LeGiT_Flat4 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hey guys, I finally got around to making a serious attempt to do something about this on my car. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do but I wanted to at least figure out what that actuator/servo part was all about and what it would take to replace it. Mine was driving my nuts making noise all the time while driving and then of course after I shut the car off. I give ssbtech credit for being a genius based on his post a little while back because basically I did exactly what he said. The result: as of now I have a perfectly quiet and smooth running actuator! It's a miracle and although I cant' be sure that the issue will never return, I'm pretty stoked that I've been able to drive my car around since yesterday with no hint of that annoying clicking and it's dead silent when I shut the car off. Wouldn't be right to not thank compsurge as well since as far as I know, he's the one that initially diagnosed it and correctly identified the part (there are a couple of other threads about this issue as well). Anyway, so I pulled out the glove box (which actually ended up not being as messy as I thought it might) and that gave me enough room (barely) to get in there and pull the actuator out. Still a pretty cramped space but I just had to use a small screwdriver to get at the 3 little screws that hold it in place (after getting the metal brace out of the way). Once the actuator was out, I saw that it could easily be taken apart. Basically its a motor and some gears that are housed in a case which can be pulled apart by undoing some tabs around the outside. I broke a couple tabs in the process cuz they were pretty brittle but I wasn't being very careful since I was just assuming I was going to have to get a new one anyway. The little cylinder motor pops right out. I just cleaned off some of the surfaces and parts and added a little grease to the gears. I didn't really have much hope for that to work, but I put it back together and reconnected the green plug and tested it out. I was amazed that it was totally silent and there was no more herky jerky movements or noises at all. After a few tests, I was ready to reinstall it. That was a bit of a pain to get it back in. The large white plastic piece on the one side of the housing that connects to the gear wheel has a couple of guides on it that need to be reconnected. This assembly controls where the air blows with the different modes by opening/closing the various vents so the air routes appropriately. Anyway, I can't say I know exactly why this worked and fixed the issue, but based on my experience I would have to recommend giving it a try. Also if the noise/issue returns, it's good to know that with a little patience and maybe a few scratched up knuckles, the part can be swapped out DIY style without too much hassle (part # 72131AG24A). The video here is after I reinstalled the (now working) actuator. The final position is after I turn the key to off. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Rv7E9JZEs]LGT hvac servo (actuator) - YouTube[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Outstanding. Now I wish I'd have taken mine out while I was doing my audio install XD. I couldn't get my glovebox out for the life of me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGiT_Flat4 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I remembered seeing a thread about replacing the cabin filter which requires removing the glove box, but I didn't refer to it when taking mine out (though I kind of wish I had...probably would have made it somewhat easier). It is a pretty nice walk through if you do decide to give it another go. I tracked the thread down: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/installation-cabin-air-filter-56k-warning-1626.html?t=1626&highlight=cabin+filter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I should mention that I followed the steps, but one of the plastic POS screws is stuck and I didn't want to drill it out just yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ispeed Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 I did this the other day, before finding this write up. I did exactly the same thing though. Just added a little bit of grease to the metal finger contacts. It was pita getting it back together and getting the arms in the right place. And 2 hours of my time is a much better price than $90 from the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 My new stereo (JL Cleansweep, RF old school amp and Polk db) goes to 11. I no longer hear said noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ispeed Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Nice. I'm the same way, however the only time I ever heard it was when I turned the car off and pulled the key out. Even then it was enough to drive me insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 There may have been some slight sarcasm in my statement I plan on greasing it. I was pretty confident something could be done to repair it rather than replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGiT_Flat4 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 And 2 hours of my time is a much better price than $90 from the dealer. Couldn't agree more...time well spent to get rid of the super annoying noise. $90 just for the part and who knows how much for labor if they did the work. Mine's still perfectly quiet after 2 weeks. Let us know if you pull yours out compsurge. I'm interested to know if more people have the same results. Sounds like so far it's at least 2 for 2, but that's not much of a sample size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 2 for 2 is 100% in non-statistical methodology :V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey guys, I finally got around to making a serious attempt to do something about this on my car. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do but I wanted to at least figure out what that actuator/servo part was all about and what it would take to replace it. Mine was driving my nuts making noise all the time while driving and then of course after I shut the car off. I give ssbtech credit for being a genius based on his post a little while back because basically I did exactly what he said. The result: as of now I have a perfectly quiet and smooth running actuator! It's a miracle and although I cant' be sure that the issue will never return, I'm pretty stoked that I've been able to drive my car around since yesterday with no hint of that annoying clicking and it's dead silent when I shut the car off. Wouldn't be right to not thank compsurge as well since as far as I know, he's the one that initially diagnosed it and correctly identified the part (there are a couple of other threads about this issue as well). Anyway, so I pulled out the glove box (which actually ended up not being as messy as I thought it might) and that gave me enough room (barely) to get in there and pull the actuator out. Still a pretty cramped space but I just had to use a small screwdriver to get at the 3 little screws that hold it in place (after getting the metal brace out of the way). Once the actuator was out, I saw that it could easily be taken apart. Basically its a motor and some gears that are housed in a case which can be pulled apart by undoing some tabs around the outside. I broke a couple tabs in the process cuz they were pretty brittle but I wasn't being very careful since I was just assuming I was going to have to get a new one anyway. The little cylinder motor pops right out. I just cleaned off some of the surfaces and parts and added a little grease to the gears. I didn't really have much hope for that to work, but I put it back together and reconnected the green plug and tested it out. I was amazed that it was totally silent and there was no more herky jerky movements or noises at all. After a few tests, I was ready to reinstall it. That was a bit of a pain to get it back in. The large white plastic piece on the one side of the housing that connects to the gear wheel has a couple of guides on it that need to be reconnected. This assembly controls where the air blows with the different modes by opening/closing the various vents so the air routes appropriately. Anyway, I can't say I know exactly why this worked and fixed the issue, but based on my experience I would have to recommend giving it a try. Also if the noise/issue returns, it's good to know that with a little patience and maybe a few scratched up knuckles, the part can be swapped out DIY style without too much hassle (part # 72131AG24A). The video here is after I reinstalled the (now working) actuator. The final position is after I turn the key to off. thank you for posting this DIY. And thanks also ispeed for your video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) Thread revival as my car just started doing this goddamn noise. So is this a sign of the actuator shitting the bed, or do they just get noisy? I'm thinking I'm going to wait until it goes. I take it that may be a while. Way too hot in my garage to do something about it now and the noise is only there when shutting the car off. Edited June 21, 2013 by fishbone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGiT_Flat4 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 I'm not aware of anyone reporting that it actually failed on them. Some have gone for quite a long time after the actuator started making the noises without seeing any loss in functionality. I think it just gets noisy...who knows if that's an indication that it will eventually fail. What I do know is that mine is still working fine and is noise free after having done the above mentioned "maintenance" a few months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 An I correct in understanding per the diagram there's two of these things? And if its the driver's side it's a whole different (read: difficult) way to get to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatInTheDryer Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I spent a good hour under the driver's side trying to find an easy way to pull out the actuator. I noticed the tracks/guides for the blend door (the white part outside the actuator assembly) were pretty dirty and what was left of the grease was dry. I ended up cleaning them with several q-tips and re-greasing the tracks. So far the clicking noise is gone and the actuator is moving smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Any tips/pics of the general area I need to access on the driver's side? Or maybe what panels need to come off to get to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatInTheDryer Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 (edited) Pull the bottom dash panel out by removing the two screw retainers on each side and then pry the center push retainer using an appropriate tool. This will give you a little more room to work with. The blend door guide you need to clean and lube is in the picture below (white arm) below the green plug. It's located on the right side of the driver's foot well behind where the HVAC is. Long wood handled q-tips would work best...I had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to reach the guide with normal q-tips. I put a minimal amount of lube on the q-tips to help clean the guides and then a generous amount to re-lubricate it. You'll have to turn the driver's side temp control up and down to get the blend door to cycle through its positions...it will move to positions above and below the actuator so you'll need to clean it on both sides to completely clean/lube it. All said, this ended up being quicker and easier to clean than the passenger side. Edited June 24, 2013 by CatInTheDryer added info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatInTheDryer Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Thread revival as my car just started doing this goddamn noise. So is this a sign of the actuator shitting the bed, or do they just get noisy? I'm thinking I'm going to wait until it goes. I take it that may be a while. Way too hot in my garage to do something about it now and the noise is only there when shutting the car off. If it's shut-off only it's probably the passenger side mode select actuator (as pictured in Legit's video)...It cycles back to what I assume is defrost when the car is turned off. The driver's side blend door actuator will click non-stop during driving and is far more annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Great, thanks very much for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krot84 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 If I'm right the sound is the result of mechanism shift from air circulation into fresh air input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Freaking amazing! Thanks everyone for letting me know what this new sound was. Not sure I'll fix it any time soon, but at least I know I can ignore it! 2005 XT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotokan1509 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 I took the whole dash apart, but how to get that servo out? Do you guys take the passenger one off first, and then the main mode changer one? Has anyone thats done a "cleaning" had to go back in and replace it completely afterwards, Im usually pretty cheap but may just replace it to not have to do this again :bloody knuckles: If I'm right the sound is the result of mechanism shift from air circulation into fresh air input. In my case it definitely is not, that I could see working correctly above the blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotokan1509 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 This is the most frustrating car work I've ever done, the screws are basically impossible to access and the brand new one is a piece of junk, the flimsy plastic wheel rubs its own support bracket. Plus I think feet only is still bleeding air to the defrost. While I like the idea of this car, the quality and all the annoyances is really souring me on Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubzila Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 It's the a/c servo. I haven't found anyone that tells me how to fix it without removing the dash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigBADbenny Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I had at a wreck and got the upper and lower vent actuators out for spares... A 1/4 mini ratchet with various length extenders and a Phillips tip is essential ( and a ton of patience ) and a telescopic inspection mirror Iirc the motor issue can also be the internal contact tracks wearing out, thus the hunting, so I just bent the flexible contacts a little to give them fresh track Edited July 31, 2014 by bigBADbenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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