Recirc door replacement

[AllianceDiesel]

I decided to do a write-up on how to repair the recirc door on 06 and newer trucks. Almost all the 06`s break and I think its more in the megacabs than anything, at least that is what I have seen. This isn`t the perfect repair but its the easiest repair unless you want to do the complete repair which requires you do remove the dash. I am gonna eventually do the complete repair when it gets nicer.



The first time you may notice something is wrong is either you have reduced air flow to the vents or you blower fan becomes off balanced by a piece of the door that falls into the fan. I will show a picture of the piece so that you know what it looks like.



Here are the tools you will need:

electric screw driver

phillips bit



OR



stubby phillips screw driver

t25 bit or screw driver

small pliers

pick

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broken pivot

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broken door

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To remove the fan you need to unplug the electrical connector, and take out the three screws, they are t25`s and I used a sweet little electric screw drive from snap-on.



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When the fan is removed you can look up into the hole and see the door just sitting there loosly.



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Next you need to pull the glove box, you have to open it up and then push in the two tabs towards the rear. You will see them, they keep the door from opening too far. Then you will be here.



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Next you need to remove the servo, there are two phillips screws that hold it on, you can either use a stubby screw driver or a fancy electric screw driver, the servo is on the left side of the housing.



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Servo

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[AllianceDiesel]

Now you need to remove the old pivot, it will be a white piece of plastic similar to the black pieces that are in the kit. The servo hooks to this piece. I just took a small pair of pliers and pulled kinda hard and it popped out.



Now you need to do the same on the new housing, take the servo off, and pull the black pivot out. The door will fall out and you can pull it out through the bottom.



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New door and pivot



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Now you need to install the door into its new home. Its kinda a small area to get it turned but you will figure it out. You will have to put the small dimple of the door into the housing and then with your other hand line up the door so you can install the new black pivot. Once you have it lined up just push the pivot in until it locks in place. Then install the new servo with the screws. You should check to make sure your door is working. Then just do reverse order on how you took everything apart.



Door in vent position

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Like I said earlier, this is only a temporary fix. I will add on when I install the right housing. This housing actually has stops so that the stops on the pivot will hit instead of torquing on the door.

 

[Shadrach]

Hey Thanks I have no defrost or floor, just vent mode in my 03 right now so I'm not driving it, but I will do a complete repair when it warms up. Brrrrrr Shadrach

 

[AllianceDiesel]

that sounds like your mode door



mode-where the air is coming out

blend-hot or cold door

recirc-either outside air or recirculating the inside air.

 

[MMeier]

Will that P/N be good for a '03 ? Also, when I want heat I have to turn the knob to full hot then back it off to where I need it... blend door, or is it a control head issue ? Been with out my recirc door for about 4 years now.

 

[rscurtis]

I did the heatertreater recirc. door in my '03 about a week ago. The most difficult part of the job was removing the amplifier for the Infinity stereo out of the way to gain access to the actuator motor screws. Two of the mounting bolts are readily accessible, the third is buried on top of the plenum. Once that was dispatched, it was a straight forward job. The last photo shows the location of the third bolt on the amplifier.



If I had had any other HVAC issues, I think the best way to repair it would be removal of the dash and replacement with the updated Mopar parts.

 

[crispyboy]

Thank goodness I don't have this problem yet but I do have two questions.



1. Is that the replacement Mopar part number shown on the new door in the picture?



2. I had to fix the HVAC system on my wife's 2002 Grand Cherokee. These vehicles were known for bad doors. One of the last procedures was to recalibrate the doors for the system through the use of the AC and Recirc buttons on the dash. Does this fix require any type of recalibration of the doors?



BTW - Good writeup

 

[AllianceDiesel]

No it doesn't need recalibration because the door servo just stops after a certain resistance, that is why the stock door breaks is because the stops are on the door causing lots of torque.



And yes, I didn't have the amp so that was way easier



The part number is 68004226ac and is around $55

 

[Wingate]

Good pics. . mine broke at 15-20k miles, again at 35K. . it had the updated door, but broke anyway. IMHO, its just a cheap bean-counter design. Anyway, I didn't pull the fan motor when I replaced my recirc door. . put heatertreater door in it. will never have to worry about the crappy design again... I have the other doors sitting in my shop, when they break, I will put the heatertreater doors in them too.

 

[JFought]

yep dealer has fix my door 2 times! rec-door

 

[AllianceDiesel]

if they actually fix it how it is suppose to you will never have any broken doors again. The new design actually has the stops on the pivots and the housing. I looked at my dads that was fixed by the dealer and all they did was replace the door. I am gonna do the complete fix when it gets warm out.

 

[FFL8N]

I still need to do the fix... but I bought an aftermarket kit that uses steel. Looks much stronger that the stock set up for the other aftermarket units I have seen

 

[MMeier]

I still need to do the fix... but I bought an aftermarket kit that uses steel. Looks much stronger that the stock set up for the other aftermarket units I have seen

Which kit is that ?

 

[Tinman]

That's probably the HeaterTreater door. Fine product made of steel. It will never break again. That's what I did this past summer. Not a bad job. I was able to do it without breaking the grid on top as Heater Treater recommends. After doing mine, I was able to do my brother's 06 faster than he could change the oil. By far the hardest part is the most forward screw that holds the actuator motor on. A ratcheting Philips screw driver really helps. On both my truck and my brother's the dealer had replaced the door prior to my repair and that screw just wasn't there (lazy Dodge mech). I put in back in each case.

 

[rscurtis]

I found that the HT door can be installed from the bottom, you don't have to cut the grille as their instructions suggest. It didn't take me two minutes to put it in that way, probably because it was relatively easy after moving the stereo amplifier. One thing for sure, their door isn't going to break in my lifetime.



I wonder how many owners have a broken recirc. door that just hasn't fallen off yet.

 

[JBallou]

Does not using the recirculate help avoid this problem? I think I have only used mine one x in 70k miles.

 

[MMeier]

Any link to the HT door set up ?

 

[rscurtis]

Auto replacement part, blend door fix, Heat, AC replacement parts

 

[AllianceDiesel]

actually if you have the fan shut off it will go to recirc mode

 

[Wingate]

Does not using the recirculate help avoid this problem? I think I have only used mine one x in 70k miles.

yeah... . I NEVER use recirc but mine broke twice!. no rough roads, sits in a covered carport... just a REALLY crappy design. .

Its amazing that 25 years ago, the HVAC system worked flawless and never was even thought about. Now we find ourselves installing aftermarket parts to get the system to work like it should have to begin with!!.