Blend Door Repair $1,200??

[beauimpala]

No heat, No Cold, No air trapped. Coolant is topped off. Code displayed on diagnostics of display show a Blend Door Error.
The dealership quoted me today a total of $1,200 to repair.:bs: That is outrageous, but I know it is a big job. Anybody tackled this at home and got any pointers before I have at it???

Any help would be appreciated.

Bozo

[BAD MERC]

Maybe tell us what kind of car you're talking about?

[beauimpala]

Well ok. Its a 2003 Marauder? I kinda thought that would be obvious, but I guess not to some people.

[vegasmarauder]

Its a lot more detailed, but basically, the center console comes out, the steering column comes out (or down on the drivers deat) the entire dash assembly is loosened and moved back about 10-20 inches (shop manual says to remove it from the car). Then the AC/Heat box is loosened and moved back enough to get to the blend door controller. Its a flat module that electrically moves the blend door (this is what almost always goes bad). To do all the above a lot of wiring harnesses and vacumn hoses have to be unpluged and grommets pushed out of the firewall. It is an all day, or one to two day job with a lot of little things that can go wrong and result in a rattle, electrical short or something not working once it is all back together. I have done in on several Crown Vics and Mercurys. It is a big job. If you don't have some experience with pulling out a full size Ford dash it can be more trouble than the $1200. Oh, and a lot of people take it to an outside shop to do it cheaper, but you will probably run into problems with inoperative accesories and spend more money.

[jimlam56]

We have the same problem with Matt's 03 MM. Guess we're gonna have to bite the bullet and drop it off at the Ford dealership. It ai'nt getting any cooler down here...:rolleyes:

[BAD MERC]

Well ok. Its a 2003 Marauder? I kinda thought that would be obvious, but I guess not to some people.


Oh, my bad - I see you mentioned it. Wow - how obvious. Glad I didn't try to help your wise-ass. There are more than just Marauders on here that have needed tech help you little :censor:. Especially with the keyword 'impala' in your name.

[jimlam56]

Oh, my bad - I see you mentioned it. Wow - how obvious. Glad I didn't try to help your wise-ass. There are more than just Marauders on here that have needed tech help you little :censor:. Especially with the keyword 'impala' in your name.

Note the title of the forum he posted his question under:

Shop Talk Visit Shop Talk for all your general technical discussions regarding the Marauder!

[FordNut]

Maybe tell us what kind of car you're talking about?


Well ok. Its a 2003 Marauder? I kinda thought that would be obvious, but I guess not to some people.

Nothing in your signature to indicate what it is, so it's not obvious to anybody except you.

[FordNut]

Note the title of the forum he posted his question under:

Shop Talk Visit Shop Talk for all your general technical discussions regarding the Marauder!

Lots of us don't have the foggiest notion of what forum a thread is posted in, we just click on "today's posts" and see what's new. If the title, signature, or body of the message doesn't have the details, it's pretty ambiguous.

If you look at the forum list on the right column of the list, it just says "shop talk".

[carfixer]

I've done hundreds of blend door actuators in Town Cars, Grand Marquis and Crown Vics but haven't done one in a Marauder yet. This job, if I recall correctly, pays 5.5 to 6.5 hours, max. Any experienced Ford or L/M tech should be able to do this in under 2 hours.

$1200 is way too high, unless their labor rate is $150 per hour. Part should be under $100.

[beauimpala]

I am sooooo sorry to get some people in a tissy. I just wanted a little help and thought I posted it in the right forum. I guess Bad Merc didn't care for my comment. This is why I avoid making posts. Everybody can't be as smart as BAD MERC I guess. Sorry for any problems everybody. I'll just go back to what I used to do and keep my mouth shut. If anybody else would like to contribute in a civil matter please feel free to do so.

[jimlam56]

Lots of us don't have the foggiest notion of what forum a thread is posted in, we just click on "today's posts" and see what's new. If the title, signature, or body of the message doesn't have the details, it's pretty ambiguous.

If you look at the forum list on the right column of the list, it just says "shop talk".


I do the same thing, click on "today's posts". On the left side about an inch down shows the forum, just like I pasted it.

[jimlam56]

I've done hundreds of blend door actuators in Town Cars, Grand Marquis and Crown Vics but haven't done one in a Marauder yet. This job, if I recall correctly, pays 5.5 to 6.5 hours, max. Any experienced Ford or L/M tech should be able to do this in under 2 hours.

$1200 is way too high, unless their labor rate is $150 per hour. Part should be under $100.

Thanks Claude. Would you suggest a FLM dealer doing this, or would a competent A/C repair shop be able to handle it?

[BAD MERC]

I've done hundreds of blend door actuators in Town Cars, Grand Marquis and Crown Vics but haven't done one in a Marauder yet. This job, if I recall correctly, pays 5.5 to 6.5 hours, max. Any experienced Ford or L/M tech should be able to do this in under 2 hours.

$1200 is way too high, unless their labor rate is $150 per hour. Part should be under $100.

I would say - as preventative maintenance - do the heater core as well and maybe the evaporator. These are small-ticket items that are dwarfed by huge repairs if they fail at a later date.

[carfixer]

Thanks Claude. Would you suggest a FLM dealer doing this, or would a competent A/C repair shop be able to handle it?
I would suggest the dealer do this. There are a lot of parts to remove and reinstall and I would want someone who has done it a few dozen times doing it.

[Zack]

Borrow someone's vin with extended warranty.
Ive 'loaned' mine out before...for a blend door!

[beauimpala]

Had a maintenance guy who repairs the city Crown Vic fleet do the repair at his house. Part was $100 and he charged a couple hundred for the job. There had to be a better way than having the dealership do it. I took the old blend door mechanism apart and discovered the little motor inside to be no good. A $5 part caused this much headache. Oh well. It's fixed now and I'm happy.

Bozo