Blend Door Repair Secret '96 Passat B4V

LLL

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
Europe
TDI
'95 Red Passat TDI 90hp 5 manual
Maybe you are right, Mcgink, I'll think about it.
 

LLL

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
Europe
TDI
'95 Red Passat TDI 90hp 5 manual
Done. Now and never again! #!!\@%%&#!
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0die

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Location
corpus christi, tx
TDI
1996 Passat wagon B4V
Does this have any impact on the AC system? I can't get any cold air. I did the blend door repair a couple years back. Helped the heat but didn't do anything for my AC woes. the lines under the hood get ice cold. nothing out of the vents.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
The repair will help keep the hot air from getting in and raising your DA°.

Is the evaporator clean?

Both lines get cold? Only the suction/low side should get cold.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
In an insulated box by the firewall. It's a TXV.

If you're planning on replacing it, buy a decent one and replace the dryer.

-Todd
 

raenglehart

Active member
Joined
Feb 16, 2016
Location
Kathleen, Ga
TDI
1997 Passat TDI
I had the center console partially out to check the A/C relay back there and decided to go ahead and tackle this diverter doors foam issue. I have to be honest, I was a little hesitant, but it actually only took me 45 minutes (maybe less). I did not have to remove the airbag and used the green sticky (one side) felt. I actually had some left over that I used to make a fishing rod ceiling holder a couple years ago. Not a surprise, not a lick of foam was left. It went well. Now back to the no A/C problem (I'll start a new thread on that).

I appreciate sharing the shortcut (the hell with pulling the entire dash....lol)
 
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greensa

New member
Joined
May 13, 2016
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
VW Golf Mk1 1.9 TDI
Thank you for the 'tutorial'. Help my friend a lot, and also ran all the replies - so much good info! And the best one was to work clean, because that foam sticks everywhere. Of course, my boyfriend did the work,m but I was the boss :D
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
This may be useful to some. Found this when I was needed to reinsulate my home TXV and lines.






Soft closed cell foam with a pretty aggressive adhesive.

-Todd
 

iluvmydiesels

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Location
phila area
TDI
AHU
thanks to everyone for contributing, real good info. i just love how the crappy VW engineers, saving what a few pinching bucks, put something like this together. vent doors and all. then so many years later we have to go in and go behind them, with difficulty and jungle gyming i might say, contortionist. todd is humble, with a lot of useful added info on this post. so looks like im going to get to it today, maybe thru tomorrow. although i lack to radio removal keys, i ll see how it goes. have experience doing this on mk2, for them its not too difficult, other than some steps, the hardest part(for a mk2) is getting the front vent box clear, and not cracking it. its a little tight, then again we all can relate after a job like this. on the mk2 the doors are now right there. so on to my info. i just love the guy who goes over-board, exhaust tape,haha, real fancy glue. like said its pretty basic a job, and i use al tape, with really good glue, should be permanent. so i have reg.cheapo wally-mart hvac tape, rather cheap, kind of thin, for the real good stuff, yea its cheapo. so i ll double it up. heres my 2cents. so the glue i use is this. looks like it may not be available, as looking on 3-m site, i can find a lesser listing, so see if i can get pic posted
http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Trim-Adhesive?N=5002385+3293193884&rt=rud
see if this takes, so its quite similar, prob cause ive had my can for how long,, so it looks same. super trim adhesive, hope it helps. seems to work right.
i ll have to see how to post pics, on site, as i kind of hate photobucket, give me a bit.
link will do.
 
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damac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
bay area,ca
TDI
none
i am dealing with a mk2 but this applies. i have found various posts on forums when researching this project that mentioned vw made some doors solid or with holes for a reason?

and the holy doors may use foam on each side that allow a bit of air to get through so you can change the flap doors with the high fan speed on without breaking parts for the flap door actuators?

i got cable driven flapper and a vacuum type but there are plastic gears and levers. i'm right in the middle of this project and not sure what to do at this point?

i don't think the holes were to save weight or something since i have solid doors on my car to?
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I'm not sure what your question is…

If your foam has gone bad, I'm sure you've had foam flying out of the vents and have also seen a plastic film, mixed in. A few years back, I parted a B4 with (amazingly) good blend doors. What I had noticed was the pourous foam had a thin plastic backing for the adhesive.

What I had surmised, was although the foam was porous, the plastic film would not have let air pass through it.

-Todd
 

iluvmydiesels

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Location
phila area
TDI
AHU
from what ive heard, quite sometime ago, the holes in the (vent)doors was/is to cut down on over-all production costs, the cheap-o german b-stards. you migh think its not a lot, not for you or one individual car, but run a production line and you get some savings back. was also thinking its the industry telling you that product is about used up, ante up for another, etc.:D
 

reddtekk

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Location
Waterbury, CT
TDI
1996 Passat TDI
I performed this repair the year before last. I thought my heater core was clogged before reading this thread. I used felt from WalMart, spray adhesive AND aluminum duct tape to adhere the felt to the door. I don't think I'll be in there again. At least I hope not.

They probably used the blanks for something else....wouldn't surprise me at all....I've rummaged through the scrap bin in the press room where I work for metal stock plenty of times before and always come out with what I need.
 

quantum_tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Location
Seattle, WA
TDI
R320 CDI, '96 B4V (for sale)
Another one done along with heater core & bunch of fixes... Up for sale soon as complete car rather than partial junk + car that needs said junk!

Thanks for the thread, Hobby Lobby was my friend...
 

BadMoonRising

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2018
Location
NJ
TDI
96 Passat Wagon
I joined this forum just to thank the creator of this thread. Saved me a ton of time and heat is now hot as ?!
 

VWVenla

New member
Joined
Aug 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
1996 B4 Passat Wagon TDI, 1997 Passat TDI Sedan
Awesome tips, thanks for saving us all the hassle of removing too many pieces! This is such a common issue, I just ended up thinking of the flying foam like snow.
 

Mk2Tyler

New member
Joined
Jul 31, 2023
Location
Richmond, VA
TDI
B4 passat
Thanks!!!!! It's supposed to be decent weather here this weekend,so a good time to try. Do you think the HVAC foil tape would work as well? Maybe I'll grab both on my trip to store this morning.
I used the aluminum tape on my mk2 years ago. I'm just here to see if the procedure is as easy as the mk2 and it appears it is.
 
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