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foot/face actuator


Ernie88TSi
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Anyone got any ideas on how to remove the foot/face actuator without removing the entire freakin' dash.  My actuator is leaking off vacuum so no matter what it's pushing a good amount of air out of the foot vents.  This causes the annoying problem of my poor little footsies getting frostbite thru my shoes when I have the A/C cranked.  Also, it's not a vac line problem... already tried that.  It is definately leaking out of the rod side of the acuator.  
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I recently did this on an 88 to fix that exact scenario - leaking bellows on the stupid actuator.

1) remove knee panel under steering wheel.  Don't bust the plastic tabs off the "patch" to the right of the steering column; with the tilt wheel all the way up I can get my hand in there and gently squeeze the tabs.  There are a few screws along the bottom edge, one behind this patch, one behind the INT WIPER CANCEL button (its whole panel just snaps out), and two going upwards on the bracket supporting the hood release.

2) The fat plastic duct from the heater core that goes up to the defroster vents just snaps in - pull the heater core end out first, then fish your hand up the duct to where it "Y" branches; pull each branch one by one.  The duct just snaps into the other duct hoses.  It's got a good grip though.

3) With the tilt wheel all the way up, look in the gap around the steering column towards the heater core and the actuators.  There's probably a fat wiring harness bundle in the way; it can be shoved around quite a bit - Mitsu left us plenty of slack on this one.  You should be able to see the back end of the troublesome actuator and the single vac hose feeding it; reach in there and pull it off.  Then, look for the vac hose going into the front (firewall side) of the actuator and remove that hose too.

4) there are 2 itty-bitty phillips screws holding the actuator rod to the linkage of the heater core.  On mine, they were way too tight - the heads just stripped out on one so my needle-nose vise grips had to be used to break it free.

5) there are two normal-sized phillips screws holding the actuator to its bracket; these screws enter from the firewall side of the actuator so you can't see the heads of them, one above and one below the bellows.  I had to use a stubby screwdriver (an offset one would work well too) on one of them.  Like most Mitsu phillips screws, these were soft and wanted to strip out too.  I broke both free with the needle-nose visegrips and then tried a screwdriver on them - worked fine.

6) I was able to walk the actuator backwards and pull it out that gap by the steering column.

 

The linkages on the side of the heater core bend easily so don't force them at all.  Also, near the end of the actuator rod you'll see one screw that seems to hold a lot of the linkage...  it looks like you can remove that and pull the actuator out with some linkage still attached to it - and then deal with those itty-bitty screws on the workbench.  DON'T TRY THIS!  There are several plastic spacers on that screw and I have no idea what the correct order is...  I CAN tell you it's very very very hard to get the linkages, spacers, etc. back on that screw and get the screw back into the heater core housing.  

 

mike c.

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Thanks Mike.  I had it all apart this afternoon, but was fighting with the ducting, so I got pissed and gave up for a while. :)  While I was fighting with it, I started wondering if I'd actually be able to get the stupid thing off.... so I figure I'd double check that I could get it out in the first place.  
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Well, got that one taken care of pretty quickly and easily.  It's actually a ton easier to get out on the '86 model cars than on the '88 model.  That metal brace that goes across under the steering wheel on the '88 models isn't there on the '86 model, which frees up a bunch of space.  Since I took it off of the '86, I was able to get a real good look at it before attempting it on the '88.  It only took me about half an hour to remove and replace.  I still need to do that stupid adjustment, as just a tiny bit of air still leaks out of the floot vents, but much improved over what I had before.  
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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the reassurance Ernie! Mike led me to that actuator in a posting I made on this AC problem, and it took me a couple of days looking to even be able to see this actuator. (Can't see it from under the dash, due to the ducting - only through the ash tray hole.) Let alone touch it! But I think I'll buy a new one if I go to this much effort to replace it.

 

Incidently, I found my '89 Service Manual woefully lacking on this. I found it much better covered in an earlier SM. Which I've found is a good tip for getting answers to some of the StarQuest mysteries.

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  • 6 months later...
On a previous thread a couple of guys reported that the bellows are external and the rupture could be seen and was subsequently repaired with silicone sealer or the like. I also understand that the best access can be gained when the stereo and front section of the console are removed. As is often the case, my tape player is one directional and needs repair/replacement. So this summer I'm planning to dive in and do it as a package deal.
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  • 2 years later...

I just bought this actuator (Apr/05) at the Mitsu dealer, for my '88 TSi. The part number is MB188851, and it lists at 51.00.

 

Tried to purchase another in June/05 and after a search by the dealer, I was told that there are no more of these in the US. Will have to try Japan!

 

Rgds,

Jms

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