I have an 09 Pontiac G5 GT. For the pass five months it’s been making a knocking noise for 15 seconds every time I start up the car. In the beginning of the first months it wasn’t constant. Now it is. I replaced the blower motor due to a leak, the resistor to blow air on levels 1,2,3,4. Currently attempting to change out the blend door actuator on passenger side. Ive managed to get my hands on it without removing dash or anything else but the glove box. As I popped one side of actuator off, I grabbed it to wiggle it free, obviously it wasn’t coming off easily. First Thought, is there a screw? I didn’t feel one, but I also couldn’t see it. Second thought, if it’s this difficult for me to pop off, how difficult will it be for me to “pop” it back on using the littlest amount of space I have? So I stopped the “attempt”. Ac works, heater works, the side vents may blow a lil low, that’s it. It’s just the 15 sec knock at start-up. I DO NOT want it to get worse, NOR I do I want to cause problems with my “diy attempt”. Which lead me here. What should I test out before removing the actuator? Is there more actuators? where can I find diagrams showing the locations to the parts? Where else I can get direct info for my car parts and installing instructions without having to pay $400 on a factory manual. Also is there a damn screw??? (Please cars god’s let me succeed at this!!! ) I saw a YouTube video, with a mechanic working on a 05 Pontiac vibe. He swears it’s not that difficult to replace. Accessing it by removing the insulation foam and glove box. Again only issue is the noise. I don’t want it to get worse nor cause any further problems to other parts in the car or engine! I’m doing my best to maintain my vehicle as I want to keep it for a long time. Please if anyone would share some knowledge about the issue or tips I’d appreciate it.
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Feeling for a screw won’t get you there. Most of these actuators have a deeply recessed screw about the middle of the actuator. The way you know you have the right actuator is to turn on the car so it clicks and touch the actuator itself. You will be able to feel the click-click-click. That’s how you know that’s the one.
If you want service manuals… try here https://haynes.com/en-us/pontiac/g5/2007-2009
If you want diagrams, stop at any GM dealer’s parts department. They have diagrams they use for parts. Tell them you are searching for the offending actuator and would they please print off the diagrams for the actuators.
From looking at Rockauto… there might be 3 of them. Since it is an 09, the dealer parts dept trip would be useful since 2 more may be ready to fail. Good Luck
If you are working on the passenger side, that is where the air inlet valve actuator is. The temperature valve actuator and the mode valve actuator are on the other side of the HVAC module, behind the center console and accessible from the driver’s footwell after removing the steering column filler panel (the cover under the dash). The temp actuator is mounted on top of the mode actuator. See pic.
The air inlet actuator appears to be attached with one screw and two plastic clips. The clips are part of the HVAC module housing.
The temp actuator has two screws, and the mode actuator has three.
Oh geez I can’t figure out how to put load a video or sound clip on here. I tried the other day and it says not authorized. How do I upload it?