I've been going over my '96 Ram 1500 and things are coming together pretty well. I've checked all the vacuum lines under the hood and everything looks good. Other items will need attention, but they can wait. Right now my air is blowing mostly on the floor. A little is coming out the dash vents and a little is going out the defrost. What would be the most likely culprit for this? My dash assembly is in really bad shape and pieces tend to break off when I take things off. I'll be in there soon to put a radio in so while I'm there, I plan to get the air flow a little better for the upcoming winter.

 

I would first replace the little vacuum check valves on the engine to ensure vacuum is flowing(?) properly. Then there are vacuum canisters under the dash but honestly there's never been a thread or discussion on those that I can remember. So I'm not much help.

 

Well, had the dash apart today tracing problems. I pulled the control panel from the dash and watched the servo on the left side of the lower dash. I didn't move until I set the vents to full floor. Then it move firmly and smoothly. No change in the air coming from the vents. Looks like my blend door may be broken. I'm not thrilled with all the plastic Dodge used in these trucks. It's all falling apart.

 

Heater treater makes a kit with metal doors

 

Heater treater makes the funky little couple for the folks with the electric blend door actuator. Blend Door USA makes the aluminum blend doors for the 2nd gen trucks. (and I even got the name right this time.)

 

Don't really need a metal door as our gen have metal sleeves in the hinge. The doors aren't really ever a problem for 2nd gen. The actuator is, though. Doors are 100% plastic in 3rd gen.

 

Door or actuator, how much of a stinker is it to fix? I had a 2000 Escalade that had a door fail, at the very top, front of the dash and the whole dash had to come out. It was still broken when I sold the thing.

 

I got to looking around and all I was finding was air going through the defrost only. Not my problem. I went to Google and it took me to another Dodge Ram site (please forgive me. ) and there my problem was called "Wild vents". Went onto Youtube and found this particular video'


The truck looks like mine, not 10 years or more newer, and I saw a broken lever. I'll have to pull my truck apart a bit, but I'm thinking that may be my issue. What to do about it, well, I'll have to see what happens. SHE has told me we have plans for tomorrow. No idea what they are, but I have plans.

 

Thanks for the correction! Mentally noted (what good they will do I have no idea lol)

 

We have a sticky here for the wild vent issue. The blend door "blends heat to cool" it does not effect where the air exits. From what you are explaining it doesn't sound you have the wild vents. The wild vents happen when the vacuum drops beyond the point where the vacuum can't hold the spring tension on the actuators. And the default position is the defrosters. I believe the actuator that controls air for the floor is on top of the unit.