Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Things are going to get worse before they get worse. I wish I was fooling when I say that.
Corrections and amplifications, of which there may be more: I really did think and therefore blithely ran with the notion that it "hadn't been that long ago" when I did this the first time. I got about a year out of it. (It broke about two weeks prior to making this video on 3/31/2025, which should reinforce just what a lazy thing I am.)
The actuator really did move through its entire path of travel after I popped the cover off. Confident it would do so again on camera, it didn't, and I just ran with the assumption it would anyway.
Looking at the video as I edited it, I think it's possible to see the broken piece of the blend door in the back of the plenum (19:32 or so in the video). I'm actually quite amazed I was able to get the borescope into that part of the MVAC system by pushing it down one of the dash vents, quite possibly swearing at it, pushing on it some more, pretzeling it around, swearing some more and finally having it end up where I wanted it to be. I really thought I'd hit something else on the way that I couldn't get past, such as another damper.
GM still sells a replacement damper brand new, though I don't yet know if it fits this application. I'm told by mechanics who have done this that in some of these trucks, the entire heater box has to be replaced. If I do hire this job done, I'm going to have all the actuators and heater core replaced at a minimum. I'm debating replacing the A/C evaporator, as the A/C system is provably quite tight and leak free.
Yes, my truck is a mess and here in the United States, the L in solder is widely considered to be silent. Some people pronounce it, others don't. I happen to be one of the many people who doesn't and I'm not even slightly interested in having this discussion, thank you oh so very much in advance. The world's big enough for each to go their own way. So, please do that and get off my lawn.
I don't think for a moment that even if the actuator malfunctioned, that it could possibly exert enough force to break the blend door plastic. The gears would skip long before I feel that would happen.
Although I have long held that money only serves to make things complicated, I'll admit I was thinking of passing the hat by setting up whatever kind of a thing Youtube offers to let people make monetary donations in the comments, because to hire this done is looking like it would run from $1500 to nearly $2000. I'm still awaiting a few more estimates. I haven't even looked into what it'd take to turn it on for several reasons. I still think money makes things complicated. I don't want people feeling guilty about not making a donation. Nor do I want anyone to start thinking that making a donation would give them some kind of preferential treatment or special perk that others don't get. I'm also not interested in the expectation that if someone were to make a donation that they suddenly have the right to expect me to make more videos. None of those things work that way here.
0:00 The problem!
1:44 Fun with the sun.
1:56 Snarky commentary about annoying dogs and ordinances that aren't enforced.
2:06 Of course I can't find my tools. I can't find anything when I am looking for it.
3:10 Showing the fault.
4:38 Popping the cover.
4:52 Theory and attempted demonstration of the fault.
6:54 Entirely too much contact cleaner.
7:01 Potentiometer or something else?
12:36 Jerry Rigging the module for external power.
15:00 Testing the modification.
16:11 Soldering work.
16:30 Warning, Caution, Danger, Don't Try This At Home, Etc.
17:52 This concludes the good news portion of our broadcast.
18:37 Houston, we have a problem.
19:00 Looking at the broken door.
20:07 Parts availability commentary.
20:39 Looking for your commentary, especially if you've done this!
Things are going to get worse before they get worse. I wish I was fooling when I say that.
Corrections and amplifications, of which there may be more: I really did think and therefore blithely ran with the notion that it "hadn't been that long ago" when I did this the first time. I got about a year out of it. (It broke about two weeks prior to making this video on 3/31/2025, which should reinforce just what a lazy thing I am.)
The actuator really did move through its entire path of travel after I popped the cover off. Confident it would do so again on camera, it didn't, and I just ran with the assumption it would anyway.
Looking at the video as I edited it, I think it's possible to see the broken piece of the blend door in the back of the plenum (19:32 or so in the video). I'm actually quite amazed I was able to get the borescope into that part of the MVAC system by pushing it down one of the dash vents, quite possibly swearing at it, pushing on it some more, pretzeling it around, swearing some more and finally having it end up where I wanted it to be. I really thought I'd hit something else on the way that I couldn't get past, such as another damper.
GM still sells a replacement damper brand new, though I don't yet know if it fits this application. I'm told by mechanics who have done this that in some of these trucks, the entire heater box has to be replaced. If I do hire this job done, I'm going to have all the actuators and heater core replaced at a minimum. I'm debating replacing the A/C evaporator, as the A/C system is provably quite tight and leak free.
Yes, my truck is a mess and here in the United States, the L in solder is widely considered to be silent. Some people pronounce it, others don't. I happen to be one of the many people who doesn't and I'm not even slightly interested in having this discussion, thank you oh so very much in advance. The world's big enough for each to go their own way. So, please do that and get off my lawn.
I don't think for a moment that even if the actuator malfunctioned, that it could possibly exert enough force to break the blend door plastic. The gears would skip long before I feel that would happen.
Although I have long held that money only serves to make things complicated, I'll admit I was thinking of passing the hat by setting up whatever kind of a thing Youtube offers to let people make monetary donations in the comments, because to hire this done is looking like it would run from $1500 to nearly $2000. I'm still awaiting a few more estimates. I haven't even looked into what it'd take to turn it on for several reasons. I still think money makes things complicated. I don't want people feeling guilty about not making a donation. Nor do I want anyone to start thinking that making a donation would give them some kind of preferential treatment or special perk that others don't get. I'm also not interested in the expectation that if someone were to make a donation that they suddenly have the right to expect me to make more videos. None of those things work that way here.
0:00 The problem!
1:44 Fun with the sun.
1:56 Snarky commentary about annoying dogs and ordinances that aren't enforced.
2:06 Of course I can't find my tools. I can't find anything when I am looking for it.
3:10 Showing the fault.
4:38 Popping the cover.
4:52 Theory and attempted demonstration of the fault.
6:54 Entirely too much contact cleaner.
7:01 Potentiometer or something else?
12:36 Jerry Rigging the module for external power.
15:00 Testing the modification.
16:11 Soldering work.
16:30 Warning, Caution, Danger, Don't Try This At Home, Etc.
17:52 This concludes the good news portion of our broadcast.
18:37 Houston, we have a problem.
19:00 Looking at the broken door.
20:07 Parts availability commentary.
20:39 Looking for your commentary, especially if you've done this!
