Vent Position Motor

[Sean486]

I've been messing around with this problem for about a year now on and off. Basically for me to switch which vent that the air blows out of I have to reach down under the dash and pull the arm back or push it forward. I have tried lubricating the tracks several times it doesn't help. There is also lots of clicking like something is stuck. I have come to the conclusion that the motor on the drivers side need to be changed. It is #1 in the diagram and listed as "Motor Act Mode". So anyhow I decided to start a thread on it.

So here is what I have done, I managed to pick up another heater core unit with the motors still on it. It gave me the motor and a way easy way to referrence how it goes together. Originally I thought I could remove the entire motor and mounting bracket, but I have found there are wires attached to the bracket that run to the other side of the heater core. So next I figure I can take out the 3 screws that attach the motor to the bracket. Hmmm, yes I can do this however I found that rod being attached will prevent me from removing the motor without also removing the bracket. This is the point where I put everything back together in favor of another day.

What I am thinking about is
1. How to remove the rod from the motor? Doesn't seem possible? Anyhow I can't seem to figure it out.
2. Unscrewing the motor from the bracket, then unscrewing the bracket from the Heater core. Replace and screw it all back together.
3. Leaving it the way it is and putting up with the embarrassment when passengers see me reaching under the dash to get the AC working.

One of the problems is accessing it, there is a large wiring harness with 2 black and one blue connector that is directly in front of the 3rd screw for the bracket. I am not sure what these lead to and how hard it will be to disconnect and reconnect them, but the area is pretty tight. And of course I don't want to damage anything. But I will probably end of attempting to do this. I really want the car to be as mechanically perfect as possible.

I guess the thread is not really asking what to do since I have a pretty good idea how to proceed, but rather just looking for some reassurance that it is possible to change this without removing a lot of the dash or causing damage. Of course any tips or advice are greatly appreciated, especially from someone who has done it before. I wish I could just pay someone, but it seems to be one of those nasty little jobs that nobody wants to do.