Help!,
 does anyone know how to fix this problem: I have a 98 TJ without A/C and the vent switch has ceased to work. My fan and fan speed knob both work, but the air will only come out of the defrost panel. I read another blog about replacing the door lever arm. I pulled my dash apart trying to find where this part would go, and couldn't find it. Does anyone have any pictures of this repair or have any tips for me. i'm looking to fix this soon without having to take it to the jeep dealership. Dealer wants to do a full diagnostic, and they don't seem to have a clue about the repair. Help!  

I have had the same problem with my a/c not shutting down. it is not the ventway-door thing, it is a problem with the master control switch , ie  o, a/c vent heat defrost etc etc.   The swith sucks!   Chrysler gave me the same b/s run around, complete diagnostic etc etc.  Since it was my a/c that would not shut down, I simply spliced into the wiring out by the compressor, ran a lead to my  console, installed a toggle, and now I can be sure my a/c is off with the flip of a toggle.  My best advice,   go to a junk yard and pick up a used switch,  at the same time, get a wireing diagram and convert everthing to toggles as needed. I figure thats what we will all be doing eventually.   Remeber the good old days?  on    off      low    medium     high     and manual pull knobs to direct the air flow.  As time passes, thats what mine will look like 10 15 years from now.  

I think I may have described the problem incorrectly. I do not have A/C in the TJ and I can still turn off the vents completely. The main issue is that I cannot switch the vents from defrost mode. I can't switch the air flow through the panel or floor. I've heard that when the panel door lever breaks the defrost mode is the default mode. I still don't know how to fix it, and could use a picture if anyone has one floating around out there of the innerds of the vent system behind the dash.  

the problem could be the switch not the door lever,
the fan speed on my rubi only works on high. I would think for the lever to break off there must be an obstruction.
rubicondon, mine will also probly wind up like a willy's eventually as all the electronic bs ceases to work.

You know your a truck driver when all you need to fix everthing is a big long bar, duct tape and baling wire.  

andrewp:
I think I may have described the problem incorrectly. I do not have A/C in the TJ and I can still turn off the vents completely. The main issue is that I cannot switch the vents from defrost mode. I can't switch the air flow through the panel or floor. I've heard that when the panel door lever breaks the defrost mode is the default mode. I still don't know how to fix it, and could use a picture if anyone has one floating around out there of the innerds of the vent system behind the dash.

I think I may have a similar problem and its been with my ride for a minute. I dont have a/c either. The heat works and the fan speeds works and but the vent it comes out of is usually the floor or the defrost/floor. Never the main face vents and sometimes barely out of the side windows top defrost vents. I dont know when it began as my father gave me the Jeep when I got out of the Marines in '05 but it was doing it then. Its never changed. Never gotten worse or better. I have taken off the middle dash panel and looked at the sliders internally. Even threw some grease on em thinking that would help. Nothin. It really weird 'cause sometimes I'll slide it to the defrost all the way to the right. And if I turn the fan speed all the way u quickly it'll work for like 3 seconds and the you can hear something sliding or moving and then th defrost will barely be pushing any air through and it will all be comin out of the floor. Thats the best I can describe my situation sorry for the novel. I had pretty much givin up on it completely until I read this post. Any advice from anybody who knows anything about the vent system on '97 wranglers would be most appreciated.  

Yeah man,,   we have both been around a long , long time::  on old ford pickups, you used to have to reach down to the floor boards and  flip a lever on the heater box to have defrost or heat.  That was the gate, or door as you refer to it. the same principal is on all vehicles, air flow is controlled by gate valves, gate valves are controlled by switches, gate valves,( or doors,)   very  very rarely break, unless you are like my brother and i were, and had a fight one day, and managed  to kick the entire heater box to pieces.  So, if you want to trust your dealership and their really lousey advise go ahead and keep believeing your gate- door lever is   broken.  Remain dim-whitted and spend tons of coin looking for and trying to repair said  gate- door.   go to your  nearest junk yard and buy a switch, or the relay,  If i'm wrong, the worst you have done is spend 15 bucks and 1/2 hour outside your dash.  You still have spare parts for future.  If i'm right, you will have spent hours and hours of fruitless effort, hunting for a snipe.   Read a little Sherlock Holmes once in a while.  

I know I'm a trucker when all I carry is a 14 oz ball-peen hammer,  a 2 foot long shank of hickory, and duct tape.  

In all seriousness my friend, it is a jeep. Part of the "adventure" of owning jeeps and keeping them over the long term, are all of the wonderful modifications that we jeepers come up with, not only to outsmart those dealerships, but to make ourselves more self reliant human beings, let alone keeping the jeep reliable for our personal pleasure.   I run an 04, and have already made several modifications  to factory components that my dealership only cringes at, cause they know I'll never be back after the drivetrain warranty is over.  Quick example; 3 mos after purchase, the door lock on the passenger side quit working, I swung by the dealership to check it out. They wanted me to come back again to have a new part installed, I got home,  removed the door panel, took pliers to linkage, bent linkage, door locks work perfectly.  Dude, it is what owning a jeep is all about,  be creative, give it some thought,  and your "defrost only" problem will be easy to remedy.  These days even the simplest things are over engineered.  Make it simple.  thnx for putting up with my sarcasm, and good luck. see you on the trail   lateron  

I think i'm gonna print out that response, frame it and hang it on the wall rubicondon.
never messed with the vents, I wonder if they arent vacuum operated?
If they are working for 3 seconds then shut off a leak can cause it.  

Ahhh yes. A pretty common TJ problem. Resident tweeker staffer Pete Trasborg has the solution. It will be in an upcoming issue of Jp Mag.  

yeah  mudb8,   they are vacuum actuated,  thats why the sound, "pookshooo"   when changing direction of airflow, the switches are notorious for getting gummed up and clogged, or a pinched line.  I'm burned out on the topic so I can't wait to hear what  Trasborg has to say aboout it.  He's from Jersey, so I'm leary of his wisdom.   Something about the chemicals in Jersey.   Isn't he the guy that doesn't like to wheel in winter?   lateron  

thanks Cappa, I just read the article last night, kina overkill with all the relays but i'm sure the motor will burn up before the switch does. when i get time I'll do about the same on mine. I had never had the dash apart on a tj before.
rubicondon just wait till you see what he did.  

ahhhhhh,,,,,     i don't get the mag yet,,     cheapo,,,,     can the artcle be seen on line??         lateron  

I never looked to see if they posted the article, They put a relay on each fan speed, and basically droped the temp to ambient temp from 112 degrees at the switch. no more melting I'm sure.