As with numerous other folks, my HVAC recirculation door actuator finally failed. With this FL summer heat, the AC can't keep up when pulling in outside 100+ degree air in city traffic. So I finally got to the ugly task of pulling every dash panel out to get to that sucker! Unfortunately I'm having a hard time getting to the LAST (back) screw (red arrow). I've read quite a few posts on here esp the one started by Jim Drew back on 2012. But I can't find any videos here or on Y-Tube U that show how to get that specific screw out. Would appreciate any help from y'all.

 

I see no one has replied to this. I have to do this soon. A guy on YouTube did it by grinding down the outside edge of his wrench to get it to fit. I have previously made custom sockets that fit a ratchet or a t handle, and I will do that on my 3D printer if necessary for this one.

 

can you just remove the actuator? maybe a quarter inch ratchet and socket and a philips bit?

 

Yeah, I got it sorted with a 1/4 drive socket with flex & an extension back in July. But thanks for looking!

 

I am having a really hard time getting the new recirculation actuator in. I had to pry the old one off as it is so snug in there. I did this gently with plastic prybars I used for the dash etc. Did you have any issues aligning it? The Dorman I bought is about 1mm bigger one one side of the housing, so I may need to sand it down. Also I need to align the recirculator door hinge with the new actuator hole and am looking at fishing something down to the door (over the fan) to prop it at the angle that equals the angle set on the actuator out of the box.

Trying to align the recirculator actuator with the door hinge. Female gear drive is the white on the right and the male pin or hinge for the door is what it is pushed up next to.
Anyhow if anyone has done this and has a tip for how to align this one back in, please advise.

 

did you try cycling between recirc and not recirc and see if it lines up in one of the positions?

 

I measured the housings of the OEM part and the Dorman (Napa) part and the Dorman was about 1mm wider on the bottom closest to the glove box side. In addition the latch over the housing easily added another about 2mm. I cut off the latch then shaved the protruding remnant, gave it a sand. The OEM and the Dorman were both locked into a 9 o'clock angle when viewed from the passenger toward the driver side. This was equivalent to the recirculating door being fully closed. It was easy to manually rotate the door closed to get the hinge/pin in the same position. Then the shaved down Dorman slid right in. I was able to use my 1/4" drive with a small extension for both of these bolts on the recirculating actuator. For the passenger temp actuator or right actuator I used Gorilla tape to tape a flat bar and the 8mm socket together. This worked fine until I ran out of clearance and resorted to the shaved down 8mm box wrench. I used the Dremel and shaving down the box wrench was quick. I think I could do both of these replacements blindfold at this point because I had to trace every contour out with my fingers. I did this work at the same time I put in a Kenwood head unit, and I am glad I decided to keep the Bose speakers and see what they could do with a better unit. The Hummer is humming. Just waiting to replace my shifter button which has been broken and sometimes does not engage to get me out of park. Also replaced the shifter bulbs while I was at it.

The Dorman housing is 1mm bigger + 2mm for the tab, preventing the actuator from an easy fit.

I cut off the tab then ground off the rest of it followed by a quick sand,

The actuator slid right in AFTER I rotated the recirculating door hinge/pin as forward to me as possible, meaning the recirc door was closed. Look down to the right over the fan and you can see it.

Shaved Dorman aligned with the hinge 1-2-3 in seconds after the tab removal. The 8mm nits went back in with a regular 1/4" drive 8mm socket and mini extension.

I taped an 8mm socket to a flat bar to get to the screws on the passenger actuator. This got them started.

Recommend the Milwaukee small tube kit that fits into a shop vac. I had a mouse nest to clean out and also cleaned my ducts.