Hey rayman0690, thanks for this DIY! I am doing the link and lever gears on my Ralliart and considering the blend door as well.

I saw on another thread that you had a discussion with a guy (while you were doing this) who said that he replaced the blend door without evacuating AC.

Do you think there is any possibility of this? When the HVAC unit is unbolted, will it move around enough to separate it and access the blend door?

I would be willing to crawl around like a bug under the (remaining) dash if I could avoid messing with the AC refrigerant.

For reference, this is what alexisrc originally said in that thread:

 

I honestly cannot see a way to repair the blend door without evacuating the A/C system. There just is not enough "wiggle" room to get to the rear clips on the air mix box that you have to break open.

I tried to do the same but in the end having it evacuated and removing it completely was way easier and probably saved a lot of time and hassle.

 

I actually was just working on this very project tonight for my '03 Lancer OZ Rally. I was able to get the new blender door in without removing the air mixer box or evacuating the A/C system. I broke enough of the clips on the front and one on the top of the back that I was able to make it work. But it was quite a hassle, and I worked on it for a long time trying to get out the old blender door without breaking anything. On top of that, there is a piece inside the air mix box that is hard to get realigned when reassembling the box since I had such a small opening to work with.

I'm not sure I would recommend this method though since it took so much effort . I almost gave up on it many times. The only thing that kept me trying was that I had spent so much time disassembling my car, and I didn't want to have to tow it somewhere to get the A/C system evacuated (or worse yet, bring it to the Mitsu dealer and have them finish the repair for me ).

I haven't put everything back together yet, but I have reassembled the air mixer box and bolted it back in place. I'll post more info once I make some more progress and find some more time to post.

 

That's awesome. I was so far along in the project that it just made sense to go ahead and make it a little easier for myself to remove the air mix box.

Definitely post up how you managed or any tips and tricks that helped you along the way!

 

Used this over the weekend to fix my temperature knob on my 03 Evo
Got the new cable and updated gears and she works like a charm now!!

 

Thanks!

 

Great guide, thank you!

 

my knobs all worked perfectly their whole lives. I took my dash out recently and now have issues. I'm pissed that I did it to myself!

This thread will hopefully have my answers when I get to read through it all...

 

If you have any questions just holler at me! I can certainly help out.

 

From this it sounds like you could have something as simple as a bent or improperly routed wire. Check how you have them routed and make sure they aren't kinked or under too much stress. It may be easier to fix than you think!

 

I'm thinking it's something simple. Two things I've read in the thread are going to be the first I check. 1, maybe pre-positioning the knobs in a certain position before assembly. and 2, loosening the two screws in the front, hidden behind the knobs (supposedly over tightened that can put pressure on the inner-workings). Lastly, I just need to figure out if the control knob assembly (the white part up top), see if it actually mounts with some screws or something. Mine is basically just resting there, and flops around until I put the trim back on. Seems wrong to me.

Also, specifically what you mentioned, the routing of the wires. Dunno what I coulda done wrong, but the way it acts that makes sense. Knob will go far, but then pop back like it's being pulled by tension.

 

The fact it is popping back says it is under tension (obviously) or kinked and under tension as a result. Hope that fixes it for you!

 

the two cables were switched/connected to the wrong knobs. Yup, that'll mess up the operation of the controls.

thanks again for what turned into an amazingly helpful thread.

 

This error occurred in my attempt to replace the cable and gears. Whoops.

So I think I just screwed myself into replacing the whole control unit, right? Unless you more knowledgeable folks have a better idea, I don't know what else to do.

 

Hey guys, I have a 2006 Lancer ES. Will this procedure work for my 06 (seems like most of you are fixing 03s)?

Also need a temp control shaft. The ebay listing says it's compatible with a 2003 lancer - wondering if that same shaft is compatible with my 2006 control unit. Anyone know?

Thanks!