all of the front actuators are just above the gas pedal. Initiate the calibration procedure and then watch them, see which one doesn't move or moves too much. There are 3 actuators, one on top, one below it and one behind the bottom one. The one on top is the mode actuator, bottom front is passenger blend and bottom rear is drivers blend.

 

Excellent! I can compare the actions in the two vans. Thanks!!

 

OK, well I can't really se a whole lot. The actuator mechanisms are covered, enclosed. I could see two wheel/gears moving on each vehicle, but I surmise from listening to the changes in air sound that that is more going on than I can see.

So, I guess my next step would be to attempt to swap out the actuators. Tell me I'm not crazy. Or that I am. Any words of wisdom?

 

OK, I just found and printed out some instruction for changing the actuator shaft, and it gives me a better idea of what all to remove to actually see what's going on. I'll dig a bit deeper and report back tomorrow.

 

Well, I still could not see much going on. I did notice that, during the test the Passenger side never blows cold, AND the Driver's side never blows hot!

I also think the picture I printed out is for a newer model year, as the actuators are not positioned the same.

If I remove the drivers and passengers actuators, is there any kind of linkage internal that I can check?

Does the SCAN TOOL to grab the codes from this car do so thru the OBD2 port, or is there some other special diagnostic port for this purpose?

 

Ok, I haven't been inside one of these for awhile so how accurate my information is could be sketchy. The drivers blend door actuator works kind of a gear wheel to move the blend door. The passenger blend actuator goes on top of a square metal shaft that goes inside the housing and connects to the passenger blend door which in farther inside the housing. Your model of air distribution housing and the newer vans ('01-'07) are quite similar and there are many issues with the newer ones with the blend doors breaking. The only way I know of you would be able to see the doors would be to remove the heater core and look in with a mirror.

Yes, the dealer scan tool pulls the codes from the OBD connector.

 

Well, if I'm gonna pull the heater core.....

What do you think my chances of success are if I attempted to pull the entire assembly out of the spare van and install it in the new van.

Is that a DIY project, or is it really too big a job for a shade-tree mechanic? What to watch for and/or be careful about??

I have an OBD2 program for my PC. I'm pretty sure it lets me input "custom" commands. Does anyone have a document describing the communication data for requesting the heater codes??

 

Search for replacing an evaporator on here. There is an excellent thread with step by step and pictures. You just need to remove the hvac housing and separate the air distribution housing from it. By the way, the heater core comes out without pulling the dash. But it would be a sure fix to swap the two assemblies.