86 12 Brutus Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Sounds like the dreaded plastic hinge. unfortunately the dash is going to have to come out unless anybody knows a way to get the ploon out without removing the dash. Get some small cabinet hinges from the hardware store and use them, its a very easy fix, but getting to it is the problem. I would avoid the nos door and do the mod regardless. It is a very weak spot in all Fords of that vintage, the plastic gets brittle and there is no guarantee the nos one will hold up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Just as a heads up, I found that door NOS with new foam and all for $65.00. As I dont have a shop to work in, it will make it a little quicker. Sorry to hear that Steve. Did you already purchase the new door? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Sorry to hear that Steve. Did you already purchase the new door? Ok, first, the blend door is the one the cable works, it adjusts the temperature. The door that fails is the mode door, it selects face or floor. After it is in "floor" position another door the one with the two hose actuator controls partial or full defrost mode. I personally would try to find a newer inside duct assembly if I were going into it Ford made an improved design on the later trucks. I don't know whether it started in 1987 or later, but the 1990 parts truck had the newer design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Ok, first, the blend door is the one the cable works, it adjusts the temperature. The door that fails is the mode door, it selects face or floor. After it is in "floor" position another door the one with the two hose actuator controls partial or full defrost mode. I personally would try to find a newer inside duct assembly if I were going into it Ford made an improved design on the later trucks. I don't know whether it started in 1987 or later, but the 1990 parts truck had the newer design. Thanks Bill - I was thinking 'blend' since it contains a partial position but mode makes more sense. Updated and noted this above. What's the improved part in the later years? Did they fix this hinge and find a way to keep the foam on the doors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Thanks Bill - I was thinking 'blend' since it contains a partial position but mode makes more sense. Updated and noted this above. What's the improved part in the later years? Did they fix this hinge and find a way to keep the foam on the doors? The later door has a shaft that it swings on. This is a 1995 case, the small opening goes to demister duct for the side windows but could easily be covered. I don't have a picture on the 1990 case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old55pete Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 The later door has a shaft that it swings on. This is a 1995 case, the small opening goes to demister duct for the side windows but could easily be covered. I don't have a picture on the 1990 case. My plan at this point is to get into the dash as far as I need to to set the door by hand so I have heat on the floor and the defroster. . Because it has been raining/snowing and I have to work outside, I went a head and ordered the door and will fix it up before I put it in with different henges so I wont have to do this again:nabble_smiley_whistling:, I hope. I have it torn apart most of the way any way just to try to figure it out, so I will leave it together enough to drive it untill the weather drys out some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 My plan at this point is to get into the dash as far as I need to to set the door by hand so I have heat on the floor and the defroster. . Because it has been raining/snowing and I have to work outside, I went a head and ordered the door and will fix it up before I put it in with different henges so I wont have to do this again:nabble_smiley_whistling:, I hope. I have it torn apart most of the way any way just to try to figure it out, so I will leave it together enough to drive it untill the weather drys out some. With the bottom plenum off can you stick a dowel rod (or similar) up through that door and see if you can poke the broken door over to close off the vent plenum? Likely will have to leave the rod in there wedged but might be enough to get you by for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machspeed Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 With the bottom plenum off can you stick a dowel rod (or similar) up through that door and see if you can poke the broken door over to close off the vent plenum? Likely will have to leave the rod in there wedged but might be enough to get you by for a bit. Steve, the link above that Scott posted is what I used to determine that my blend door was bad. Also used it as a guide in disassembly. Great link for fixing the blend door and that gentleman did a great service to the concerning Bullnose owner. Now, in the link he replaced his from underneath with the dash still on. All I can say is that would have been tight. I looked at it and thought....No way! With just a few screws to remove the dash and a couple bolts to bring the dash support out a bit on the passenger side, one can easily remove the the duct work and have easy access to the blend door. I rebuilt my door as he did with an aluminum hinge. It will never fail again. Good luck on this project, buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 Steve, the link above that Scott posted is what I used to determine that my blend door was bad. Also used it as a guide in disassembly. Great link for fixing the blend door and that gentleman did a great service to the concerning Bullnose owner. Now, in the link he replaced his from underneath with the dash still on. All I can say is that would have been tight. I looked at it and thought....No way! With just a few screws to remove the dash and a couple bolts to bring the dash support out a bit on the passenger side, one can easily remove the the duct work and have easy access to the blend door. I rebuilt my door as he did with an aluminum hinge. It will never fail again. Good luck on this project, buddy! Agreed John and prying on it in colder weather would give me pause. Adding this here just in case it helps - this is the description of the hinge I bought that worked well (as would many). I am thinking that just pulling the pin and rotating one side got it really, really close to the right offset. Aluminum 5052 Continuous Hinge without Holes, Unfinished, 0.06" Leaf Thickness, 3" Open Width, 1/8" Pin Diameter, 1/2" Knuckle Length, 1' Long (Pack of 1) There is still a listing on Amazon for it but the price is about $70 more than it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old55pete Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share Posted December 12, 2020 Agreed John and prying on it in colder weather would give me pause. Adding this here just in case it helps - this is the description of the hinge I bought that worked well (as would many). I am thinking that just pulling the pin and rotating one side got it really, really close to the right offset. Aluminum 5052 Continuous Hinge without Holes, Unfinished, 0.06" Leaf Thickness, 3" Open Width, 1/8" Pin Diameter, 1/2" Knuckle Length, 1' Long (Pack of 1) There is still a listing on Amazon for it but the price is about $70 more than it used to be. Scott, John, Bill and George Because of the rain, mostly melted snow and the mud. I am only gonna do what I have to to get the defrosters and heater going. Pulling out the whole dash to repair/ replace this diverter door is out of the question until spring as this appears to be more then a one day job. On the other hand, I am going to do what I can to fix that broken door so that it will let the defrosters/ heater work until spring. This is one of the times that I envy you guys that have your own home shops to be able to work inside in bad weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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