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Sound inside dash when I turn off the car.


Dergara

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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]

IMG_1506.thumb.jpg.01bc271e68d887f8af92dbc49194327b.jpg

IMG_1507.thumb.jpg.64110c26b55ae467cf6f07da1d8ec53c.jpg

IMG_1508.thumb.jpg.4218e3a522a49cfe3b8ca3e665a2c25b.jpg

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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

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  • 2 weeks later...
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.
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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.

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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.

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  • 2 months later...

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 by fishbone
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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.
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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.
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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.

 

IMG_0681.thumb.jpg.df4fa70b8577487e4854884b2f5bd88f.jpg

 

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.

 

IMG_0682.thumb.jpg.76c44ecffbac45e668884a1947a57338.jpg

 

All said, this ended up being quicker and easier to clean than the passenger side.

Edited by CatInTheDryer
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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.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

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.

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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.

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  • 8 months later...

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 by bigBADbenny
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