OK my climate control started flashing the other day, it seems i have the ominous mixer door problem that seems to be pretty previlent. my question is for those of you that have had it what did you do to fix it?

Replace the airmix actuator by ripping the entire dash out, or apply my redneck fix I used on the 95 until I can get to it.

Do a search on 'airmix redneck fix'. You'll find it.

how do you know what the problem is? I thought only the dealer could pull the climate codes.

Ding, ding, ding, ding. You DON'T have to pull the entire dash to get to that wretched air mix actuator. It'* not the most pleasant of tasks, but you can get to it by removing the heater core cover. I know because I just did it a few weeks ago and I think it required a much smaller bag of cuss words than pulling the dash would.

If your ECC display is flashing, chances are real good it'* the air mix actuator. I read all the codes out of my '93 and it said the HVAC Programmer was toast. It was wrong, but I did get to upgrade my '93 ECC to a later model. But make sure that'* what it is, 'cause changing it probably won't be a lot of fun.

I have been working on step-by-step procedures for doing this (complete with pictures, I might add), but I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to finish it. Maybe I can get to it this week. The redneck fix is a good temporary solution until you can find the time to replace the actuator. I'd block out about 4 hours or so to do it.

If you're interested, here'* the typical failure mode for the Air Mix Actuator - the big plastic gear splits and slips on the serrated shaft that moves the air mix door.




It'* hard to see in this photo, but mine was split through more than 75% of the gear. This caused all sorts of whacky problems with my ECC.

SSE Motorhead- I second the motion for a tech write-up on the air mix door. Mine'* been blowing lavalike air on my passengers for a while. It seems like this is becoming a very common problem. Anyone price a new part at the dealer? I'm almost afraid to bother with one at the junkyard...

ditto i thought i had one lying around but i can't find it for the life of me. any one have a prt number and a price from the dealer. Or do the park aves and such use the same one? if so i'll grab a bunch from a local yard with a ton of buicks and olds h bodys.

I got one from Advanced for about 36 bucks.:P
http://www.partsamerica.com/Advance Auto Parts

I got off my corpulent arse and drafted up procedures for changing the air mix actuator. It'* going through a review right now to make sure I'm not completely insane. I'll give it another week or so, incorporate the changes, then post a link.

Now that I've changed that silly thing, I'm not afraid to do it again if I have to. It'* not quite as bad as it appears, but it'* not as simple as changing the air filter either. I did a few things that make the project a little more palatable. It'* all in the instructions which I'll make available in a few days.