Your solution sounds logical, however, the actuator in my truck looks like the one in your diagram turned on its side. I copied your diagram to illustrate what I mean.

Mine has no hose connected to what would now be the bottom, but rather 2 hoses on the right side of it - one red, the other blue. I drew a dotted line to show the upper limit of what I'm able to see when I'm "standing on my head." This is in a very difficult (for me) location to get at. If I needed to remove the actuator body, I cannot even see how it's mounted, or what to do to remove it. I can see the shaft coming out of the top. You recommended pinching the seal. Do you mean that there is a seal around this shaft? If so, I don't think it's possible to position my hand in order to get my fingers around the shaft. There must be some trick to getting better access, no? I didn't do anything with this today because it's raining and I have another commitment. Your help is appreciated. Thanks,

Jim

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...So if I understand you correctly, the mode valve is above the defroster valve per the second picture, right? Either way, I won't be working on it until tomotrrow. I'll let you know how it goes. BTW, what color is the hose connected to the mode acuator?

Jim

Hmmm..... The one I described is on the driver side, and looks just like in the 2nd picture you sent me (You claim this is the defroster valve, on the passenger side). The gas pedal would be immediately to the left of this actuator. Also in this picture there appears to be another actuator above the one with 2 lines attached. The one on the passenger side is also oriented the same as the one with 2 lines on it. It has an arm that moves to the right and to the left when changing modes. I haven't seen any in my truck that look like the first picture. Again, as I asked in the original question, are there 3 vacuum motors (actuators)? Judging from the second picture, I'm inclined to believe the answer is "Yes".

I'll go along with that. I'll just have to tear apart more of the dash to get to the mode valve. All along, I've had this extended warranty that just expired about 6 months ago. Oh well, I used to enjoy working on my car, but now that I'm getting old & lazy, I've gotten somewhat out of it. Thanks for the help; expect to hear from me tomorrow.

Jim

Dear Mazda Ed,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you; I just didn't get a chance to work on my heater until today (Friday after 4:00 PM.) Here's what I found.

All 3 of the vacuum actuators appear to be working correctly. However, there appears to be something wrong with the shaft (5 in this drawing) connected to the one vacuum motor.

The actuator arm (2) is connected to the shaft arm (1), which should cause the shaft (5) to rotate when the actuator arm (2) moves up or down. Instead of rotating, the shaft, which has a spring around it, behaves as if it's either broken or isn't seated in its bearings. I imagine this shaft is connected to a damper door that would direct the airflow to the floor. I'm wondering if this is a plastic shaft that goes all the way through, or if it's a metal one that has a plastic operator attached to the end. If the former, it seems like it's going to be a difficult fix.

Images available only to Customers.

For your info, removing the instrument cluster did nothing to improve access. In fact, I replaced the plastic that goes around the instrument cluster, radio, vents, etc. and removed the plastic under the steering wheel and ash tray. That allowed me to get to these things and observe their operation. Had a real "fun" time trying to get the parking brake release cable out of the way ('till I figured it out!).

Jim

Hi,

Sorry about the delay, I haven't been feeling well. As far as removing the instrument cluster - It's almost solid plastic behind the cluster - only a few holes, but nothing that would allow physical access. I was going to wait until I fixed the problem before I accepted your answer, but that may be a while. You steered me in the right direction, however, even though some of the information was questionable or, at best, confusing. When I finally got my head far enough underneath the dash, I was able to see what the problem really was, and I guess I'll be able to figure out how to remove the heater box to complete the job. I'm not sure if I would have a chance to tell you this if I accepted your answer now, so I'll send this reply and then most likely accept your answer.

Jim Dzuricky