Hi folks,

First post on this forum! :grinno: I'm usually over at vintage-mustang.com, and decided to use my handle from there...

Problem is with the family truckster: a 2000 Windstar. No heat from dash unit, and a clicking sound when sliding the thermostat lever. Someone on my Mustang forum advised me it's probably the blend door actuator. So I thought I should find a more appropriate forum to look for advice.

I've heard it's a common break but a somewhat complicated repair... I'm hoping someone here has some photos or at least information about this repair. Where is the actuator located in a 2000 Windstar? Can I access it from the glovebox opening or do I have to remove the whole stereo/climate control panel?

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance...

Dan66

Dan66,

Looks like I may the same 'blend door actuator' problem on my 2000 Windstar. Removal of it looks to be a real bear...any suggestions to simplify its removal/replacement?

You can replace the Blend door act. by removing the Radio and look for the white plastic box, 3 screwa and 1 wire plug later you have it off, 5/16 small wrench will do the trick, New one from Ford is about $45.00

I just did this on my 99windstar and found that taking the temp controlpanel and bezel made the job a breeze. I used 18"of extensions on my 1/4 drive socket wrench and zapped them right out. My unit was $53 from the dealer



You can replace the Blend door act. by removing the Radio and look for the white plastic box, 3 screwa and 1 wire plug later you have it off, 5/16 small wrench will do the trick, New one from Ford is about $45.00

I have had the same trouble with a 2000 modle and now my 2003,the blend door actuator assembly is pretty much identical on these two units,I remove the lower shroud,pull the cup holder assembly and while laying on the passenger side floor on my back simply use a 1/4 drive ratchet and an 8mm socket to remove the 3 screws. With the ignition "on" slide the control lever to one side then the other the motor will either move smoothly both directions or it will click in one,or possibly both directions.At this point I recomend verifying free movement of the blend door,as on my 2003 I actually had a contol cable partialy inside the plenum interfereing with the door movement. The problem is the first and second driven gears break teeth off,usualy on the first gear,sometimes both...why these are still made of plastic I don't know,as they seem to break within 60,000 miles of use. Hope this helps