AC is hot on Driver Side 2001 4.0

[nukatha]

Greetings all.
I drive a 2001 Aurora 4.0

Whenever the outdoor temperature is over 90 and I set the AC to coldest (Both on the passenger side knob, and in general) the passenger and back seat blow cold, but the driver side is quite hot.
Is this a sign of my compressor needing some work?

Thank you kindly.

[tigger]

You have a bad temperature valve actuator (blend door actuator) on the driver's side.

I'll get you the part number if you want to DIY...

[nukatha]

Sure, I'll take a part number.

I'll also claim that in sub-80 degree temperatures, the AC does blow cold on both sides, but is ALWAYS colder on the right.

[Paulaurora]

I would check the system anyway but if pas side ice cold then deff blend door actuator mine is slowly going as well it did die on my moms 2002 3.5 replaced it 2 years ago.
I used this one. www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=2194764&cc=1364183&jsn=401

[tigger]

^Yup, that'll work!

If you want to go pull one at a salvage yard;
GM # - 89018375; 1572972; 16164972.


FWIW, GM used this part prolifically, I pulled one from a GMC pick-up that is still working some 4-5 years later...

[booster]

I am having the same issue with my 01 Aurora 3.5. I've re-charged the AC and replaced the upper actuator, which I was led to believe is the blend actuator. Both of the actuators rotate when AC 1st kicks on. I've removed both actuators and rotated the shafts manually and it seems as if the upper actuator controls the airflow direction and not the temp blend. Is there a 3rd actuator that I'm missing somewhere?

[tigger]

  7   Air Inlet Valve Actuator
12   Passenger Temperature Valve Actuator
33   Mode Valve Actuator
38   Driver Temperature Valve Actuator

[booster]

Thanks Tigger, Item 38 is the actuator I replaced. I even swapped the actuators and is appears as if the new one is bad. Regardless of this, I can actually rotate the blend door and I still can't get the driver's side as cold as the passenger's. When I rotate it one way until it stops I get hot air and if I rotate it back till it stops I can only get cool air. I've also checked the refrigerant and added a can of refrigerant. I measured the temperature at the vents and I get about 40 degrees out of the passenger's side but around 60 degrees out of the driver's side. My guess is the blend door isn't closing off the heat all the way.

[tigger]

Hope you have gauges and didn't just dump a can in there... Too much is just as bad as too little.

Did you do the re-calibration? FSM indicates it after any actuator replacement.

Pull fuse #37 (HVAC Battery Voltage) in the rear fuse block for AT LEAST one minute, or thirty, with the ignition OFF. Replace fuse, turn ignition to ON, all actuators will re-calibrate.



HTH

[booster]

I use the gauges. I didn't re-cal the actuators yet, because when I manually rotated the blend door I could not get the driver's side as cold as the passenger's. It appears to me that the blend door isn't closing off the heat all the way or something is blocking the air flow through the evaporator.

[tsmith]

My 2001 was doing the warmer on drivers side as well. I actually had 2 issues. I did the re-calibration, it helped but not completely, checked the A/C pressures. they both were in an acceptable range but still not very cold and warmer on drivers side. I added freon, the low side is kinda high, the high side is good. Its now cooling pretty good at this point. Hope this is helpful!
Thank you for the information it put me right where I needed to be.

[RCA1186]

Jul 29, 2020 19:30:17 GMT -6 tsmith said:

My 2001 was doing the warmer on drivers side as well. I actually had 2 issues. I did the re-calibration, it helped but not completely, checked the A/C pressures. they both were in an acceptable range but still not very cold and warmer on drivers side. I added freon, the low side is kinda high, the high side is good. Its now cooling pretty good at this point. Hope this is helpful!
Thank you for the information it put me right where I needed to be.

This is exactly what happened with my '98. I changed the driver side AC door actuator (as it did have a cracked gear inside) but it did not fix the problem. The pressures were in the acceptable range, but I went ahead and evacuated, changed the accumulator and orifice tube, and then vacuumed and re-fill. This fixed the problem. I'm guessing the passenger side is colder because it is on the same side as the evaporator. But I could be wrong. I'm just glad it's fixed.