What blend door replacement are people using on these cars? For a little backstory, my LT4 decided that its blend door motor should go bad- a week after I twisted myself into a pretzel to fix the infamous '96 programmer issue.
So, I jumped online and ordered a Dorman replacement which came in the day before yesterday. Yesterday evening was the perfect time to tie into it, so away I went. Wasn't too bad- until I got the original off and discovered that while they looked identical, the piece that connects with the door cable, for lack of a better description, is totally different. No way for it to connect to turn the door. Do I have to try to find a NOS version, or am I missing something?
I took my original apart, and discovered the gear was cracked. I tried repairing it, (I'm a ham radio operator, and used to working on small electrical parts to a point) but apparently there's more wrong than what appeared, and I don't have time to troubleshoot it, because cool weather is coming and I don't feel like trying to install one in 30 degree weather.

Original




Replacement Dorman

 

Had the same problem. Here is what you have to do and you will not like it
1. You have to take your original actuator apart. You have a cracked gear!
2. take your new one apart and use those gears in your old one.
3. Now, do not install the actuator! Plug in the wire plug and turn on your climate control to A/c then Heat and watch the shaft turn.
4. You will have to take the unit apart and relocate the gears to time the shaft.
5. Once you have the shaft turning back and forth correctly, snap the housing together and install the actuator.
this is the only way to do it.

 

Been there. Sadly, I can't use the new gear because it is all made onto the shaft...the shaft that doesn't match up. I used jbweld and "fixed" the original gear, but I'm thinking that I may just not have it timed correctly. I wish I could just buy a new gear..I'll dig into it a bit more Thursday night when I have time...it was getting late last night and I was getting short of patience, which is when I normally start breaking things, usually expensive parts.

 

I had the same issue with my 95. I found that Glynn Smith Chevrolet Buick GMC in Sylacauga, AL had the OEM part in stock. They were the only one in the USA that had it. When I pull up their name thru Google is shows them in Opelika now. Don't know about that. Try calling 334-749-1454 and ask for parts department and see if this part will fit your 96. At the time I got mine in December of 2014 they only had 12 parts.

Found another phone number....(256) 245-5251.

Good luck, hope this helps.

John

 

Thanks, John. I was able to find one at Royal Oaks Chevrolet in Kentucky before I read this...at least it showed they have it in their online catalogue and they processed my order, so hopefully it'll be here soon. I appreciate the help! I can't believe that the online suppliers selling the Dorman parts haven't notified Dorman that the part doesn't fit, or at least stop listing it as fitting...

 

The only reason I post this is to stop someone from being the idiot that I was.. Long story short, Royal Oaks emailed me to say they did not have the correct part, and refunded my money.
I wound up ordering one from Eckler's. It came in today and I was dismayed to see that it was the same style as the Dorman I'd returned, but an AcDelco part. I went back out and tore into the old one again. I'd tried to see if it had an insert that would pull out, but couldn't get it apart, so I assumed it was made together.
This time, I was able to pull the insert from off the original- it WAS an insert after all. (If you look in the pic of the original I posted, the black part in the metal shaft visible is a plastic insert) After a bit of trial and error making sure it was timed and seated properly, I now have a working blend door. And I really think that the bloomin' Dorman replacement would've worked after all. Oh well, maybe the ACDelco part will last longer, because even though it was an easy job, there is nothing fun about anything under the dash of a C4 corvette.
Maybe this will save someone else some grief. Of course there is the off chance that I'm the only inept fool that would make this mistake....but in case I'm not, here's a bit of knowledge.