Recently needed to replace blend door actuator on my 2001 Ram Van 1500 3.9L which I bought new a week before 9/11. After mechanic removed original actuator we were surprised to discover that part did not match the Mopar part listed. End up finding a GM actuator that looked like the one we removed ... we installed it but did not work ... finally mechanic took the old actuator apart a saw that the gear was broken ... took the GM part apart next ... removed the new gear it had and was able to put it in then original actuator ... and it worked.
Any one ever heard of a situation like this before?

 

Did you get an actuator for the truck, and not a van? Wouldn't be the first time I got a wrong part.....

 

thanks for your reply ... definitely for the van ...VIN number accurate ... found part on moparpartsgiant.com which sells genuine mopar parts ... the strange part is that the part number on the old actuator (motor) matched the number given on moparpartsgiant.com but their part visually did not match the one we took out and would not fit ... the mechanic thinks the dealer might have installed non mopar A/C units to some new vans which did not come factory installed in order to boost sales and used alternate parts
ps even the NAPA actuator for my VIN looked like the the one that would not fit ... as i said the mechanic had to take to old part and visually match it to online photos of other actuators ... the GM actuator looked identical and installed correctly but would not work probably due to the electronics ... lucky for me the gear with the broken tooth could be swapped out with the gear in the GM actuator

 

That's just odd.....

 

yes and it still bugs me ... may never get to bottom of this but I'm inclined to visit a few junk yards next ... maybe i can find a van like mine and see what actuator motor it has ... in the back of my mind i'm thinking something else may go bad with my current part ... my wife says 'just get a new' truck ... yeah right lol ... and i asked her who is going to pay the car note

 

Visiting the junkyard sounds like a good plan to me.... Could be quite educational. (not to mention a source for some of the more esoteric parts that are becoming difficult to come by.....)

Yep. "Paid Off" is one of the BIGGEST reasons I still drive a 26 year old truck. It qualifies as an antique where I live.

 

Just curious. Does your original one look like this?
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...-actuator.html