That's crazy. Mine was replaced under warranty at 20k miles, and I waited at the dealership while they did it. Took about an hour, which is probably what Ford allows for a warranty repair.

 

I haven't done this repair, but I thought I'd share this method I found on a Russian site.

Mega2000 made a special tool to get at the third screw and didn't remove any of the ducting. He didn't even fully remove the interior body panel, just propped it open with a box.

Chrome will semi-translate it into English, but the pictures tell it all.

 

Just finished this today and wanted to add a few things.

For the hard-to-reach bolt, I could not find a standard ignition wrench set, but a 5.5mm offset open-end wrench worked well.

It took me a little bit to notice that the spline on the new actuator motor is keyed-- this should help prevent a misalignment in installation for the two doors.

It helped to reach behind the duct/actuator assembly to press the upper door rod against the assembly when installing the new actuator. This kept the white plastic keyed bracket against the duct assembly. Otherwise it just popped off over and over.

If I'd had the 5.5 mm bolt on hand and noticed the spline was keyed, I would have been done in 30 minutes. This really is a very quick job.

Although I have not gotten a code, I have noticed my BTM hitting 89-100 degrees on warmer days, which typically corresponded to the fans going nuts and the ICE staying on. Hopefully this resolves the issue, as I've already replaced the MECS pump and coolant, and the fans are obviously working.

 

I've installed two Dorman blend door actuator replacements from RockAuto, and they both make this clicking noise when first turning the key to the On position: . However, the wrench light did turn off after installing them.

Does the clicking noise mean that the actuator isn't working properly?

 

For future reference a 7/32 will work as well since there's such a low torque requirement. You will usually need to move the plenum out of the way slightly so you'll need a 10mm as well. You take off the top and prop open the side trim pieces. In order to do that you have to pop off the lower trim as well. You use 8mm? socket to take off the crossover plenum and then a screw to remove the scrivet in the corner of it. You take off the two nuts that hold on the upper plenum then remove a few 10mm bolts that hold on the mid plenum. Under the truck there are two bolts holding the plenum onto the truck underneath it. They are near the refridgerant lines, make sure to do the outer ones ONLY and leave them on a bit so it's easier to put them back on otherwise they are a bear to line up, the inner ones are holding the lines together and will purge the system, no bueno! Move the case out of the way and you can take it out. You will want either a 1/4 socket set or a standard wrench in 7/32 or 5.5mm. Installation is reverse of removal. Make sure you don't power up the new blend door until it is fully installed or it can move around. Here's a video that is very helpful.

 

Purchased an 06 FEH with 25K miles on it back in August in Florida. Purchased this car because I had the 06 mazda tribute (240k miles!!) and none of the newer suvs were providing me with the amount of space and gas mileage of this model. I knew I had to get something similar and came across this steal. I am at approximately 40k now. Since about December we have seen the wrench light rear its ugly head seldomly at first but becoming more frequent. Thanks to all of the EXCELLENT advice on here I located the filter and replaced it but I am still getting the wrench light. I tried to order the actuator but the Ford part number from the earlier posts is no longer available and Rock Auto only had the dorman part.


Does anyone have a reputable website to order the actuator?


I do live down a limerock road that is frequently dusty. Should I plan to replace the filter more often than usual? I commute 60 miles round trip to work and only the last mile is dirt road.

 

That blend door motor and a new thermostat addressed 95% of my CEl and mpg issues, for under $50. Do buy the motorcraft part. I got mine through WalMart online, picked it up at the local WalMart Neighborhood Market (grocery store). Motorcraft YH1770 for my 2008 FEH.

 

I did the actuator replacement yesterday. I got the Motorcraft actuator (part number YH-1770) from a local Ford dealer for $37. Amazon has it for $20, but I didn't want to wait 3-5 days for delivery.

I followed the Youtube video by FordTechMakuloco. I went slowly to make sure I don't screw up, and it took me about 2 hours. I can see why people say you can do this w/o unbolting the vent case from the body and pulling it out. If I had to do it again, I'd probably do that. (I'd make sure I had a 5.5mm off-set open-ended wrench though).

One difficulty I had was ... in the Youtube video, at the 8:25 mark, FordTechMakuloco says to "sneak the big bracket past the case" before loosening up the case from the body. Well, sneaking the big bracket past the case was **** near impossible. There just wasn't enough room, no matter which way I maneuvered the bracket and the case. I kind of had to bend the bracket.

I reset the B1239 code with a wifi-enabled ELM327 OBD2 device controlled by FordScanLite app. Fingers crossed that it won't turn back on for many years....

 

After you replaced the HV air filter did the B1239 fault code reoccur?

 

Yeah... it came on after about two days of driving around town.

I'm very glad I replaced the air filter though. I think that's what improved my mpg right away. Thanks for pointing that out! It was remiss of me to not read the owner's manual about it.

After I replaced the filter my MPG went up a bit, so I was a little hopeful that replacing the blend door actuator might raise my MPG again a bit, but it didn't happen. My yellow wrench light had been turning on only intermittently, so in my case I surmise that the blend door was malfunctioning only SOME of the time, not ALL the time. Therefore, fixing it had negligible effect on cooling the HV battery. In any case, I'm glad I replaced it before it failed completely.