured it was probably an issue with the blend door and not the selector. The blend door controls the flow of air from defrost vent, dash vent, floor vents, etc and not the blend of hot and cold air like I originally assumed. I called my local dealer and he confirmed that it sounded like a broken blend door and it'd be $95 to hook it up to the computer and another several hundred dollars to repair if the blend door was indeed the culprit.
The blend door and actuators are located behind the dashboard. If you're looking at the dash, they're to the left of the AC selector switch and down about 6 inches. You can see them if you stick your head in the floorboard and look up underneath the dash. I removed the plastic knee blocker piece under the steering wheel and the metal piece beneath that so i could get some more light.
I had seen other posts where guys laid upside down in the driver's seat with their heads in the floor so I tried that for about an hour and almost killed myself. I couldn't fit my arms under the dash so I ended up taking out the driver's seat and I highly recommend going that route. I was intimidated by this prospect at first but it's simple. Mine just had 4 bolts connecting it to the body. Then I had to remove the seatbelt sensor wire from the seat which is just a little plastic clip by the seatbelt which comes right off. Once I was finally able to maneuver, I located the problem.
If you look under the dash, the blend door and actuators are a few inches up and to the left (if you're lying upside down). I believe the actuators or diaphragms are 3 round silver ball looking things with silver arms coming out of them. They look like the picture below:
The arms attach to the blend door and this is where my problem was. The plastic part that connected the silver arm to the blend door had broken and it was very hard to get my hands into that little area. If you have the AC on and move the vent selector between the various positions, you will see the arms move and you can see what position gives you the most access to the area. I found the broken arm and reattached it by getting a 1 inch #10 sheet metal screw from Home Depot. I put it though the hole in the arm and screwed it back in without even worrying about taking the original broken piece out of the blend door because it's hollow anyway. here's what the broken piece looks like and where I reattached it
I think the blend door for the dash vents was the middle of the 3 actuators. I ended up having to hold the plastic door attachment piece in place with my left hand and taking the screwdriver in my right hand through the removed knee blocker I referenced earlier.
I apologize for the long, tedious post but hope some other newbs can get some use out of it.
When I bought my '97, the guy said the AC issue just started happening and his mechanic friend said it was a broken selector switch and it would be cheap to fix. After extensive research on Wrangler forums, i figured it was probably an issue with the blend door and not the selector. The blend door controls the flow of air from defrost vent, dash vent, floor vents, etc and not the blend of hot and cold air like I originally assumed. I called my local dealer and he confirmed that it sounded like a broken blend door and it'd be $95 to hook it up to the computer and another several hundred dollars to repair if the blend door was indeed the culprit.
The blend door and actuators are located behind the dashboard. If you're looking at the dash, they're to the left of the AC selector switch and down about 6 inches. You can see them if you stick your head in the floorboard and look up underneath the dash. I removed the plastic knee blocker piece under the steering wheel and the metal piece beneath that so i could get some more light.
I had seen other posts where guys laid upside down in the driver's seat with their heads in the floor so I tried that for about an hour and almost killed myself. I couldn't fit my arms under the dash so I ended up taking out the driver's seat and I highly recommend going that route. I was intimidated by this prospect at first but it's simple. Mine just had 4 bolts connecting it to the body. Then I had to remove the seatbelt sensor wire from the seat which is just a little plastic clip by the seatbelt which comes right off. Once I was finally able to maneuver, I located the problem.
If you look under the dash, the blend door and actuators are a few inches up and to the left (if you're lying upside down). I believe the actuators or diaphragms are 3 round silver ball looking things with silver arms coming out of them. They look like the picture below:
The arms attach to the blend door and this is where my problem was. The plastic part that connected the silver arm to the blend door had broken and it was very hard to get my hands into that little area. If you have the AC on and move the vent selector between the various positions, you will see the arms move and you can see what position gives you the most access to the area. I found the broken arm and reattached it by getting a 1 inch #10 sheet metal screw from Home Depot. I put it though the hole in the arm and screwed it back in without even worrying about taking the original broken piece out of the blend door because it's hollow anyway. here's what the broken piece looks like and where I reattached it
I think the blend door for the dash vents was the middle of the 3 actuators. I ended up having to hold the plastic door attachment piece in place with my left hand and taking the screwdriver in my right hand through the removed knee blocker I referenced earlier.
I apologize for the long, tedious post but hope some other newbs can get some use out of it.
