2014 Ford Taurus Heat Blend Actuator Replacement

2014 Ford Taurus Heat Blend Actuator Replacement

Heat would only blow out of my passenger side vents when the AC was on. I took to the internet to save the day. I  saw forums online of people complaining that their heat would blow out of the driver side and air conditioning would blow out of the passenger side often accompanied with a clicking sound and the usual suggestion was to replace the heat blend actuator. Even though mine had no clicking sound I thought it was worth the shot for a $20 part.  I found that replacing the heat blend actuator was the fix. Symptoms don't have to match exactly to be the correct fix.

Switching the passenger side heat blend actuator is a bitch. The one for the driver side isn't bad at all but wouldn't you know it that it was my passenger side that needed replacing.

Here are some overall instructions
They aren't very specific or helpful but can help you wrap your head around a diagnosis. I also found a schematic for underneath the dashboard section PDF but didn't bookmark it and lost the link.

Essentially I started by replacing the driver side actuator since it is right behind the glove box. This took all of 10 minutes and as I had suspected when I tested the AC on full blast the heat still blew from the passenger side.  I was going to have to replace the passenger side one.

This video will show you how to replace the driver side:

The tricky part for the passenger side is removing the part.

Here is a link to an image labelled with the part names

In this video of changing one out in an Explorer which is very similar to changing the Taurus

He suggests pushing the part up after past the wiring harness after removing the screws to disconnect the wiring. This didn't work for me. I had to wiggle it for what seemed like 2 hours until I was able to view the connecting wiring from the bottom of the wiring harness.  Then I was able to disconnect it and pull it free.

I gave up on trying to put both screws back after replacing with the new actuator. It has worked for a month so far by just screwing in the one easy to get to screw.
Drunk proof it by having a handy dandy magnetic screwdriver.

Pressed Flowers: The Easy Way

I pressed the flowers in a heavy book and left them for 3 weeks. When dried they looked like this: 

Then I used Scotch Self-Seal laminating pouches

Placing the flowers inside

After that I sealed the 2 sides together and got this: 

Here are some individual shots: 

Drunk proof it If I was to do it over again I wouldn't have used roses  or multiple flowers in one laminated pouch because I don't have a vacuum seal option.  

Removing Stickers From Walls

Decorating your walls with stickers can be a fun temporary way to update a room. I did this with my daughter's room because I knew she wouldn't have the same interests from year to year. I found these tips helpful for removing the stickers without damaging the paint on the drywall.

This is a great video about the process:

Unlike the video above, I had dinosaur wall stickers from the Dollar Tree. My daughter picked them out and loved them for a few months. I myself was happy to see them go.

First pick off what you can gently with your hands. If the sticker rips or part of the backing stays on move to the next tips so that you don't damage the wall.

A hair dryer can soften the glue of the ones where the backing sticks or the sticker rips.

Before:

I was going to have an after but trust me when I say it was just a crappy photo of an empty wall and I lost that photo.

Drunk proof it: Use goo gone if you have any left over remnants. 

Engraving Rocks

My bestie engraves rocks. They come out looking super awesome. I wanted to share her awesome talent. Hopefully this inspires you to possibly make your own.

All you need is a dremel tool and some artistic ability. She sketches out the design on the rocks first then goes over it with a the tool. 

How to Catch a Leprechaun

If you are looking for something fun to do with your little one for St. Patrick's Day, try to catch a leprechaun with them.

• Pot of Gold
• Box or trap (optional)
• Another Adult

The idea is that you mysteriously "find" a leprechaun's pot of gold and want to try and catch him for a wish when he comes back for the pot of gold.

We have done this 2 years in a row and this year will be the third. It is fun and keeps children's imagination active. They grow up so quickly, you will be glad you took time out to do fun silly things like this that they will remember.

The year before last we placed a pot of gold (plastic gold coins in a plastic cauldron) in the living room and waited for our daughter to find it. Once she did and asked about it, we spun the story of how a leprechaun must have left it and how we should try and catch him when he comes back for it.

We then let her hide the pot of gold in a different spot and split up to look for him in the house. 

If you live in a 2 story home, a great effect to try is to hide the gold upstairs and have one adult go downstairs with the child to look for the leprechaun. Once downstairs the adult who remained upstairs should run quickly with short steps from one room to the room where the pot of gold was hidden. The adult upstairs should then grab the hidden pot of gold (we leave one gold piece or wrapped chocolate piece as a treat or memento to keep) and sneak the pot out of the room and slam the door.

From downstairs it sounds as if the "leprechaun" is running back to get his pot of gold. If done well, when the child and adult from downstairs get back upstairs the pot of gold is gone with one piece left for the child to keep from the quick getaway. 

Last year we weren't in the same place so we had to get a little creative. We made a trap for the leprechaun and placed the found pot of gold in the trap. When she got busy the pot of gold was taken and the trap was set off. She then came back into the room and found that dastardly leprechaun had escaped again.

Our daughter played a little song for luck to try and catch the leprechaun last year.

Create your own DIY Cat Scratching Post for $2

My cats starting using the couch as a scratching post since I moved. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing in my eyes. This, of course, was my fault because I didn't want to bring their old beat up scratching post with us.  Being low on funds I decided to make them a scratching post so onward to Pinterest I went. I did a take on this one.

Materials needed

• Cardboard (about 4 medium size boxes)
• Scissors 
• Glue (I used a craft liquid adhesive but hot glue will work)
• Paper Cutter
• Catnip (optional)

I had to buy the glue and scissors. This was the only cost to me. If you have these on hand your DIY cat scratching box can be free!

I didn't end up using the big pots and pans cardboard box but included it in the picture because I wasn't sure how much I would need.

Set one box aside as this is the one you will be lining. Take measurements as you will need to cut the strips to fit inside this box.

Then break down the rest of your cardboard and get to cutting.

I used the paper cutter for measuring the strips and for cutting. Since cardboard is thicker than paper, I had to flip the cardboard and slice each side. Then the pieces were easy to snap off by folding each side where the slice was. I made the width 2 inches. The scissors were used to cut the length to match the interior of the box.

Now that you have some pieces, start filling your box. You can glue the sides of the pieces together as you go. I did the glue all together at the end.

Once the glue is dry, sprinkle in a little catnip to get your cats interested and a scratching they will go. Thus far the cats love the new scratcher and have not put their nails in the couch.

I also left the height of my box higher and didn't make it flush with the strips. This way the kitties could still sit inside the box.

I think I need to make one for each.

Drunk-Proof-It

This took me the better part of 5 hours. Granted, breaks were taken, phone calls were made and cigarettes were smoked but still, save your time and buy a scratching post from Wal-Mart for $10.

How to Hand Paint a Guitar

Items need:

•          Guitar
•          Paint (I used acrylic)
•          Lacquer or paint sealer (I used a spray on kind)
•          Paintbrushes
•          Guitar Strings
•          Painter’s Tape

You will first need to remove the strings that are currently on the guitar if any.  I didn’t sand down the guitar although you are more than welcome to. 

This is a photo my daughter took of the guitar before anything was done to it:

Select your design, I chose a cute LPS mouse because my daughter likes Littlest Pet Shop. Print this off as a reference, unless you are a better artist than I.

I then painted a base coat on the front of the guitar. Once you have a couple of coats down for you base coat you can start on your design.

Start with the basic shapes of your design in the colors. For example I did the basic shapes of the mouse in grey and the cheese in light yellow. Then do the detail colors, leaving the black outline for last. For me the next detail layer was the white tummy, pink ears, white and blue for the eyes, pink hands and feet, then dark yellow for the cheese. Trust me, once you get that last layer of black outline on, it will look great. Make sure to let the paint dry between each layer. 

Finished painting:

Lastly I coated the guitar with a spray on lacquer. A friend was kind enough to restring the guitar.

Thank you for reading! Enjoy this rendition of the 5 little pumpkins: