passenger side won't heat

Driving back from Detroit my wife noticed that when she changed the temperature settings for her side the air kept blowing ice cold air. Come to find out the temperature blend door actuator on the passenger had worn out. I tried replacing it on my own but there was an electrical connector in the way that I couldn't get off and I was worried I was going to break it. The tech that worked on it said it was a common problem. The temperature blend door actuator sits very close to the heater core and eventually gives out to due being exposed to the high heat.