Joshjani

Hi All-
2004 xA, pretty good little performer, a little rusty underneath but doing well. The heat/ac diverter **** is stuck on the defrost section, so all the way to the right as you look at the ****.

I have already replaced the center controls, as when I began troubleshooting I realized that the air flow position **** was stripped, so it would turn and turn, not affecting anything. So, I followed the blue-sheathed rod down to under the dash where it connects to the white box underneath, right by the drivers right leg. I saw that the rod's curled end was unbent to the point that it would not operate the gears and links to change the air diverter flaps inside. SO, I ordered a salvaged center control set that came with the rods, in great shape, and replaced the center controls, routing the rods the same way as I discovered them.

Now, the **** will turn the air diverter, but only if I turn it FROM the left to right, so it winds up in the defrost positions. I cannot then turn it back to get air to come from the center vents. If I reach under the dash and physically turn the mechanisms with my left, while I turn the **** with my right, I can get them to move, but it feels like a lot of grit or rust is in there- its not smooth or easy, so the **** cant do it alone. I have tried spraying the plastic linkages with silicone spray and with white lithium grease spray, but it doesn't seem to help.

Can anyone advise on this? Do I need to make the blue-sheathed rod route a certain direction in order for it to work properly? Does anyone know the name of the white box with the diverter flaps in it? I would like to try to replace the whole box with a salvaged one, but anytime I search for "air baffle box" or "air diverter" or "cabin air baffle" or something similar, I am not getting anything I need. I'd like to know what that thing is called so I can research the part for replacement and how to remove and replace in the car.

Thanks for any help- it's driving us crazy, and the car's great fun otherwise.
JC