97 850 cabin outside air flap quesiton

[scot850]

Not sure what the correct name is for the flap that sits behind the cabin heater fan, so researching it makes it hard to find!

I stupidly decided to go look for more things to fix on this project (well actually I wasn't) and decided that as the car had not been supplied with a cabin filter, I would fit one, and then if time allowed I would pull the fan and clean the evaporator and ducting to it out.

Needless to say, another problem the PO forgot about. The plastic actuator arm to the outside air flap was broken. Fortunately I have a spare in my stash for my own car. I removed the original and fitted the new one to the actuating rod, but can't get the square section to line up with the one on the motor. Is there somewhere with a how to on this? Or is there a particular way to fit this. Being broken I don't know how it sat originally. Also the original and the new one look different although they have the same part number moulded into them.

Thanks,

Neil.

[Ozark Lee]

That is the recirculation damper, try flipping the REC button and see if it will line up then.

...Lee

[scot850]

Thanks Lee, that is what I ended up doing. However, no matter how much I adjust the rod (to it's min length), I can't get the damper to fully close. It looks like it does, but then falls back and leaves about an 1/8" or slightly less of a gap. I am guessing as it has a rubber seal around the edge of the flap it is meant to full close for recirculation position. I can't adjust the rod any more as the rod fouls on the arm when you try to fold it back.

I don't know if the issue is a worn motor (opened it up but couldn't see anything obviously wrong). I have a bunch of motors, but maybe as this is not an ECC system it has to be different to all the other spare motors I have (4 pin v's 5 pin).

Is this one of those cases where wear and tear possibly also on the flap bushes themselves to the rod maybe at issue?

I have shortened the rod length by about 1/4" and it has reduced from where it would have been at about a gap at the flap when closed of about 1/2" or more.

I have a couple of other questions:

1) The actuator rod that broke, was white and the 'replacement' I have is black. The look mostly the same but the 'new' black version has a different looking square hole end that fits over the motor shaft. Looking at it I would have thought it fitted a particular way around but I can't get it to fit that way due to the offset on the square hole.

2) The actuator arm seems to catch on the black plastic leg of the motor mount as it passes. I am wondering if it should fit the other way around somehow? When looking side on to the old arm it has the mostly the same side profile with a tapered stiffener on one side with the leg that has the split in it to allow fitting over the bushing, and a straight one on the other. Perhaps I have to try to find a way to reverse it but I don't think it is possible. I've shown the broken original part.

actuator arm (1)

So does the tapered side fit toward or away from the motor?

actuator arm (2)

Anyone have any ideas how to get the flap to fully close?

Thanks,

Neil.

[scot850]

Dealer foreman said the flap never had a tight fit, so wonder why bother putting a soft rubber seal on the edge to serve no purpose? Either way, I went to PnP to look at how the arm should fit and by looking at a few, hopefully there would be a pattern. Sure enough although 50% were broken, I harvested 4 good arms and figured out the orientation of the arm, and that the easiest way to fit it is to lead the flap at the lowest point and the arm then attaches so it sits vertically, with the side with the rounded portion around the square shaft hole closest to the motor, and also the flat flange is on the same side.

All reassembled. No just the headlight and the headlight wiper motor on the RHS to do!

Neil.