Expert: Dennis W - 10/15/2007

Question
my climate control when it turns on only blows cold air. I have checked the coolant level and it is good. I have check fuses and see none are open. I temp gauge run in the proper range so I figure the thermostat is OK.
Do you have any further suggestions? The vehicle runs excellent.

Answer
Extremely common on Explorers for the blend door to break, or the door actuator to fail. The blend door is electronically controlled, and is the device that controls temperature. Usually they fail hot, but they fail frequently until updated with parts from Ford. If you are lucky it will only need the motor, which on most can be changed without removing the instrument panel. If the door is broken, the correct fix requires removal of the instrument panel and replacing the plenum.

If yours has a heater control valve in the heater hose, this could be a problem, but I don't know of too many 1997 Explorer that had this valve.