1996-2007 Ford Taurus Mercury Sable HeaterTreater tm
This is a product developed by the HeaterTreater Engineers for the
common blend door failure problem on the 96-07 Taurus and Sable(same
car, different names). Please check our feedback to get an idea of the
product line integrity and customer reaction to our products. We are
committed to customer satisfaction and successful repairs of blend door
problems.
This
is a kit to do a complete repair on the blend door malfunction that is
common to the 96-2007 Ford Taurus. Every Taurus in this
range either has, or will have, this common failure. The pictures
show the hardware provided for the fix. All work is done through
the glove compartment opening...no removal of the dash panel or
evacuating the AC system and draining the radiator. Once
completed, the alterations are behind the glove box and are not
visible. The work to install the fix is relatively simple and can
be accomplished by the average shade tree mechanic. The work could
easily be done by any local independent garage. Product returns are
accepted within two weeks for a full refund(minus shipping).
The
standard fix for the blend door failure is to remove the heater box and
replace the plastic door. If the instructions with the door start out
with "remove the heater box" �be ready for considerable work. Removal
of the box requires removing the steering wheel and steering column,
dash panel, console, evacuating and disconnecting the AC compressor,
draining and disconnecting the heater hoses. Fixing the door is
relatively easy, but the labor(and cost) of getting to the door makes
this a time consuming and expensive job. The HeaterTreater avoids the
hard work by providing a kit that allows the repair to be done with
superior components without having to disassemble the automobile. 30min
work vs 8-14 hrs of work, and no specialized mechanical skills
required(or EPA certification to evacuate and recharge the AC).
The Problem:
-
The Taurus is built with a Blend Door to control the heater and AC
function. On the Taurus, air flows through the AC evaporator
which can be switched either off or on. The blend door can then
divert air through the heater core or directly into the vent
system. By positioning the door to regulate the amount of air
going through the heater core, temperature can be regulated with good
accuracy.
The
doors are controlled by a DC motor capable of moving the door in both
directions. The issue with the system is that the system has to
calibrate itself and find the end points of movement before the
computer can understand the two closed positions and regulate the
temperature. The computer drives the motor until it stalls,
creating significant force on the plastic door and axle. The
photograph shows the fail mode on the Taurus. Over time the
plastic door cannot withstand the rotational force from the motor and
the axle breaks. More detailed information on the general
operation of HVAC systems is available on our web site at
www.heatertreater.net.
Do you have the problem?
The
usual symptom is an inability to effectively control the temperature of
the HVAC system. The door rotates on a horizontal axis and when the
door breaks, it falls to the bottom of the box, blocking the heater
core. This means that very little air can flow through the heater
core and the primary effect is loss of heat. Also, since the door
is just laying there, it does not give a complete seal and AC
efficiency will suffer. While these symptoms are fairly
conclusive for blend door failure, the only way to really check it out
is to remove the blend door actuator motor and look at the axle.
The picture shows a view through a fully opened glove box(squeeze the
sides of the box and pull out). The white plastic motor is
visible and can be removed by loosening two screws and pulling the
motor straight back from the heater box. The motor is covered by
a metal covering to protect the components during the the factory
assembly. This cover is held on by two screws that also have to
be removed. You can use a mirror to look at the axle or
check by feel. If the axle looks/feels like the picture of the
broken blend door, this is conclusively your problem and the
HeaterTreater will fix it.
Note
also that a blocked heater core is a common failure on the
Taurus. The picture shows where the heater hoses go into the
firewall in the engine compartment. You can remove these two
hoses and use a water hose connector to connect a section of hose and
flush the heater core. If there is no, or diminished, flow
through the heater core, this will affect heater operation.
Another
reported fail symptom is a “clicking�
sound coming from behind the glove box. This occurs when the motor
gears get out of alignment and are slipping against each other, making
the noise. Sometimes you can make it stop by pushing down on the back
of the motor and getting the gears to catch. This occurs during the
calibration cycle described above and the motor will continue to run
until it hits the stall point which never occurs if the gears are
slipping. The clicking will cause permanent damage to the motor,
stripping the gears. The failure usually occurs with a broken blend
door that allows the motor to get out of alignment and twist slightly,
causing the gears to disengage. The HeaterTreater will put the system
back in alignment and correct this problem.
The HeaterTreater
TM
Solution:
This
kit replaces the plastic doors and axle with stainless steel
components. All work is done through the glove box opening and no
disassembly of the dash or evacuation of the AC system is
required. Tools required are a screw driver, and a rotary
cutter(Dremel tool)(
if you don't already have one, this is a good excuse and the tool has
many uses. The opening through the glove box is confined and you will
need a flexible extension for the rotary tool. Target has a very good
tool from DuraBuilt that has the flexible extension for less than 30
bucks
). Correct cutting bit, and all hardware is provided.
Of all the blend door replacement kits that we have developed,
installation on the Taurus is the easiest. The repair will take
about half an hour. No extensive mechanical skills are
required. The picture shows the metal replacement kit. The
plastic door is accessed by using the Dremel tool and bit to cut into
the plastic heater housing through the glove box. Complete
diagrams for the cutting pattern are provided. It's a very simple
process. The broken plastic door is removed and replaced with the
HeaterTreater
TM
.
The instructions are written with multiple pictures and dual level
instructions. You can read the bold print only for experienced
mechanics or read the bold and standard for full "instructions for
Dummies". The instructions are almost insultingly simplistic for
those who care to read the entire document without admitting that they
did it. The fix is easy and MUCH preferable to disassembly of the
entire dash and engine cooling systems(or paying the dealer to do it
for $600-$1100). We provide support via email or phone if required. Our
goal is to make sure that every installation is successful. To date we
have achieved that goal and have no intention of letting up. This will
solve the problems with the blend door and is over-engineered to
outlast the Ranger.
Tech Talk
for those that are interested.
While installation of the door is easy,
construction of the hardware is not. Note in the picture of the
broken door that the side of the door is wedge shaped. The fully
closed position on either extent takes this angle into account.
Most systems use a flat door centered on the axle and are easier to
construct. One position seals the heater core for max AC
operation and the other extent forces all air through the heater
core. With the wedge shaped door, you can't center the door on
the axle without having minor leaks in both directions, and
constructing a wedge shaped door adds weight to the door and
manufacturing complexity(cost) to the product.
The HVAC system has two sources of
temperature control, the heater core and the AC evaporator. Heat
from the engine is "free" and hot(upwards of 200 degrees). AC,
however, takes additional work from the engine and the system is only
capable of producing a set differential from ambient. The
HeaterTreater door is constructed to bias toward maximum AC efficiency
for the reasons above. Note in the picture that there is a double
thickness of foam on one side of the door. This does an
acceptable job of sealing the vent system and forcing all air through
the heater core, but is not perfect. Since most humans are not
comfortable at 200 degrees, we generally run the heater full blast to
get the car warmed up on a cold day and then adjust the temperature
down. Once the engine reaches operating temperature, there
is no issue, but as the water in the system is heating, you are trying
to squeeze out every degree on the way up. This process will be
less efficient and the impact will be an extra 30sec to 1min to get the
car warmed up on a cold day.
In the picture of the broken door, you can
see a lever that is connected to the axle. This controls a
backside flap that closes off the heater core in full AC mode.
Air can take two paths through the system. One directly into the
vent system and the other through the heater core and into the vent
system. Think of the heater core as a side road that can be taken
when it's cold. When air flow is blocked through the heater core,
the back side of the tunnel is still open to the vent system and even
without air flow, there is some radiant heat that can warm the air in
the vent system. The Taurus has a flap that blocks radiant heat
during full AC mode. The little lever is connected to a slide
control arm and spring to control this back side door. It is way
over-engineered compared to other automotive systems and adds
considerable complexity to replacing the blend door. With the
HeaterTreater, this Rube Goldberg system is replaced with a simple
counterweight that will hold the door closed, and open when air flowing
through the heater core pushes the door open. Simple and 100%
effective. This requires a little more air flow to open the door,
but that is done by raising the temperature slightly. The system
will operate the same as before, but the desired temperature setting
may have to be adjusted slightly upwards to get the same results as
before. There is no compromise to full AC performance or
full heater performance. The only variation will be when you are
running the AC and it's too cold and you want to add a little
heat. You will need to set the temperature a little higher to
force a little more air into the heater core to provide enough flow to
crack the counterweighted door open. You still have full control
over temperature.
All HeaterTreater products are designed and tested for reliability by degreed professional engineers. We strive for 100% customer satisfaction and have maintained that objective to date. We have no intention of backing off of that accomplishment.
100% Made in
Patent Pending
