My 01 Sable LS Premium has an issue with the heat/AC. It has all the heat you ever want, even in Max AC. The compressor is running and suction line is cold, but no joy. A buddy at work has a 00' or 02' and had to replace the Auto Heat and cool panel. It seems that the problem is in the cabin area, where should I start?

 

Let me ask you this:

1. Is your A/C controls set to "Auto"?
2. Does it seem to get "cooler" (but still warm) if you keep raising the temperature to 90°F?
3. Have you tried Max A/C setting?

If the first two things are true, sounds like your Blend Door is broken somehow. After I verify with two mechanics on what could be the best possibility (couldn't be sure until they did the labor to get into my dash), I found this place in Austin called Heater Treater that sold all stainless steel blend doors.

Using their instructions for the Taurus, I got a door and proceeded to go to work. Much to my surprise and dismay, Taurus and the Sable had slightly different A/C units. Where the front of the compartment with the blend door (right behind the glove compartment, to the right of the blend door actuator) was clear to get to on the Taurus, there is a big metal pipe in front of the same area and the unit is not quite the same. Which would not be all bad but their instructions have you cutting into that compartment and I didn't want to ruin anything by cutting into something I should not have.

But after reading through the instructions again, I seen it made mentioned that with the Auto on, the blend door will mix cold and hot air to get the temperature just right whereas Maz A/C will slam the blend door shut against the heated air and only let A/C cold air in.

Based on that knowledge, I put everything back together, hopped into my car, hit the Max A/C and within 5 seconds, my good ol', much-welcomed-in-105°-summer-heat, frigid cold A/C air kicked in and I haven't looked back since.