finally tore into this mess. got it all out faster than I thought I might (and, no, I did not hack anything) but now I am stuck.
When I went to pull the top of the box off I cracked the pivot pin for the pie shaped air door, that protrudes thru the top of the housing and connects to a vacuum diaphragm that operates this door.
I cannot find anything for Mopar parts before 2003, its like this truck never existed. Anyone got an extra air box laying around? My next alternative would be to go to a junkyard and spend 3 hours pulling a heater box for this little piece..... meaning this truck will sit torn apart for a while til I can do so. help me.

 

Is there nothing you can fabricate to fix it? JB Weld? Post a pic.

I went to the u-pull-it the other day and saw quite a few 97-99 Daks and Durangos. Some with the dash already pulled. To be honest, if it's if it's just the pin you need, you can work your way down to it with a hammer, rather than spend all day pulling stuff.

 

The dash would need pulled to get it to the hammer point

 

This is my 1st 97-04, and I haven't liked it nearly as much as my 87-96s. (Has nothing to do with the current issue, has more to do with the 3.9 under the hood--- blah--) and the number of repeat repairs that I have had to do to it that I have receipts for all the way back to 2002 from the past owner. Long story there, but the shop that used to do the work and maintenance on it before I got it really took advantage of the poor old guy.

 

I'm sure I warned about being careful these HVAC box's are brittle plastic.

post a pic and yes junkyard is the only option

Not sure what part you broke I have a few spare parts.

This it

 

Nope. Not it. On the heater core side of the box, behind the core, there is a white pin that sticks up thru the top, and has an arm that snaps onto it that then connects to a vacuum diaphragm.

this white pin goes into a tall pie shaped baffle, this pin is shaped like a small chair, the front leg of which goes into a big square hole.
My son has the pieces, I guess his neighbor has one of his neighbors had access to one of those 3d printer things at his work, wants to try and make a new one. I hear good things about this 3d printing deal but I am skeptical.

 

I finally found a 99 Dakota parts breakdown and what I need looks like it came as a part of#25 in parts illustration, which is the blend door.

 

i think dorman makes a universal repair kit witch looks like a threaded rod and some fiberglass reson i drilled holes in mine and just ran a choke style cable to it cense my box
was destroyed

 

Are you talking about the plastic clip that holds the blend door cable?

Try to super glue it back into the clip hole should work but that's it you can't remove it again. I broke the same clip but had an extra just pinching it to remove it snapped it very brittle small part.

 

yeah, that broke as well, not as worried about that. I can put a sheet metal screw in from the side, to hold that in. This is a plastic pin that hinges the top of the blend door (that pie shaped thing I mentioned) There is another plastic part that slides on this broken part, once the heater box top is back in place, and actuated by a vacuum diaphragm.