Old Blue - 1984 XL Flareside

[ckuske]

Just sending a friendly ping, does anyone have experience with replacing the A/C condenser on these trucks?  Or am I a trail blazer? haha

[FuzzFace2]

Nope not a trail blazer as I have done it and I am sure 1 or 2 others have also.

Do we have a FAQ or a "How To" in here
 
When you order it for your truck what you will get will not be a bolt in.
You can send it back 100 times and you will keep getting the same thing.
They lumped all the part numbers together for our and think 87-92.

Now I did this a few years ago when I was putting the front of the truck together but just got my AC system working late this past summer.
The hoses all fit up to the new condenser and the top bolts in but its the bottom that gives a little trouble.

You have to space it out I think it was 1/4" as the tubes on the end hit the support IIRC.
Because the condenser is spaced out the lower part of the hood latch needs to be spaced out also.
This may also space out the grille a little but you cant tell by looking at it when together.

That about it from what I remember.
Dave ----

[ckuske]

Thanks for the feedback!  I hadn't seen much in the way of comments about fitment before, so thanks for answering.  Now I know that it'll take some extra work on my part, I'll be sure to put comments back into this thread with pictures if possible.  By space out, do you mean I need to put some sort of shim on when attaching the condenser, or will I need to actually cut the radiator support up to make room for the tubes?

I agree, it'd be nice to maybe have a "matrix" of sorts where users can search for a part type then part number, and maybe see notes or links to threads that mention that part number?  It'd be a nightmare to maintain, but it'd sure be cool to not get the same questions over and over.

AKA can 35's fit on stock suspension?

[FuzzFace2]

No cutting of the radiator support.
I used small steel pipe cut to think 1/4" as a spacer and got longer bolts.
You pull the bottom of the condenser out put the spacer in place and use the longer bolts to hold everything in place.

I don't know if I can get pictures now with the front all together or not but will look when I have time.
Dave  ----

[ckuske]

No worries, Dave.  If you stumble upon them, great!  If not, your description will get me in the right direction.

[FuzzFace2]

What you know I did get a picture or 2 when I installed it.


Dave ----

[ckuske]

Ahh I see, thanks for this. Seems pretty easy. (Famous last words)

[ckuske]

Today I was looking around as how much I needed to clean the frame before trying to paint it.  

I came across this on the passenger side, near the exhaust manifold. A little concerning. Does anyone have an idea what this was attached to before?

[Gary Lewis]

Chris - That's probably the fuel tank vent line going to the charcoal cannister, which would have set right below the battery.  My guess is that it has been removed that the line cut.

[Gary Lewis]

Or, on second thought, is that a wire?  Like the battery cable going to the starter?

[ckuske]

Gary,

It’s a wire for sure. The hose to the canister is intact and attached.

Maybe when the starter was replaced one time they routed the wire differently?  Haven’t crawled underneath to look (yet), but wanted to get others opinions on what the original intent of this wire may have been.  

[Gary Lewis]

Hard to tell from the pic if that is just a hanger for the wire or if it is tab, meaning that it is connected to the conductor of the wire.  If it is a hanger then that's the wire going to the starter and it got replaced.  But if it is a tab then that's a ground wire.

[ckuske]

Gotcha, I’ll take a closer look. I think it’s a ground based on zooming in, the conductor is exposed where the tab is. Good catch.

While I’m in looking at this - my heat shroud is terrible. I recall someone offering ones for sale that they were building since NOS replacements are unobtanium. Did anyone buy one?  Are they still available?

Can they be installed without lifting/removing anything or does the engine or manifold need to be removed?

[kramttocs]

Check this out also: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1522843-how-to-and-product-review-spectra-ac-condenser.html

Spectra or another name you are all but guaranteed to get the same model from what I ran into and what I've read from others.

[ckuske]

Thanks, I took my condenser out of the box and looked for a Spectra label - nothing to be found. Just "made in china" (no caps in China was intentional).  So we shall see how it goes when I get to this!

[ckuske]

Ok, so I had a few hours of spare time today.  Thought I'd try my first ever water pump install.  This is old hat to a lot of you fellas, but my first time.

I thought I had done things right - lubed the bolts with anti-seize, put just a tiny bit of RTV so the gasket didn't slide, etc.  Finger tightened a few of the bolts on the upper part, then started trying to put the rest in.

Most went it fine, but the two bolts at the bottom of each side of the timing cover concerned me a bit, so I removed the pump (and cleaned up the gasket from the little bit of RTV on it).  I found the bottom two bolts would only turn about 3 revolutions until they got pretty hard to turn by hand, and I got a few more turns with the ratchet until I got nervous I was stripping something.  I took the bolts out - some rust and gunk on them, but no sign of thread wear/stripping.  So I put more lube on them, and tried again.  Same thing... a little bit less rust, but still harder to turn than I'd like.  I'm guessing inside the holes (these are the ones that go into the water jackets maybe?), there is some corrosion that the bolts have to "push" through, but I'd hate to strip something.  I tried the old bolts and they had the same issue so I don't think I bought the wrong bolts or anything...

Has anyone else had this happen, and if so, do I just keep turning or what?

[ArdWrknTrk]

If you're going into the water jacket you're going to want a lot of thread sealant and no antiseize on those bolts.
You can grease the shanks, so if you do get corrosion in the timing case the bolts will still turn.

I doubt you have a pulley tap to chase those threads in the block, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - I had to look up "pulley tap".  I'd never heard of them.

Chris - If you can't get a tap in there to clean up the threads, and Jim is suggesting that a standard tap won't reach due to the timing case, then maybe you can "push through".  I can't tell from your picture for sure, but it looks like there are marks on the head of the bolt, suggesting that it might be a Grade 5.  If so, it should go ahead and go in.  But I'd go a ways and then back it out and clean it.  Then go again.  And again.

The only alternative I can think of is to remove the timing cover so you can use a regular tap on it.  But then you have to mess with the pan gasket.  And while you are in there you might as well do the timing chain if it hasn't been replaced lately.  

Good luck!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yup, I'm a font of useless minutiae.  😀

[kramttocs]

That would be handy when the need arises - hadn't heard of them either.
Similar to taps and the same issue with length in your situation but a good set of thread chasers is worth it. I use mine quite often. An ounce of prevention tool.