1981 straight six manual 4x4 project

[1986F150Six]

Jonathan,

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1428631-festus-in-florida-8.html

Pages 8 - 11; Festus in Florida; 1981 F150 with 300 six cylinder engine

[Ford F834]

Gary Lewis wrote

I may have an extra York, and will look in a bit. But an option you didn’t mention is to convert to serpentine and use the 1987+ brackets. See illustration P-20241 here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/300-six-compressor-illustrations.html.

The thought had crossed my mind Gary, and I even know where there is a straight six serpentine van for the Saginaw bracket... but it's a lot of parts to buy just to get the AC working. I'm assuming I'd need a different alternator and I don't know if the AC compressor I just bough can be converted? I am trying to ~not sink a bunch more money into the 81 at this time so that I can focus on the IDI, but maybe I should reconsider on this.

[Ford F834]

1986F150Six wrote

Jonathan,

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1428631-festus-in-florida-8.html

Pages 8 - 11; Festus in Florida; 1981 F150 with 300 six cylinder engine

Guess I'm not the only one with bracket woes! That was a lot of fab work. I'm really hoping I can find what I need without going through all that, but we will see what I can find. I want to visit the other yard to see what they have.

[Ford F834]

Do any of you know offhand of the serpentine 4.9L has the same water pump rotation direction?

[1986F150Six]

I believe it is driven by the back of the belt, so would be reverse. Some have written that the vanes on the newer pumps are not directional??

[Ford F834]

Thanks David, the water pump did change in 1987, but the obvious difference is a pipe coming out of the top of it that probably  has to do with the EFI system? So one cannot tell whether the inside is different or not.

[Gary Lewis]

The Cooling Sytem/Water Pump #'s & Illustrations page shows that the 1987 4.9L's got a different water pump from the '86 and earlier 4.9's.  (Notice on that page that the engine was a "300" in '83 and a "4.9L" in '84.)  So, I'd guess that when they went serpentine that it did indeed go to reverse rotation.

As for the alternator, the serpentine pulley would work on the 1G you probably have, and the mounting is the same.

Last, unfortunately I don't have an extra York compressor.  But, they are so heavy that shipping wouldn't be cheap.

[Ford F834]

Okay, so the 1G would work with a pulley swap but I'd need a different AC compressor, different water pump, and the brackets and engine pulleys. Maybe sometime but not today. I need to keep my scope creep in check. If I can't find the missing parts they should not to too terribly difficult to make. I have the two tricky bits:

[Gary Lewis]

Keep your creep in check?  Why would anyone want to do that?  

But, you have a good point.  So, make a list of part numbers and maybe people can help you find them?

[Ford F834]

I agree Gary, behaving oneself is not the most fun, but I do have to mind the resources and make choices. The diesel has been neglected far too long and that needs to change. Having AC in my working truck is still a priority but needs to not take over into other things.

I will pull up the catalog and find the part numbers when I get a chance to break out the computer. I do need to comb both yards still, to make sure I didn't miss any bracketry. It wasn't until I got home with the compressor that I realized I was missing stuff. I'm sure my yard will be far cheaper than service parts. Maybe I will be lucky.

[Ford F834]

So I went digging in the master parts catalogue to find what I could find on the 300/4.9L AC bracketry.


So for the 80/81's with the York compressor there are four components:
D7TZ-2882-A Compressor mount
D7TZ-19D625-A adjusting bracket
D7TZ-2888-C Front brace
D7TZ-2889-A Rear brace

I happen to have mine installed without the front and rear brace, but I did find the rear brace in the junkyard so I have 3 out of the 4 components but the compressor is no good...


For the 1982 set up there appears to be six components. I could only locate 4 part numbers in the catalogue. The rear compressor bracket (19D897) and rear brace (19D895) in the drawing do not appear to be anywhere in the parts lists.
D7TZ-2882-A Compressor mount
E2TZ-2889-F Mounting bracket support
E2TZ-2888-D Front compressor mounting bracket
??? Rear compressor mounting bracket
E2TZ-19D625 Front brace
??? Rear brace

The main mounting bracket is the same as 80/81 which I have, and I found the aluminum mounting bracket support piece at the junkyard... but I don't have enough to make this work especially since I cannot find a part number for the rear mounting bracket.


The 83-86 set up has four pieces, but just three part numbers as the front and rear compressor mounting brackets are the same:
E3TZ-19N586-A Compressor mount
E2TZ-19D625-A Front brace
E3TZ-19D896-A compressor mounting bracket (front & rear)

I may have a lead on a set of 83-86 brackets through a Facebook contact. The price is reasonable, he is going to check with the owner to see if all the pieces are there. Hopefully I will be lucky...

[Ford F834]

1982 compressor mounting support with front and rear compressor mounting brackets attached. You can see that they are different unlike the 83-86 system...

[Gary Lewis]

I hope the 83-86 brackets work out, but note that in the 82 illustration it says 2888 or 19D896?  




But it isn't that easy on 2889, the rear one, as there isn't an entry I can find for '82:

[Ford F834]

Gary these part numbers are very confusing. The brace you highlighted in yellow (D7TZ-2888-C) is the front brace for the York compressor. The catalog lists it as 80/82 E F U 100-350. Only thing is the pickups and Broncos stopped using the York in 1981 while the Econolines continued to use them through 1982. So that front brace really does not apply to the 1982 specific pickup set up. The rear compressor mounting bracket and the long skinny brace that looks like it may mount at the ignition coil stud are the ones I cannot find in the catalogue.

[Gary Lewis]

The 1973-79 catalog shows:

77/ Fl00/350 - - 6 cyl. 300 and integral A/C "From Ser. Y40,001"    D7TZ 2888-C  

But, for 1982, I'm confused as well.  

[Ford F834]

It looks like I may be in luck. This was pulled for me today, and I am trading a radio bezel, grille emblem, and F350 fender badges for it.

[Gary Lewis]

Those are the '83-'86 brackets?

[Ford F834]

Yes, that is a complete 83-86 set plus the rear power steering bracket just in case. I don't think my power steering pump mounts to the timing gear cover, but I have seen the front bracket in the junkyards here I need one.

[Ford F834]

The 83+ AC brackets should be mailed out to me on Monday. I have an excellent used compressor with hoses.

I discovered that my AC dryer canister is different on the '81, as the hose from the compressor routes across the front of the engine instead of up against the fire wall. The fitting is angled forward and on a much shorter stem. So I needed that part. I decided to get the evaporator core with it, as I am not convinced that I ever got all of the mouse residue out of mine. These came from the same truck as the compressor and are in excellent condition.

So what about my condensor? It was disconnected for years. The hoses were still there but open (compressor removed). Should I be concerned about it? Replace it? Any way that I can test everything for leaks before filling with 134A? Should I add a can of the PAG oil? Any other tips for success with this?



Edit: just for the record, my power steering brackets are just as shown above, I was just remembering it wrong. Everything should remain the same with the new AC mount.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm no A/C expert, but you really should pull a vacuum on the system before filling it with 134A.  This checks to see if there are leaks, and it removes any moisture.

If you can do or have that done then I'd go with that condenser.  That way if it leaks you'll know, but if it doesn't you haven't spent extra money.