1993 Blend door shortcut - The difficult one behind the glove box. Tic Tic Tic!

[Alaskaburb]

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So when I bought my 1993 suburban it came with the famous tic tic tic every time I started the car or shut if off. In the short run I simply unplugged it and started my research on repairing it. I will be shipping it to Alaska so I need the ability to regulate outside air. You just can't get it out without removing the dash or other parts as far as I can tell. I read a thread of using and pair of vice grips to hold a 7mm socket but for me that only got me as far as the bottom screw.

After careful thought I went at it from the other side. I drilled a 2 1/8 hole in the firewall at the location of the top bolt/screw and had the actuator swapped in 20 minutes without removing any part of the dash. This size hole is a common size for sheet metal plugs that pop in and are flush mount. Be careful the edge of the hole will be sharp and needs to be well painted prior to putting the plug in place.

This will only work if you do not have air-conditioning. I removed the AC because it was not working and I do not need it in Alaska.

What you see on the left is the radiator overflow for reference.

Hope this helps.

 

[someotherguy]

Not trying to slam you for trying to come up with a shortcut to a pain in the ass job, so don't take any of this wrong please.

Not sure but the write-up you saw may have been mine. (http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/170970) No need to pull the dash. Didn't use vise grips either, just a nutdriver socket held into place with a gasket scraper, then turned with a small wrench. No doubt it's not a fun job but I hate chopping holes in stuff and many people will still have their A/C in place so the accumulator will be in the way of drilling that hole.

Richard

 

[Alaskaburb]

No worries at all Richard. The clean way would be your method or removing the dash. Im building a basic fishing rig for our cabin and this route was so simple. The plug that fills the hole looks fairly factory and it will make it easy if I should ever need to do it again while im on vacation. Nothing like standing on your head with your legs hanging out the door in the rain or snow during an April steelhead trip while your buddies are at the river!

I am building a pure utility rig. If it does not currently serve a purpose its gone like the inoperative AC system. Upgrades like the big three, alternator upgrade, dual batteries, stainless steel exhaust, manual windows and locks are the theme. A three wire Oxygen sensor and EGR delete are next. I would ordinarily leave things like that alone because they serve a purpose and pure performance is not my goal but the EGR was a constant source of problems on my 91 burb. Car will sit for as many as 6 months at a time.

Please feel free to toss out any suggestions that add utility or reliability. Thanks for the comment.