Myself,, like practically everyone else here has had either of these issues or both at the same time.

I am seriously considering trying to devise a better vacuum free way to move the blend door to the various positions to provide heat where it is needed. I am not worried about the air conditioning.

The actual heat is controlled by cable I believe so this would not be an issue.

So I was wondering if I am going to be breaking new ground here or has someone else already tried to do what I am trying to do.

Anyone?

 

Not on an XJ, but I've found the manual choke **** & cable assembly most parts places sell works just fine for operating damper doors. The hard part is finding somewhere to clamp down the cable so gets a good pull on the damper. Might have to fab a bracket or two.
What's wrong with the OEM setup?

 

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Too many OLD and cracked lines, Way too many I think to trace out and replace. IMO it would just be easier to just make a bracket and install a manual control for the damper control. The temperature part works fine.