Heater problem in 1997 explorer

.... do a search in RAMFE on "blend door"..... This is a pattern failure that has about been beat to death. You can fix it right the first time (time consuming and spendy) or you can jerry rig it and pray you're not doomed to a lifetime of repeating the process. On my ISP, a mere 3 posts below yours is a post regarding the same problem.....

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

a question for Jim..

Why in the hell didn't Ford fix this problem when it became known? Fords of different models apparently had this problem for years.

I realize it wasn't a safety issue, but I can't understand why a company would continue to make a bad part year after year. This problem is really expensive to fix.

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

I can't speak for Ford and I wouldn't be able to categorically state that the problem wasn't fixed in production..... notice that there are only a very few model years affected by this problem. Through the affected years, the Ex was an extremely popular vehicle and many were sold so it's no surprise that we see so many afflicted.

I'm sure that all manufacturers take steps to improve their product line but the bean counters and stockholders would frown on retooling an existing part if it is to be discontinued in the next model year run.

Many years ago, manufacturers were striving for "zero defects" (I'm sure some of the olders guys will remember the posters around the workplace)..... since then, they have seen that it is cheaper to accept a certain amount of warranty costs rather than try to improve the product to 100%. This is a fact of life when dealing with mass produced consumer goods. It's not just a Ford thing... we see all manufacturers having pattern failures of one sort or another.

I've fallen victim to many of the pattern failures associated with my '92 Ex.... I like the car, it does what I expect it to and I'm sure that any similar vehicles would share their own pattern failures with me. Mind, it helps that all I have to pay for is the parts and spend a little time.... I'm sure that the coming years will offer up similar experiences with the SuperCrew.

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net